Charles Bertie Prowse, of the 2nd Battalion Somerset Light Infantry, and grandfather of Thea Parsons, was mentioned in dispatches by Field Marshall Lord Roberts during the 2nd Boer War (1899-1902). The battalion, which had arrived in South Africa on the 8th December, 1899, took part in the Battles of Colenso, Skion Kop, and Vaal Kranz, all of which had horrendous British losses

CPO George Prowse earned a Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) - awarded posthumously - “for action at Longeast Wood, France.  “Prowse's men came under intense machine gun fire as his battalion advanced. Prowse led the charge that stopped the gun and killed the men firing it. He then fought off repeated counter attacks.

The Great Fire in St. John's, Newfoundland, started when a glue pot boiled over. The fire destroyed about 2000 buildings in total, including the largest private home belonging to Robert Prowse (1798-1873) and a total of 12,000 people (57% of the city's population) were left homeless.