South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 7 (of 8) / The Guerilla War, from February 1901 to the Conclusion of Hostilities

by Louis Creswicke

THE LOYALISTS OF THE CAPE COLONY

Map of the Western Portion of Cape Colony

Regarding this remarkable and long-suffering set of men, it would be possible to write a volume. Space limits us to a few lines. Yet, after all, deeds like theirs are best sung in the finest song of all—the song that has no sound. Some one has asked, What constitutes a State? The answer applies to those, the loyal and true, who have fought and suffered in the cause of home and country.

“Men who their duties know
But know their rights, and knowing, dare maintain,
Prevent the long-aimed blow
And crush the Tyrant while they rend the chain:
These constitute a State.”

And these bulwarks of Great Britain’s might were to be found in great strength in South Africa. Other colonies had contributed most generously in men and money, but no other colony had been called on to endure what the Cape Colony had endured, and thus enduring, to act and to pay as this colony had acted and paid. Almost from the commencement of hostilities the Colonial forces—the Cape Mounted Rifles, Cape Police, South Rhodesian Volunteers, and others[10]—had shown their grit and usefulness in the field and covered themselves with imperishable glory. If the burden of their maintenance had fallen hard on the resources of the country, the laurels they had won had clothed the harshness with an evergreen beauty, for the country must be eternally proud of the men who saved Wepener and of those who struggled and helped to save Mafeking. The outlines of Wepener’s story have been given, and a little has been said of the Rhodesia Regiment that was raised by Colonel Plumer to protect the border in case of war, and in looking back over their operations it is difficult to say whether by their usefulness or their dash the Colonial “Irregulars” rendered themselves most conspicuous. During the war, of the Rhodesians Colonel Spreckley, Captain Crewe, Captain Butters, and Lieutenant Anderson lost their lives, but the borders of Rhodesia were protected. During the siege of Wepener the Cape Mounted Rifles fought in more engagements than an ordinary General will count in a lifetime—yet they saved the place and came out of it to fight a renewed set of battles!

It must be admitted that all the Colonial troops entered into their work with the same cheeriness and military ardour, though all had not the same chance to win fame. The Tabaksberg engagement on 29th January afforded the Kaffrarian Rifles an opportunity of distinguishing themselves, and the following quotation from a letter from Colonel Crewe (commanding the Colonial Division in the Field) to the Mayor of East London serves to show how they availed themselves of it:—

“I am sure you will be pleased to hear of the gallant conduct of the Kaffrarian Rifles at the recent engagement at Tabaksberg on 29th January last, when the force under my command, some 700 in all, were engaged by the forces of De Wet and Steyn. With odds of 2500 to 700 against us, we were able to successfully maintain our position owing to the extreme bravery of the men I have the honour to command. Where all did well, the Kaffrarian Rifles did especially fine service. To Major Price and Captain Fairweather much of this success is due, and amongst the non-commissioned officers and men it is difficult to pick out names for special mention where all did so well. I am sure East London will be prouder than ever of her gallant sons. Both General C. Knox and Lord Kitchener have expressed their admiration of the behaviour of all ranks on that day.”

It seems unfair to make special mention of any single branch of the Colonial Volunteer Service, when all the Cape loyalists behaved in some way like “trumps” or veterans. The permanent forces of the Cape Government were grandly supported almost from the very first by the Cape Garrison Artillery, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Own, and the Cape Town Highlanders, and these, when the “call to arms” came, were finally backed up by the Town Guards, the Peninsula Horse, and other irregular forces that had been raised practically at a moment’s notice—drawn straight from the hearth and home to throw in their lot with the soldiers in the field. It was thanks to these that the colony was saved, and thanks to the Town Guard that the regular and irregular forces and volunteers were freed to push on to the front. Indeed, at one period of the war, the Cape Town Guard (which enrolled for three months and hung on to the end) were left almost entirely alone for the protection of the towns.

Lord Milner, who was greatly impressed by the conduct of the volunteers, thus expressed himself on the subject: “It is indeed calculated to exercise a most important and, I believe, beneficial influence upon the South African politics of the future. Among the principal causes of the trouble of the past and present was the contempt felt by the Africander countryman, used to riding and shooting, and generally in possession of a good rifle and plenty of cartridges, for other white men less habituated to arms than he was himself. That feeling can hardly survive the experience of the past twelve months, and especially of the last six weeks. The splendid fighting of the despised Johannesburgers, of the Imperial Light Horse, and of the other South African Colonial Corps has become a matter of history, and the present levee en masse of the British people, including the townsmen, of this Colony, is proof positive that when the necessity is really felt they are equal to the best in courage and public spirit. In this respect the events of the past few months, unfortunate as they have been in many ways, have undoubtedly their brighter side. The mutual respect of the two principal white races is the first condition of a healthy political life in the South Africa of the future. It is possible that if the extreme strain of the most recent developments of the war had never been felt throughout Cape Colony the British inhabitants would never have had the opportunity of showing that they were inferior to none in their willingness to bear all the burdens of citizenship, including that of personal service.”

It may be remembered that on the 6th of February 1901 Brigadier-General Brabant was appointed to the command of the force which was then being raised for the defence of the Cape Colony, with Colonel Girouard as his chief staff officer. His headquarters were at East London, where the organisation proceeded, expanding eventually northward and westward, taking in district after district, so as to enable the Imperial military forces ultimately to concentrate in the Orange River and Transvaal Colonies. Colonel H. Cooper, C.M.G., A.D.C., commanded the Cape Town District, and Major Coke took a prominent part in the organisation of the irregular corps. The towns which provided guards were mentioned in a previous volume, but particulars were not then available.

The Stellenbosch Town Guard contained some of the smartest members of the Colonial Defence Force. Like one man they enrolled themselves, only too proud to assist in the national cause. Very soon there were collected over a hundred of them under the following officers: Captain Harry Beyers, Lieutenant H. P. Shepherd, Lieutenant J. L. Scott, Hon. Surgeon-Captain J. W. C. Macpherson.

On the 15th January 1901 the Commandant read the proclamation of Martial Law in the Stellenbosch Court-house. From that date, thirty members of the Town Guard were called out to do permanent duty. At first some difficulty arose as to where the men were to be housed, &c., but eventually the Masonic Building was placed at the disposal of the Permanent Guard. “In this building,” wrote a colonial correspondent, “Captain Harry Beyers, the officer in command of the Guard, has his office, where all permits and passes are issued; the Commandant of the District, who, by the way, lives at the Remount Station about five miles out of the town, comes in three times a week to transact any military business. The barrack-room is a fine and large hall where the men have their meals and also sleep. The rifles are all in racks at the further end of the hall; these racks are all numbered, and every man knows his number. The place and its surroundings are kept scrupulously clean, and a sentry, who is always to be seen at the gate, stops any loiterer from entering the parade ground, where every morning at seven o’clock and every afternoon at six o’clock the men are properly drilled by the popular ‘Jimmy’ Hills, the Colour-Sergeant Major, who is, like his captain, an old hand at the game.”

In the beginning of July, when the Commandant of No. 7 Area, Colonel Helme, inspected the Guards, he was surprised to note the efficiency and smartness of the men. In an address to them he complimented the commanding officer for the work done; he also mentioned that the Stellenbosch Town Guard was the best turned out Guard in his area.

A brief description of the Civil Service Company of the Cape Town Guards serves to give a general idea of the nature of these valuable protectors of the city. The Company was under the command of Captain Callcott Stevens, of the Civil Commissioner’s Office, Cape Town, who had previously seen active service with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Own Volunteer Rifles in the Basuto Campaign of 1880-81. The section commanders of the Company were Lieutenant Frank W. Waldron, A.M.I.C.E., of the Department of the Commissioner for Public Works; Lieutenant William A. Collard, Deputy-Assistant Treasurer, Treasury Department; Lieutenant Arthur A. Beck, of the Colonial Secretary’s Department; Lieutenant Bertram E. Shepperson, of the Treasury; and Lieutenant Charles Murray, of the Department of Public Education. The nominal strength of the Company was 142 members. It was raised in one afternoon—immediately the ministerial authority for its enrolment was obtained. A similar degree of rapidity was manifested in many other companies of the Guards at the time of the crisis, and this martial impetuosity reflected immense credit on the manhood of the city—on its patriotism, its disinterestedness, and its pluck.

The Civil Service Company consisted of five sections, and was fully representative of the Departments of the Prime Minister, the Commissioner for Public Works, the Treasury, the Colonial Office, and the Attorney-General, together with all the offices and sub-departments controlled by these ministerial divisions. An excellent spirit was manifested throughout by all ranks; and much laborious work was done in the way of guards mounted over important arsenals, magazines, and valuable stores. The original period of three months for which the Guards enrolled passed only too quickly, but their services were still urgently required, and they continued to be called upon for further periods of service, to which an excellent response was made—thus the military authorities were enabled to release many men of the regular forces for service in the fighting line, where they were much needed.

Among the various companies of the Town Guard were many prominent Government officials and business and professional men, whose names are familiar in the colony. It would be impossible to reprint the rolls of all the companies, but a list of names of some of the well-known persons who appeared in the new character of defenders of the Empire is here quoted:—

A. Allen, G. T. Amphlett, Kitchener Andersen, H. J. Andrews, H. Arderne, Robert Armour, R. H. Atwell, R. J. Austin, R. E. Ball, F. C. Berrangé, F. L. Bishop, J. J. Bisset, G. Bolus, W. H. Bond, J. Brydone, W. P. Buchanan, J. C. Carstens, J. D. Cartwright, M.L.A., J. H. Clark, Wm. Cleghorn, W. F. Colman, Sydney Cowper, C.M.G., Peter Davidson, A. Dawson, Theo. De Marillac, R. Dickson, Dennis Edwards, E. J. Edwards, W. A. Fairbridge, Dr. E. B. Fuller, J. Garlick, C. M. Gibbs, J. Gillett, C. G. Goodison, C. R. Goodspeed, W. Hanson, W. Hare, A. T. Hennessy, J. W. Herbert, T. Herbert, Dr. J. Hewat, J. J. Hill, Norman Hilliard, J. Hodgson, C. F. Hoffman, B. Hogsett, J. W. Honey, Alf. S. Hosking, J. W. Irwin, W. H. Johnstone, Howel Jones, Sir H. H. Juta, K.C., J. M. King, J. R. Lancaster, R. A. Lambart, H. G. Legg, E. B. Lewis, Alex. Lipp, J. E. Lloyd, W. B. Low, D. A. MacDonald, Walter Marshall, A. H. Mathew, Rob. M. Maxwell, D. E. McConnell, A. M’Corkindale, D. McKee, C. S. Meechan, Donald Menzies, Stavros Mitchel, R. H. C. Montague, E. J. Moore, W. E. Moore, J. Barry Munnik, C. S. Neave, E. T. M. Notcutt, A. Palmer, D. S. Pargiter, J. Parker, Dr. T. L. Parry, J. O. Paterson, W. I. Perrott, F. Plant, A. Plint, R. H. Pritchard, A. Ransome, P. Raphael, A. B. Reid, J. Richards, H. P. B. Rigby, A. J. Robb, H. D. Robertson, G. Crosland Robinson, D. D. Ross, Pierce Ryan, J. Sandersen, P. J. Savage, A. D. Scott, G. Scott, M. W. Searle, K.C., Fred. Wm. Smith, J. H. Smithers, C. E. Solomon, Will. G. Sprigg, W. Stableford, James M. Stephen, Calcott M. Stevens, P. Stewart, F. L. St. Leger, R. Stultaford, D. Tennant, N. P. Thesen, A. W. Townshend, Geo. Trill, T. Upington, E. H. Von Witt, Joseph Walker, G. B. Williams, J. Wilson, G. Lavibond Windsor, M. Woodhead, T. J. Woodhead, J. Wyllie, R. O. Wynne-Roberts, J. A. Yallop.

Among the number were many men of independent means who were contented to fill any place assigned to them, to take their share of duty as mere privates, and go through the same drudgery of drill as the ordinary raw recruit.

In February 1901 it was computed that 11,000 South African irregulars had been raised during the foregoing three months, and that of these Cape Town itself had contributed 5000, but finally, when, owing to the extension of the area of rebellion and the invasion of the Boers, a large augmentation of the defence force became necessary, further assistance was cheerfully given, the number of District Mounted troops and Town Guards amounting in a short time to over 18,000 men. This number out of a male (white) population of 114,000 speaks for itself.

It is impossible in a few lines to do justice to all the 18,000 members of this remarkable Colonial army, this goodly band of loyalists, English and Dutch, who stood at attention, ready, every man of them, to shed his heart’s blood in the defence of his home and the maintenance of the prestige of the Empire. Noble work was done by them in various districts, work sometimes of the quiet and unostentatious kind that looks for and meets with no reward. But for these men various small towns in different parts of the Colony must have fallen into the enemy’s hands, and have made stepping-stones to still further conquest: but for them the country might have become chaos—looting and ruin would have spread wider and wider afield—but for them the idea of driving the British into the sea might have been more than an empty boast. They helped to turn the scale at a critical moment—the weight of their unanimous loyalty proved to the Boers the vanity of their dream!

British supremacy has been well maintained. The period of warfare is nearing an end, and all are thankful that a policy of generosity will be extended to the Boers. But there is an old proverb which advises us to “be just before we are generous,” and it is hoped that in the coming by-and-by the great debt that the Empire owes her Cape loyalists may not only be ever remembered but adequately rewarded.