7 JULY 1900 - BETHLEHEM

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“On the 3rd July Paget drove the Boers from a strong position they were holding across his line of march and bivouacked 15 miles north-west of Bethlehem. On approaching the town on the evening of the 5th July,  Clements, who, as senior Officer, was in command of the three columns, found C de Wet occupying the hills to the south.

 

The next morning Bethlehem was summoned to surrender, and, on this demand being refused, Paget moved to the north-west with the object of turning the enemy’s left, while Clements’s troops operated on their right flank.

 

On the morning of the 7th a general assault was made, and by noon the place was in our hands and the Boers were in full retreat to the north-east. On this occasion the 1st Battalion Royal Irish Regiment specially distinguished itself, capturing a gun of the 77th Battery, Royal Field Artillery R.F.A. which had been lost at Stormberg.” 
Roberts’ Despatch of 10.10.1900 (LG, 8 Feb 1901).