The Siege of Mafeking 1899
Mafeking is a town in South Africa that was founded by in 1885.  

During the Boer War the town garrison under the command of Colonel Robert Baden-Powell was under siege by Boers from 12 October 1899 to 17 May 1900. 
 
Surgeon Major Dowling, who practised in Cape Town before the Siege,  looked after the Military Field Hospital set up by the bridge over the Molopo River.  However on 17th December 1899 he fell heavily off his horse and was badly cut about.  This put him out of action for some time.

Source: Mafeking - The Story of a Siege.  Pub-Covos-Day
ISBN 0-620-25251-0

A History of the Regiments & Uniforms of the British Army by Major R. Money Barnes Pub. 1967. London Seeley Service & Co. Ltd.

Surgeon Major Dowling was in the British Army's 

Royal Army Medical Corps.  
At the time they wore:

Blue tunics with dull cherry facings and three cherry-red stripes down the trousers.  Helmet in blue with a cherry-red band and a ball on the top. 
Surgeon Major Dowling - click to enlarge

 

Extracts from Diaries, standing orders, siege newspapers, medal rolls etc. for Sgt Major W Dowling Army Hospital
Date Entry Source
9 Dec 1899 slightly wounded BP Staff Diary and Oaklands Field Casualty List
17 Dec 1899 Fell off horse-badly cut about BP Staff Diary and Oaklands Field Casualty List
22 Dec 1899 still 'bad' Ross (a Mafeking Diarist)Diary page 75
7 Jan 1900 Out of hospital.  He [Dowling] was sick of the 'ructions' at the hospital Ross Diary page 90
  Dowling was a Cape Town physician who assisted Dr Anderson (another doctor at Mafeking) Gardner (Author of book on the Siege)
10 Feb 1900 Dowling went out to get a wounded boy.  Boers fired on him carrying the boy back and wounded him again.  Dowling has refused to go out again with a red flag.  He is very plucky and goes out now when necessary without protection. Ross Diary Page 141
14 Feb 1900 Dowling has a good deal to say privately about the goings on up there [hospital] Ross Diary page 146
5 Mar 1900 Property Assessment after Dixon's Hotel shelled (this means he had had some property damaged by Boer shelling). Siege Slip 93
16 Mar 1900 Property Assessment after Dixon's Hotel shelled again.    
1 Apr 1900 [Dowling] went out with Tracey to bring in dead of Plummer's Relief party killed between Oakland's and Ramatlabama Ross Diary page 205

Source:

Information kindly donated by Colin Walker of walkertoys@aol.com who runs a website on scouting at www.scoutingmilestones.freeserve.co.uk.  
Both Colin and the webmaster would be very interested to hear from descendants of W Dowling.