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The Battle of Biddulphsberg was fought near Senekal, a small town of about 25 houses and a church. As the Grenadier Guards and Scots Guards advanced on the morning of the battle, they could see no sign of the Boers, but they soon came under a hail of bullets. They lay down on the ground but, being still visible on the open veldt, were an easy target for the enemy. With many men already wounded, the long dry grass suddenly caught fire behind them, the result of a match dropped by a careless Imperial Yeomanry officer. The wind quickly fanned the flames and produced a high wall of fire and smoke. Faced with a hail of gunfire from the unseen Boers in front of them, the Guards were forced to retreat through the flames carrying their wounded, with the result that many of the men were badly burned. Any wounded men who could not be carried were horribly burnt to death where they lay.

The disaster at Lindley was a telling humiliation for the British. The 13th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry, under the command of Lt-Col Basil Spragge, had been ordered to join the 9th Division under Maj Gen Sir Henry Colville at Kroonstad. Due to a mix up in communication (Spragge claimed he was sent a telegram, Colville denied sending one) the battalion instead headed for Lindley where the Boers were waiting for them. On the afternoon of 27 May 1900, the 13th Battalion rode into Lindley and were shocked to find that it was not Colville but a large contingent of the enemy that met them. Spragge made the decision to hold his ground in a group of hills to the north west of Lindley and await help. Messages were sent but they did not contain the required tone of urgency. After choosing his ground the situation for Spragge and his battalion grew rapidly worse: they were surrounded by a numerically superior enemy who also had artillery (it arrived on 29 May under the command of De Wet). By the morning of 31 May the situation had become almost untenable and the final outcome was sealed when the party of the 47th Company commanding a critical position surrendered. With no chance of holding out, Spragge surrendered early in the afternoon, having lost an officer and 16 men killed while another officer and 3 men died of wounds.The Boers captured more than 400 men: a huge shock, especially to the public back in Britain. To make matters worse, the men of the 13th Battalion were the Duke of Cambridge’s Own and the three Irish companies: symboluzing the wealth and power that had been associated with this corps. The D.C.O. had been nicknamed the “Millionaires’ Own” because of the number of hugely wealthy men in its ranks and the Irish companies contained large amounts of money and title from the landed families of Dublin and Belfast. However, within a few months of arrival in South Africa the elite yeoman had been given a bloody nose. F H Hopland, an American War Correspondent for the London Daily Mail and the Providence Journal offered the following basic version of the Lindley Affair in his book “The Chase of De Wet”: “That corps of Imperial Yeomanry known as the Duke of Cambridge’s Own, and, unofficially, as “The Millionaires,” were gathered in by De Wet outside of Lindley because their Colonel didn’t know how to select a tenable position nor how to make it more secure, and because, lacking good military judgment, he sent word to Lord Methuen, advancing to his relief after General Colville had declined to turn back, that he could easily hold out for three days longer. Lord Methuen timed his arrival accordingly; but De Wet brought up a couple of guns two days earlier, and the Colonel surrendered just that much ahead of time. Lord Methuen arrived to find nobody to relieve and no captors to attack.”

Roberts’ Despatch of 14 August 1900 (LG 8 Feb 1901) “In the western districts of Cape Colony Lieutenant-General Warren and Colonel Adye have operated against the rebels with considerable success. On the 21st May Warren surprised the enemy at Douglas, capturing their wagons, tents, and cattle. The Boers retreated northwards. On the 30th May (sic) Adye had an engagement near Kheis in the Prieska district, our casualties being 1 Officer and 3 men killed and 4 Officers and 16 men wounded. On this occasion over 5,800 head of cattle and sheep were captured with large number of wagons and tents and much personal property.” “Kheis: Northern Cape, 115 km west of Griekwastad. The pont at Kheis was ordered to be sunk in March 1900 by Brig-Gen H.H. Settle. In May 1900, about 400 rebel burghers formed a laager on the farm which is on the northern bank of the Orange River. Making a forced march from Prieska, Col J Adye reached the drift opposite Kheis on 26 May with a detachment comprising four guns, a company of the Gloucestershire regiment mounted infantry, the 32nd (Lancashire) company of the 2nd Imperial Yeomanry from Draghoender and the 5th (Warwickshire) company of the 2nd Imperial Yeomanry from Kenhardt. Leaving the latter with his guns to demonstrate at the drift, Adye took the remainder of his force to another drift eight kilometres upstream and came down the north bank to surprise the laager completely. All the women and children, many prisoners and thousands of head of cattle were taken.” Jones’ Gazetteer James McDonell served in the 32nd Coy. 2nd Imp. Yeo. From 25 Feb 1900 and was severely wounded in the action at Kheis on 28 May. He took his discharge on 26 November 1900, joined the Orange River Colony Provisional Mounted Police and subsequently transferred to the SA Constabulary. He was slightly wounded at Driefontein on 12 January 1901. His QSA with clasp CC was issued on 15 July 1901 and it would seem that the OFS clasp for service with the ORC Provisional Mounted Police never reached him. He was Mentioned by Kitchener in the rank of Superintendent. (LG 29 July 1902, p4857) In August 1905 he was appointed as a Justice of the Peace for the Lydenburg District. In 1914 he joined Botha’s Natal Horse as SgtMaj of B. Squadron. He was promoted 2/Lieut. On 19 January 1915 and served until 13 Aug 1915. At the age of 42 he joined up again on 23 April 1917 and sailed for British East Africa with the rank of Acting Sergt, later rising to the rank of Acting RSM. He returned to Pretoria after his spell with the SA Service Corps, Mechanical Transport, and was discharged on 20 December 1917. The day after his discharge he was appointed Temp/Lieutenant and Road Officer, Mechanical Transport Depot, Roberts Heights. His task was, inter alia, to supervise the Bus Service between Roberts Heights and Pretoria which duty he carried out till his release as Transport Officer on 17 September 1919.

While Lt Boyes and 17 men of the Border Horse were out near Hammonia, they heard firing. They proceeded to the spot and were surrounded by about 80 Boers. They fought for 3 hours and then, their horses having been captured and their ammunition nearly expended, Sergeant-Major Bull decided to surrender. Lieutenant Boyes was not near Sergeant-Major Bull at the time and Lieutenant Boyes was still in the hands of the enemy when the Court of Inquiry was held in September 1900. WO 108/372 “SA Surrenders”. Hockin was one of the men taken prisoner in the Hammonia incident and subsequently released, more than probably minus horse, rifle and ammunition. He subsequently served as Captain & Adjutant in Ashburner’s Light Horse: on the unit’s supplementary QSA roll he is shown as not entitled to a KSA, but only to a SA’01 clasp. However, he seemed to have been issued with a KSA off the roll of the Field Intelligence Department, (fraudulently) claiming previous service in Rimington’s Guides (there is no trace of his name on the relevant Nominal or QSA roll). The KSA roll of the FID has the following remarks against Hockin’s name: “This man was accused of embezzlement & fraud. He was not tried but released by the Civil Authorities at Johannesburg. His (un-convicted) crime was that of selling cattle, belonging to the Government”.

On 20 May 1900 Maj Gen Sir H E Colvile received an order from the Chief of Staff: “From Ventersburg the Highland Brigade march to Lindley and thence to Heilbron… Brigade will be concentrated Ventersburg twenty-third, reach Lindley twenty-sixth, and Heilbron twenty-ninth.” Colvile’s force (the Highland Brigade, Commander Grant’s 2 Naval 4.7-inch guns, 5th Battery, RFA, 7th Company RE and 100 Eastern Province Horse) set out on 24 May for Lindley. He realised that to reach Heilbron on 29 May he would have to make forced marches all the way: it turned out that 16 miles per day was quite the norm. His first encounter with the enemy was on 25 May at Spitz Kop, some 12 miles from Lindley when he lost 1 killed and 7 wounded (mainly Eastern Province Horse). The next day, 26 May, he had a sharp encounter at Blaauwberg Ridge on the approach to Lindley, losing 7 men killed, 1 died of wounds and 14 wounded. Grant’s Guns played a prominent part by shelling the ridge at 3700 yards and Colvile was sufficiently impressed by the Colonials to write: “The Eastern Province Horse, whose scouting was very bold, suffered much more heavily in proportion, losing 4 men killed and 8 wounded and 6 horses, nearly all in the first fusillade.” On 28 May there was again heavy fighting at Roodepoort in which Colvile lost 2 killed and 33 wounded. He wrote: “The day had been a trying one, and with less trustworthy troops may have ended badly for us, but the Highlanders, who had always been ready to go ahead against any odds, had by this time picked up a good many wrinkles from their enemies, and were as clever as the Boers in making the best use of ground. The excellent practice of the two batteries had enabled us to clear Roodepoort with hardly any loss, and later the naval guns had kept those of the enemy at a distance, while the while the Field Battery had removed the pressure on the Seaforth and materially helped the Argyll and Sutherland to hold their own. The Eastern Province Horse, by this time reduced to 35 mounted men, had enabled us to seize the advanced position.” On 29th May, the day on which Colvile had been ordered by Lord Roberts to be at Heilbron, he occupied that town. There are some errors/discrepancies in the SAFF Casualty Roll, as well as in the section dealing with the Eastern Province Horse in Stirling’s “The Colonials in South Africa”. SAFF Casualty Roll: Argyll, Sutherland Highlanders & Royal Highlanders: Casualties for “Bloemberg 26 May” to read “Blaauwberg 26 May”. Eastern Province Horse: Casualties for “Roodepoort 28 May” to read “Blaauwberg 26 May”. Stirling: The sentence “At Roodepoort the tiny mounted force…” on p181, should read “At Blaauwberg the tiny mounted force…” It refers to the men mentioned by General Colvile on p180. The corrections are confirmed by the QSA roll for the Eastern Province Horse, Colvile’s “The Work of the Ninth Division” and the “List of Graves in the Orange River Colony” (1904).

After collecting forage, a party under Lieut. Lloyd, ASC, which included several privates as escort, were returning with their wagons when they were surrounded by large numbers of Boers and had to surrender. WO 108-372 (SA Surrenders). George Eady, a Stockbroker from London, enlisted in “A” Squadron of Loch’s Horse on 26 March 1900. He was one of the men under Lt Lloyd taken prisoner and held in the Waterval PoW Camp north of Pretoria. After his release on 6 June 1900, he re-joined his unit only to die of enteric at Kroonstad on 10 November 1900.

Colonel Bethune and about 500 men were ordered to march from Dundee to Newcastle. Although the Boers had evacuated Dundee, scattered groups remained in the vicinity and on 16 May 1900, Bethune was ordered to pursue some of these who were reported to be near Nqutu. His mounted infantry found no Boers at Nqutubut hearing of a commando in the Blood River valley, moved off northwards in pursuit. By 20 May he was in the vicinity of Scheepers Nek where a small force of Boers (Vryheid and Swaziland Commando’s under Commandant Blignaut) was concentrated in a valley behind the nek. Capt Goff, who was in command of “E” squadron, was considerably in advance of the rest of the force and rode into Scheepers Nek. They approached the Boer position without noticing the guards, giving them the opportunity to disperse before the British could attack. The squadron found itself in an exposed position on a slope where ant heaps formed the only cover. The Boers deployed to the ridges and opened fire, creating havoc amongst the British squadron’s horses. The dismounted infantry replied as best they could and made good use of their maxim gun. However, the hot Boer fire forced the British to withdraw before the main body arrived. Very few of the men managed to escape. British losses were 28 men killed (including Capt Goff and 2 subalterns), 30 were wounded and 6 were taken prisoner. The Boers captured a machine gun and 26 horses, while losing one burgher killed, one wounded and one taken prisoner. As a result of the action Bethune fell back on Nqutu and eventually to Dundee. DCM (Edw VII): Sq.S.Mjr J.H. McBeath. Bethune’s M. I.; QSA, 6 clasps CC, Tug H, OFS, RoL, Tvl, L Nek: 726 T.S.Mjr. J.H. McBeath. S.A.C.; KSA, 2 clasps SA’01, SA’02: 726 T.S. Mjr. J.H. McBeath. S.A.C. John Home McBeth (as per DCM Issue Register, Nominal and QSA rolls for Bethune’s M.I. & the QSA roll for the SAC); McBeath (as per KSA Roll for the SAC) and as Macbeth (as per Roberts’ Mention in Despatches in LG of 8 February 1901, p965) had an interesting career in the late 1890’s and early 1900’s. The following comes from his extensive file under surname McBeath for service in “A” Division, SA Constabulary. December 1897. Sgt McBeth deserts from 2nd Btn, KRRC at Wynberg, taking about £21 from the Sergeants Mess Funds, he being caterer at the time. 20 October 1899. McBeth enlists in Bethune’s Mtd Infy with rank Squadron Sergeant-Major. 20 May 1900. McBeth in Scheepers Nek engagement. Ken Gillings, in an article “The Helpmekaar Duel” states that McBeth’s DCM was awarded after this action. 6 October 1900. McBeth discharged from Bethune’s MI. 22 October 1900. McBeth attests in the Transvaal Constabulary. 14-23 November 1900. Correspondence: Chief Staff Officer, SAC and O/C 2nd KRRC: McBeth exposed as deserter and thief. 10 January 1901. Letter from Baden-Powell to Chief of Staff, Pretoria, forwarding McBeth’s confession and expressing hope for a pardon. 4 April 1901. McBeath attests in SAC, back dated to 22 Oct 1900. LG 19 April 1901. Award of DCM to McBeth. 1 June 1901. Note on McBeath’s SAC Record of Service, congratulating him on having been awarded the DCM for distinguished gallantry in the field on the Natal side when serving with Bethune’s MI. It would therefore appear that he was pardoned. 21 April 1902. Another note on McBeath’s SAC Record of Service, recording his gallantry and good work in the action at Spion Kop on 11 March 1902. 31 August 1907. Discharged at own request from SAC with character noted as “Exemplary”. 3 December 1908. Medals lost. 4 January 1912. Medals replaced on repayment. An interesting man: brave but with a (temporary?) criminal streak. Worthy of further research.

At daylight on 16 May Mahon’s north-bound Relief Column made contact with Plumer’s south-bound Relief Column at Jan Masibi’s on the Molopo River, some 18 miles east of Mafeking. At 7:30 am the combined force, numbering some 2000 troops with 14 field-guns, set out on the last lap to relieve Mafeking. Shortly before 2 pm the Boers made a last attempt at Israel’s Farm to block the relieving force, but the demoralized burghers retired early despite Generals De la Rey and Liebenberg’s utmost efforts. The Boer losses: 1 killed and 8 wounded with British losses 32 wounded and 7 killed.

On 15 May Lord Roberts telegraphed as follows: “Two officers and 6 men of Prince Alfred’s Guards were out foraging a few miles from Kroonstad. They had visited a farm flying the white flag, the owner of which surrendered himself, his arms and his ammunition. They then approached another farm from which was also flying the white flag. When within 40 yards of the enclosure they were fired upon by 15 or 16 Boers concealed behind the farm wall. Pte A E Goldsmidt and Pte James Coltherd were killed. Lieut E B Walton received a slight flesh wound in the thigh and Lieut W B Everton, Cpl W B Sagar and Lance-Cpl E George were taken prisoner. The owner of the farm states that the Boers threatened to shoot him when he protested against their making improper use of the white flag.” Stirling (p140/1) refers

The Imperial Light Horse was part of the Southern Column under Col Mahon entrusted with the task to relieve the besieged garrison at Mafeking. On 13 May they formed the advance and flank guard and mid-afternoon the ILH .scouts reported a large body of Boers that seemed determined to head off and attack the column. While moving through thick bush near the Maritzani River, the attack by Commandant Liebenberg and the Potchefstroom Commando materialised. A serious engagement, lasting some 45 minutes, ensued. When the column’s gunners found the enemy with their shrapnel, the Boers withdrew, but desultory firing still went on till after dark. The ILH suffered the bulk of the casualties, with 7 killed and 14 wounded.

Boers’ attack, 12 May 1900. The enemy determined to make a final attempt to capture the town before the relief column could come up. “At 4 am, they opened a very heavy long-range musketry fire on the town from the east, north-east, and south-east. I therefore wired to the southwest outposts to be on the outlook”. The Colonel’s judgment was, as usual, correct. “At about 4.30 some 300 Boers made a rush through the western outposts and got into the stadt; this they then set fire to. I ordered the western defenders to close in so as to prevent any supports coming in after the leading body and sent the reserve squadron there to assist. They succeeded in driving off an attack of about 500 without difficulty”. The upshot was that those who got in got divided into three parties. “The first surrendered, the second was driven out with loss by three squadrons Protectorate Regiment under Major Godley, and the third, in the BSA Police fort, after a vain attempt to break out in the evening, surrendered. We captured this day 108 prisoners, among whom was Commandant Eloff, Kruger’s grandson. We also found 10 killed and 19 wounded Boers, and their ambulance picked up 30 men killed and wounded. Our losses were 4 killed, 10 wounded, including Captain Singleton and Lieutenant Bridges. Our men, although weak with want of food and exercise, worked with splendid pluck and energy for the fourteen hours of fighting, and instances of gallantry in action were very numerous”. Stirling in “The Colonials in South Africa”. Artilleris D.A. Oberholzer David Andries Oberholzer joined the ZAR State Artillery in 1898 (Ledger Number 928) and was in action at the first battle of the Boer War (Kraaipan, 12 October 1899), Ramoutsa and the Tuli Block on the ZAR north-western boundary. He was one of some 200 men under Commandant Sarel Eloff, a grandson of President Kruger, who, on 12 May 1900, made a last desperate attempt to take Mafeking. They succeeded in penetrating the outer defences of the town and captured the fort in which Colonel Hore had his headquarters. However, they did not have backup and support from General Snyman and, although half of the men escaped, Eloff and 109 officers and men had to surrender. That night Eloff was invited to dinner with Baden-Powell! The Official PoW list makes for some interesting reading. It contains names such as Capt Victor Albert Du Framond (French Army), Lieut Carlo Bruno (Italian Navy), Lieut Friedrich Reichard (German) and Burghers Antonin Francisco (Oporto, Portugal), Alfred Giradet (Berne, Switzerland), Barend Gyswyt (Leeuwarden, Holland) and Maurice Le Gall (Paris, France). All the men taken prisoner were sent to St Helena.

Vredes Verdrag is a farm in the Orange Free State, 11 km west of Hennenman (Ventersburg Road). In the action on the Zand River on 10 May 1900, a squadron of the 6th Dragoons, one of the 2nd Dragoons, one of Australian Horse and two troops of the 6th Dragoon Guards were sent to attack Boer positions on a ridge which commanded a wide area. Although the crest of the southern end was gained, the force retired in the face of a strong counterattack. The position was taken later in the day when Maj-Gen Dickson’s 4th Cavalry Brigade turned its flank and the burghers were forced to retire. British casualties were high with at least 20 killed or died of wounds and some 30 men wounded. Gazetteer; Jones & Jones. Wellock was wounded in the Vredes Verdrag skirmish. Eighteen months later, on 14 November 1901, he was severely wounded at Rietfontein.

WO 108/372 (SA Surrenders): When employed on Intelligence work, 3 men of Rimington’s Guides approached Winburg, which was reported clear of the enemy. Suddenly “held up” by 14 Boers from behind a kraal wall and had to surrender. One man afterwards escaped. Tpr. F.D. Marais. Damant’s Horse. Francois Duminy Marais left his Johannesburg legal practice as a refugee in September 1899 and enlisted in Rimington’s Guides 4 months later. He was one of the men captured near Winburg by Boers from Gen Chris Botha’s Commando and sent to Waterval Camp, north of Pretoria. According to his biography in “Men of the Times” he eventually escaped, re-joined his unit and subsequently transferred to Lord Roberts’ Headquarters Staff as an interpreter with the rank of Lieutenant, for which service he reputedly earned a KSA. However, according to the QSA Roll for Damant’s Horse he was only entitled to a SA’01 clasp and his name is not found on the relevant KSA rolls. His escape is verified as his name is not among the Rimington’s Guides PoW’s released at Waterval early June 1900. After the war, he returned to Johannesburg and was involved in lengthy procedures claiming compensation amounting to £66 for items stolen from his lodgings prior to the British Occupation of Johannesburg.

On 4 May 1900 some 150 men of the 5th Battalion Imp Yeo under Col Meyrick, including a Maxim detachment under Lieut Vaux, were sent forward from Windsorton to reconnoitre the hilly country in the vicinity of the farm Rooidam some 20 km south-west of Warrenton. After coming under fire from two Boer guns, they withdrew, covered by their own Maxim guns. The Boer fire slackened after 3pm and finally ceased after 5 hours. The next morning, Meyrick was reinforced by Gen Hunter with the 2nd Royal Fusiliers, 1st Royal Welsh Fusiliers and artillery. At noon they moved against the Boer positions on Rooidam. The Boers repulsed several British advances, but by 3 pm their resistance faltered when they could not get reinforcements from Gen A P J Cronje’s forces and they retreated towards Fourteen Streams, pursued by the Yeomanry for some 5 km. The Boers lost 11 killed and 17 wounded, while the British casualties were 7 killed and 38 wounded.

From the beginning of April 1900, the British garrison in the vicinity of Warrenton – Fourteen Streams received reinforcements virtually on a daily basis. The Boer forces under General du Toit were attacked in an artillery battle on 6 April and this pertinently brought home to the Boers the danger posed by Lord Methuen’s forces on the Western Front. Three additional field pieces were sent to Du Toit, reaching him on 21 April, and the Krugersdorp Commando left Pretoria by train on 23 April for Fourteen Streams. On 24 April the British lodged a heavy bombardment on the Boer position: according to one Boer source 6 guns were in action against the Boer trenches and the terrain was “ploughed up by the terrible lyddite bombs”. Boer casualties were 2 killed and 8 wounded. The attack of 24 April was not followed up: Lord Methuen and Gen Hunter had no intent to cross the Vaal River prematurely but wanted to keep the strong Boer force bottled up until Lord Roberts had advanced to their right. Nikolaas Cornelis Huysman was a Hollander who served in the Pretoria Commando under Field Cornet Boshoff from February to April 1900. He was dangerously wounded at Fourteen Streams on 24 April 1900. According to his Vorm “C” Application for the Wound Riband he had 4 wounds in his right arm, 1 wound in his left arm and a wound in his chest through one lung, all caused by an exploding lyddite bomb. His name is noted in the ZAR Government Gazette of 2 May 1900, Casualty List No 84. In supporting correspondence, Huysman gave a full account of what had happened to him: “I did not serve until the end of the war, as I was dangerously wounded on 24 April 1900 during one of the skirmishes at Fourteen Streams (Cape Colony). I was then taken to the 2nd Dutch Ambulance Hospital at Christiana. Due to the dangerous condition of my wounds, I was allowed to stay in hospital after the British occupation of Christiana. In July, the Dutch Hospital returned to Pretoria and I was put in care of the Superintending Doctor (Bierens de Haan) at the hospital in the ‘Staats Meisjes School’, which was then under British control. After my discharge from hospital (end August 1900) I was considered a Prisoner of War. I then, on the advice of Dr Bierens de Haan, applied to the Military Governor to release me as PoW and allow me to go to Europe for an operation on my lung. After I was declared “medically unfit” by the British Doctor, my request to go to Europe was granted. I had to undertake under oath that I would not do or say anything against the British while in Europe: this I agreed to. I returned to the Transvaal in 1903”. In further support he appended a copy of a letter from Dr Bierens de Haan, which was sent in 1908 to the War Claims Commission in Pretoria: “Herewith I, the undersigned Dr J C J Bierens de Haan, MD, declare that H K Huysman, Esq. was under my care in the Hospital of the Netherlands Red Cross, located in the “Staats Meisjes School” in Pretoria (July-August 1900). At that stage I was the “Chef” (Supervising Surgeon at the Hospital). Huysman was still suffering severe after-effects of shell-wounds acquired some months earlier in a skirmish at Fourteen Streams. I strongly urged Mr Huysman to go to Europe for a lung operation: due to lack of facilities it could not be done in South Africa with a fair chance of success. When I returned to the Netherlands after the war, Professor Dr Korteweg informed me that he had successfully operated on Mr Huysman and had removed a large fragment of a lyddite shell from his lung. I am of the opinion that Mr Huysman owes his life to having followed my advice, and that he should be considered a partial invalid due to the war”. After the war Huysman returned to South Africa and at the time of his medal application in 1925 he was employed by the “Nederlandse Bank voor ZA” in Cape Town. He died in 1951.

“Yorkshire Hussars were in the saddle at 05.30 in order to reconnoitre a Boer position. Most of the Yorkshire Hussars went out on piquet duty on a high rugged kopje about a mile and a half toward Boshof. The 3rd Imperial Yeomanry convoy was attacked while returning to Boshof and faced the brunt of the following attack. The units were not marching regiment, and when descending from a kopje to the road, the Boers attacked from one of the kopjes to the east of the road. The South Nottingham Yeomanry and the Yorkshire Hussars drove off the attack and were supported by the Kimberly Light Horse. They held their ground until the convoy was out of danger, and then retired. Casualties for number 2 troop of the Yorkshire Hussars were the highest: 2 killed in action, 5 wounded and 11 were taken prisoner. The Boers shelled the convoy, but without effect. The convoy reached Boshof about 19:30.” “With Methuen’s Column 1901”: Illingworth.

“The Boers remained for the greater part of the time very quiescent, and, except for a few affairs of outposts, there was only one break in the monotony of the long period of waiting. This was on April 10th, when the Boers brought seven or eight field-guns into position on the hills on the left bank of the Sunday’s river, and shelled Elandslaagte camp. Their fire was replied to by long-range guns, and a little musketry fire was exchanged between the reinforced outposts of the 2nd Brigade on the right bank and some Boers on the left bank of the river. Firing was continued most of the day, but with very little effect, Clery’s force suffering seventeen casualties.” Times History, Vol IV, p169.

DCM (Edw VII): Serjt.-Maj. Roberts. Cape M.R. Art. Tr.; 1914/15 Star & BWM: Lieut. G.P. Roberts R.F.A. (Late issue small font naming); AVM: Lieut. G.P. Roberts (original font naming). DCM: VF; Trio: George Peskett Roberts served in the Artillery Troop of the Cape Mounted Riflemen up to 13 November 1901 and from 14 November 1901 to the end of the war as Captain, “D” Squadron, Cape Colonial Forces. He was awarded 4-clasp QSA off the roll of the CMR and a 2-clasp KSA of the CCF roll. “During the stay at Aliwal North (Mid-March 1900) the Division was inspected by Sir Alfred Milner and at the inspection Brabant’s Horse was presented with a 14 pdr. Q.F. Hotchkiss gun, with ammunition, donated by Mr. A. Beit. Brabant’s Horse having no gunners the Hotchkiss was, at first, operated by the Artillery Troop of the C.M.R. Capt. Lukin immediately got busy and put Sgt. G P Roberts in charge, placing him and a squad of troopers from Brabant’s Horse through a course of instruction. Capt. Lukin’s efforts paid good dividends for during the siege of Wepener some of the best shooting was the work of this detachment. Sgt. Roberts was a most efficient gunner and his work during the siege brought credit to himself and his detachment.” “A Story of the Cape Mounted Riflemen” by Major A E Lorch. “Sergt.-Major G. P. Roberts was also awarded the D.C.M., not only for conspicuous gallantry shown on several occasions, but especially for the manner in which he handled the 13-pounder Hotchkiss gun of which he was in charge.” “Record of the Cape Mounted Riflemen” by Basil Williams. “I wish to bring to your notice the names of Sergeant Roberts, Privates Rawlings and Robarts, and Trumpeter Washington of the Cape Mounted Rifles, Private Thorn of the Royal Scots, and Private Anderson of 2nd Brabant’s Horse, who all performed acts of bravery in bringing in wounded comrades under a very heavy fire”. Report by Lt-Col E H Dalgety on Siege of Wepener, LG 8 February 1901, p887. A “double award” of the DCM to Roberts was published in the LG of 27 September 1901: viz. to Sergeant-Major Roberts, Artillery Troop as well as to Sergeant G P Roberts. This mistake was later rectified. During WWI Roberts served as Lieutenant in 61 Howitzer Battery, RFA and died of wounds on 26 April 1916. His MIC makes no mention of a later duplicate issue of his WWI Trio.

“The enemy then occupied Dewetsdorp, while a considerable force attacked Wepener, where a column of Colonial troops, under Lieutenant-Colonel Dalgety had arrived a few days previously. Retiring from the town to a defensible position 3 miles to the west, which commanded an important bridge over the Caledon River, Lieutenant-Colonel Dalgety entrenched his force and for 16 days he succeeded in keeping the Boers in check, despite the fact that they far outnumbered the small body of about 1,600 men under his command, and had also a considerable superiority in artillery, under pressure from the south and west caused them to withdraw northward along the Basutoland border.” Roberts’ Despatch of 21 May 1900, London Gazette 8 February 1901. The position assigned by Dalgety to the Cape Mounted Riflemen in the defences was the most exposed, facing an open plain. This was De Wet’s primary target with his attacks on 9 April, in which the CMR suffered 6 killed and 25 wounded later in the evening of 10 April 1900 a further 5 killed and 27 wounded. Pte Cornille (Corneville, as recorded in “Record of the Cape Mounted Riflemen” by Basil Williams and as Cornell in Orange River Colony Graves Register), was dangerously wounded on 10 April 1900. He died on 14 May 1900: according to Basil Williams this happened at Mafeteng, across the Caledon River in Basutoland. He is buried near Jammersberg Drift, Wepener.

On 5 April a detachment of 750 men from the Imperial Yeomanry, the Kimberley Mounted Corps and the 4th Battery, Royal Field Artillery, attacked a small commando of 150 led by Col (Veg-Gen) G.H.A.V. de Villebois Mareuil in laager on a farm eight kilometres south-east of Boshof. The commando held out for four hours before being forced to surrender. De Villebois Mareuil (“The French General”) was killed by a shell and buried by the British with full military honours in Boshof cemetery. The body was reinterred at Magersfontein on 14 August 1971. This action is also known as the battle of Boshoff.

A force of some 600 men under Capt. W.J. McWhinnie sets out on 2 April 1900 from Dewetsdorp, bound for Reddersburg. Early the next morning his advance scouts come under Boer fire when they reach a ridge on the farm Mostertshoek, some 6 km east of Reddersburg. De Wet sends a note to the British demanding their surrender and claims to have three Krupp guns and reinforcements on the way. McWhinnie refuses and opens fire even before the messenger has reached safety. The Boers then prove themselves good marksmen, inflicting heavy casualties at long range, even though the British had fortified their position. At nightfall, the battle subsides. The burghers’ numbers have increased to more than 800 and they light fires and eat roast mutton. The McWhinnie’s force spends a cold, cheerless night with a dwindling water supply. At dawn on 4 April McWhinnie’s thirsty men crowd around the water carts, only to be dispersed by rifle fire from the surrounding Boers. De Wet then orders some of his burghers to storm the hill and by the time they reach the dead ground at the foot of the hill, some of the British are already surrendering. Other pockets of resistance still hold out but by noon all resistance ends. British losses amount to 10 killed, 35 wounded and 540 taken prisoners: the worst case of surrender by the British Army during the Boer War. The Boers lose only 3 men killed and 3 wounded.

Hi Megan, Yes, he really have a good eye. Another friend is currently busy with the designs of the SANDF 20, 30, 40 and 50 years medals and Mike assist him with some designs. The MK Military Veterans are governmental, as they even have a Minister handling their affairs. Still waiting for Mike's answer on documentation. Regards Archie

Hi Megan, Unfortunately not from my side. I don't have one in my collection. Will try my best to get a better picture. Regards Archie

“On the 31st he (Plumer) was within six miles of Mafeking but was driven back again to Ramathlabama by a large force of Boers of the Rustenburg and Marico commandos, reinforced by some Boers from Fourteen Streams. His casualties were eight killed, twenty-nine wounded (including himself), and eleven prisoners.” Times History, Vol IV, p207.

“General Tobias Smuts, with a force of about 2600 men, and Lieutenant-Colonel S P E Trichardt with 11 field-guns are ordered to cover Chief Commandant De Wet’s secret expedition to the Bloemfontein Waterworks near Sannaspost. Neither of them is familiar with the vicinity and they have to wait for guides before taking up their positions. Where they could have easily prevented it, the delay allows the British to cross the Modder River without opposition. In a desperate race for positions near Tafelkop, the burghers reach it first and the British cavalry is repulsed. They have to make a huge detour to work around the Boer flank while the infantry, supported by the artillery, occupy the enemy’s attention with assaults on their front. General Chermside’s Scottish Borderers, convinced that the Boers have been cleared out by the overwhelming barrage, are rudely disillusioned when the burghers open up from invisible positions in their front and completely shocked when Trichardt’s shells land among them. The British guns are pushed forward with every charge, but they remain inefficient in silencing either their counterparts or the enemy riflemen. On their flank Captain Danie Theron and seventeen of his scouts delay General Tucker’s vanguard, a unit of about 400 men, for most of the day – even taking the time to capture 100 oxen in the process. The action is inconclusive and General T Smuts returns to Brandfort when, at dusk, the Britich take heights west of the railway line and threaten their line of retreat. The British lose 30 killed, 155 wounded and five missing in action. Boers lose three killed and 18 wounded.” “The Anglo-Boer War: A Chronology” by Pieter G Cloete. The battle was important, nonetheless, in opening the way for Roberts to resume his advance across the northern half of the Free State and on to the Transvaal. Also see “War with Johnny Boer” p165.