[10] Lieutenant-Colonel Spreckley was the son of the late Mr. George Spreckley of Derby, and was born in 1865. After spending four years on an ostrich farm, he joined the British Bechuanaland Police in 1885, and remained two years. He was quartermaster in the South Africa Company’s pioneer expedition to Mashonaland in 1890, and a Mining Commissioner in Rhodesia from 1891 to 1894. He served with the Salisbury Horse against the Matabele in 1893 and 1894, for which he was awarded a medal, and on the outbreak of the Matabele rebellion in 1896 he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the volunteer force which fought against the rebels. He greatly distinguished himself during that campaign, and Sir Frederick Carrington spoke highly of him in his despatches. He did good service in the conduct of a successful engagement at Umquasa, and commanded an important patrol to Shiloh and Inyati. His services were rewarded with a C.M.G. He was manager of the Willoughby Consolidated Company at Buluwayo. He, with Colonel Plumer, had fought during the various engagements on the Transvaal border, and was present at the relief of Mafeking.
[11] Colonel Helyar obtained his commission on February 2, 1864; he was promoted to lieutenant on December 1, 1868, obtained his company on October 31, 1871, was gazetted major on October 15, 1881, was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on April 15, 1891, and became a colonel on April 15, 1895. He retired on half-pay on October 26, 1895, but volunteered his service for South Africa, where he was given the command of a battalion of Imperial Yeomanry.
CHAPTER VI
GENERAL BULLER IN JULY AND AUGUST—CLEARING THE COUNTRY FROM VOLKSRUST TO BELFAST[12]
Before narrating the events which concluded the month of August, it is necessary to return to General Buller and follow his sweeping operations on the Natal frontier, which operations allowed him to penetrate further into the Transvaal and eventually to scour the country from the Natal railway line to that of the Delagoa Bay railway. By glancing at the map it is possible to draw a straight line from Volksrust and Amersfoort viâ Ermelo to Wonderfontein near Belfast, and having drawn it to understand the object of the movements which occupied the end of July and the beginning of August. Before that straight line (which represents Sir Redvers Buller’s march to join hands with Lord Roberts’s force) could be followed, it was imperative to secure the whole railway line from Volksrust to Johannesburg, and that being guarded behind him it was possible for the General to march straight across country, brushing back, as he went, the Boers who gradually were being heaped like a wave to north-east of him, and further on, astride the Delagoa Bay line.
First, then, to watch the securing of the Natal and Johannesburg line. General Clery occupied Greylingstad (midway between Standerton and Heidelberg) on the 2nd of July, and though there was some sniping and several men were wounded, very little serious opposition was offered. Meanwhile General Talbot Coke with the 10th Brigade was reconnoitring the ground towards Amersfoort, situated between Volksrust and Ermelo, where the enemy in some force made himself known, killing two and wounding six men. After having retaliated with his guns the General retired. On the 3rd General Hart, who, as we know, had joined General Hunter after General Ian Hamilton’s accident, received the surrender of many respectable Boers in Heidelberg, and the Soldiers’ Home was opened, the inhabitants assisting in the initial outlay to the tune of £40. On the 4th Generals Clery and Hart joined hands at Vlakfontein, thus securing the line. Progress was slow and sure. Trains were now able to run from Natal to Greylingstad, though beyond that place there were still damaged culverts and ruined rails. But these were immediately taken in hand and the line to Heidelberg restored, thereby rendering the railway communication between Natal, Johannesburg, and Pretoria complete.
BOERS TAKING THE OATH OF NEUTRALITY AT GREYLINGSTAD
Drawing by H. M. Paget, from a Sketch by Lieut. E. B. Knox, R.A.M.C.
Thus ended the first stage of the new campaign. But the Boers were by no means inactive, and Botha kept a hungry eye on the improving communications. A convoy on its way to Vlakfontein was vigorously shelled by the Dutchmen from a formidable position among the hills. Their nearest shell fell within twenty yards of the waggons. The bombardment continued for an uncomfortable period, until the Boer duet became a quartette by the prompt action of a section of the Chestnut Battery under Lieutenant Eden, whose two guns in the open finally outvoiced those of the Boers on the hills. One brave gunner was killed and one wounded, six horses were disabled, and an ammunition waggon overturned, but the valuable convoy was saved. To check the activity of the Boers, General Clery on the 12th moved east from Greylingstad to a point on the road between Standerton and Heidelberg, while Lord Dundonald and his invaluable South African Light Horse routed the Boers and captured a camp belonging to them in the region of Vlaklaagte Station. Thorneycroft’s Horse and Strathcona’s gallant corps were also playing a rival game of indefatigability with the Boers.