| WEST SURREY | EAST SURREY |
| (Adjutant) | (Sergeant-Major) |
On the 2nd, after the dashing assault of the Thaba plateau and defeat of the Boers, a day’s halt was ordered at Jacobsrust, as General Hamilton’s force had been incessantly fighting for over ten days. Lord Roberts’s plan in the Free State was now nearly complete. His proposition was to hold with an adequate force the whole of the front from left to right—from Karee Siding, Krantz Kraal, Springfield, the Waterworks, Thabanchu, Leeuw River Mills, and Ladybrand—thus pressing the Boers steadily up and up, till resistance should be pushed to the narrowest limits. Fighting here and there continued, but the sweeping process preparatory to the great forward move was being very thoroughly accomplished. Reinforcements now arrived, and General Hamilton’s force, which in reference to Lord Roberts’s advance took its place as the army of the right flank, was composed as follows:—
| Infantry | { | 19th Brigade | } | Smith-Dorrien. |
| 21st Brigade | Bruce Hamilton. | |||
| Cavalry | 2nd Cavalry Brigade | Broadwood. | ||
| Artillery | { | 3 Batteries F.A. | } | Waldron. |
| 2 Batteries H.A. | ||||
| 2 5-in. Guns |
On the 4th the enemy, ubiquitous, were found again in great numbers at Roelofsfontein. They formed a barrier to the onward passage of the troops, and approaching them with a view to strengthening that barrier came more Boers fleeing from Brandfort. There was no time to be lost, so, with prodigious haste General Broadwood with two squadrons of Guards Cavalry and two of the 10th Hussars galloped to the scene, and threw a formidable wedge between the allies. Thereupon such Boers as were hastening to fill the gap came into collision with the cavalry. These, supported by Kitchener’s Horse, who had dashed nimbly into the fray, succeeded in defeating the Dutchmen and forcing them back discomfited. Their neatly arranged plan of campaign had failed, and realising the impossibility of joining forces, the Boers set spurs to their horses and made for the drift, speeded in their mad career by shells from the batteries of the Horse Artillery. But the brilliant cavalry feat was costly. Lord Airlie, whose dash and daring had continually almost approached recklessness, was injured, so also was Lieutenant the Hon. C. H. Wyndham, while Lieutenant Rose (Royal Horse Guards), the gallant A.D.C. to the late General Symons, was mortally wounded. The unfortunate officer was felled with many bullets from some sharpshooters who were marking the crest of the ridge held by the British. Most of the losses were sustained by the cavalry, whose splendid action saved much time and possibly many fierce engagements on the line of march.
A Scots colonist who owned an estate near Winburg, which had the misfortune to be situated in the very midst of the belligerents, gave an interesting account of the days directly preceding the occupation of Winburg, when a series of conflicts had been taking place along the road from Thabanchu. From the 2nd of May and onwards small parties of fleeing Boers and German free-lances had been seen escaping from the British and seeking cover in the kopjes near Welkom:—
“The Boers, nearly 4000 strong, with thirteen guns, occupied the hills round Welkom; the British, under Generals Ian Hamilton and Broadwood, at Verkeerdi Vlei, two hours distant, also General Colvile with the Ninth Division, and General Hector MacDonald with the Highland Brigade, at Os Spruit, two and a half hours farther east on the Brandfort side. Cannon firing started at 7 A.M., and continued for two or three hours, Naval guns, Armstrongs, Howitzers, Maxim-Nordenfeldts, &c. &c., all booming together. We heard the rifle-firing quite distinctly. About ten o’clock the Boers began to give way, and arrived here, about 1000 of them, with six cannon. We supplied them with water and milk, &c., and thanked God to hear them say they did not intend making a stand. Across the river they moved through the drift very swiftly—guns, waggons, transport, men, horses—all in fairly good order. Just as they got through, the Boers up on the Brandfort direction began to give way, and shells from the British cannon burst repeatedly among them. This went on for about one hour, when a grand stampede set in, and the flight and confusion and bursting shells was a sight never to be forgotten. In the flight the drift got jammed up. One cannon upset in the drift and blocked the traffic. Then they tore up here past the house, and got through at the top drift. How they all got through is still a mystery to me. Suddenly a shell from the large naval gun burst down at the mill. It made a terrific explosion, and shook both house and store. The British had meantime worked round, and got some cannon up to my camp (the Kaffirs’ huts), and began shelling the flying Boers, as my camp commands the road for miles. The cannon-firing was simply awful, and nearly deafened the lot of us; even things inside the house shook.”
By-and-by when the fire slackened, to the delight of the British party, some 500 of the 17th Lancers were seen approaching, their scouts in advance. Quickly they were assured that they were riding into the arms of friends. The Scotsman mounted to the roof of his house, and there, with the white pinafore of one of his bairns in hand, he waved a frantic welcome. The signal was returned, and joy and relief almost overcame him. Then followed some pleasant experiences, for the Colonist played the host to a distinguished multitude. He said:—
“On the arrival of the Lancers we supplied them with water and tea, but they pushed on, and the officer in charge asked me to go with him to General Broadwood. This I did, and after satisfying him as to the roads, &c., he thanked me and asked me for the use of the house for General Hamilton and staff, which I said I would give. As I returned to the house on foot a wounded officer rode up to me. This was Colonel the Earl of Airlie, in command of the 17th (12th?) Lancers, wounded in elbow. He stayed with us until next day, and a finer and more homely man I have never met. Notwithstanding his wound, he insisted on helping to put Tommy to bed, and, although the house was soon full of lords, generals, &c., and the staffs of two divisions, he helped Florrie (the host’s wife) in every way he could. Lady Airlie is in Bloemfontein, and he returned thither. He gave us his Kirriemuir Castle address, and insists on us coming to see him. About sundown the General and staff arrived, among them Major Count Gleichen, Smith-Dorrien, Duke of Marlborough, and a lot of others. Winston Churchill also was with them. The scene that night at Welkom will never be forgotten by us. Fourteen thousand men bivouacked on the farm, camp fires for miles around. About seven o’clock the Highland Brigade arrived in the distance, pipes playing. It is quite dark here at 6 P.M., so you can picture to yourself the scene. With the arrival of MacDonald’s Highlanders the total army on Welkom was between 19,000 and 20,000 men. The house here was in great brilliancy. The Union Jack was planted in front, and officers were arriving every few minutes with despatches. A telegraph line is laid by the troops as they move on, so we had a direct wire from the house here to Bloemfontein.”
Delightful was it to the Scotsman to find himself specially introduced to General Hector MacDonald, and see the braw company of Highlanders march past his house. But their appearance was far from spruce, indeed the whole army was begrimed with dust and wear and tear, honourable filth on their bronzed and sweating faces, for which a Walt Whitman—had such been there—would have felt impelled to hug them. The sad part was the death of Captain Ernest Rose (Royal Horse Guards) who had been wounded in the previous fighting. The Colonist, writing of the affair narrated: “When the news was brought to the General and staff at nine o’clock at night that Rose had died of his wounds they were all fearfully cut up. He was buried at midnight, just at the back of the house here on the other side of road, about 100 yards from where I now sit. The General asked me to promise him to have the grave built in and to look after it, as it would be a fearful blow to the officer’s father, Lord Rose. He had only two sons, and the other one died of fever last month in Bloemfontein.” He went on to say: “The great bulk of the troops had gone forward, only MacDonald and the Highland Brigade remained behind, and they were encamped over at the station, so there are still about 5000 men in town. I found Major Count Gleichen, who had stayed the night at Welkom, was provost marshal, and Lieutenant Rymand, intelligence officer.”
At dawn on the 6th the march to Winburg was continued, and the troops prepared themselves again to meet with stout resistance from the hordes which had been pressed across the drift. But when the main army neared the outskirts of the place they were nowhere to be seen. The fact was that the 7th Mounted Infantry and the Hampshires had done a smart piece of work, “off their own bat” as it were, and forced the congregating Federals to think better of any plan of resistance to the entry into Winburg which they had made. The little affair was concisely described by an officer who took part in it:—