I’m not aware of a “web site” specifically for the City Imperial Volunteers that mentions those that served in it, but there are a couple of pages dedicated to them on the Anglo-Boer War Web site at
http://www.angloboerwar.com/units%20imperial/civ.htm , if you’re referring to something different I’d appreciate the URL.
There are some records specific to the CIV, that will mention its members by name, held at the Corporation of London Archives see
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=075-... As far as I can make out the Nominal Roll shown on the Anglo-Boer War website and the City of London Imperial Volunteers QSA Medal Roll, in document series WO 100/231, are the only records at the National Archives that will mention those that served in the CIV by name. Any other surviving records will be under one or other of the names identified below.
Although the dates given for service in the CIV are 1897 [sic]-1901, it’s likely he served outside those dates with his parent volunteer unit. To aid further research it may help to have some understanding of the background of the 18th Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps and the CIV.
The City [of London] Imperial Volunteers were raised in December 1899 for service in South Africa from the various volunteer units of the army auxiliary reserve within the County of London that included parts of Middlesex, Kent and Surrey. Unlike other County volunteer battalions who became embodied with their parent regular army regiments, with the men of the CIV coming from volunteer battalions having no parent county regiment to affiliate to, the CIV was a stand-alone regiment of volunteers. In 1908 with the creation of the Territorial Force, the 26 volunteer “battalions” within the County of London were put under the name The London Regiment, but without an HQ or other administrative body. The 1908 London Regiment contained the same units, albeit with slight name variations, from which the City Imperial Volunteers drew it’s ranks; the 18th Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps being one.
Originally know as the 36th Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps, it was renamed the 18th in 1880. In 1881, the 18th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps, was designated the 5th Volunteer Battalion, The Rifle Brigade. Then following the creation of the County London the battalion’s main title became the 18th Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps in 1891 and the following year it was re-designated as the 4th Volunteer Battalion, The Rifle Brigade. It became the 10th [County of London] Battalion, the London Regiment [Paddington Rifles] with the creation of the Territorial Force in 1908.
A search of the National Archives catalogue at
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/ revealed several groups of records that may contain useful information, but no service records appear to survive, they are:
WO 96 Records of auxiliary forces; War Office: Militia Attestation Papers; 1806-1915
Like the WO 97 series for the Regular Army, this series is undergoing digitisation under a joint National Archives/Findmypast project and expected online next year. The records are generally arranged by alphabetically within regiments, although I can’t guarantee it will contain your Gt Granddad’s papers, the one possibly of interest to you is:
WO 96/1281 Rifle Brigade WING – ZIM
Other records are in the WO series: War Office: London and Middlesex Volunteer Regiment, Muster Rolls and Battalion Order Books, and Territorial Army Precedent Books.
These are not online and I know of no plans to put them on, of interest to you may be:
WO 70/3 18th (late 36th) Middlesex Rifle Volunteers - Muster Roll 1888-1903
WO 70/4 18th (late 36th) Middlesex Rifle Volunteers - Muster Roll 1908 [sic] -1908
WO 70/5 10th (late 18th Middx) Co. of London (Paddington Rifles) Muster Roll 1908-1909
WO 70/6 10th (late 18th Middx) Co. of London (Paddington Rifles) Muster Roll 1909-1912
Order Books, possibly of some interest, from 1860 to 1912, for the 36th Middx Rifle Volunteers Battn, 18th Middlesex R.V. (late 36th) and 36th Middx. R.V., 18th Middx R.V. Battn.and 10th Co of London (Paddington Rifles) (late 18th Middx) are in piece numbers WO 70/7 to WO 70/20 incl.
It is possible to order copies of these records [or part of any] online by entering the WO reference in the “type reference here” box, the clicking “ordering and viewing options” and following the instructions, but personally I don’t recommend it for these types of documents.