No. 3 Company 3rd Battalion.
No. 4 Company 4th Battalion.
The Battalion was concentrated at Middelburg in the Transvaal, and was placed under the command of Major C. L. E. Robertson-Eustace[[80]] until January, 1902, when he was succeeded by Major W. S. Kays.[[81]]
The Battalion thus organised was composed of officers and riflemen who had been in the field from the beginning of the war, and were therefore tried and experienced soldiers. It joined Benson’s[[82]] column at Middelburg, a column of which it was said that no Dutchman dared sleep within thirty miles of its bivouac. The ceaseless activity and success of Benson eventually decided Louis Botha, the Boer Commander-in-Chief, to make a determined attempt to destroy his force. To achieve this purpose he collected nearly 2000 men, and by a skilful combination of his troops attacked the column while on the march near Bakenlaagte upon the 30th of October. By a rapid charge he overwhelmed the rear guard, captured two guns, killed Benson, and surrounded the column, but was eventually beaten off. The 25th M.I. fought with a stubborn courage, and by their sturdy gallantry kept the Boers at bay and gloriously upheld the traditions of the Regiment, losing in the action eleven men killed, five officers and forty-five men wounded.
Thus—stoutly fought out on both sides by mounted troops of this especial type—ended a fight which has been described as unique in the annals of war.[[83]] The spirit of the Riflemen will best be understood from the lips of one of the wounded in this gallant fight, who remarked that “they were content if they had done their duty, and felt rewarded if their Regiment thought well of them.”
The Mounted Infantry Battalion of the Regiment ended its short but brilliant career by taking part in all the great “drives” in the E. Transvaal and N.E. of the Orange Free State, and was finally at Greylingstad when peace was declared on the 1st June, 1902.
Rifle Depot.
RIFLE DEPOT.
The Depot, under the command of Colonel Horatio Mends, was at Gosport throughout the war. A narrative of the work of the Regiment at this strenuous period would not be complete without grateful reference to the splendid service of administration, training, and equipment, so devotedly performed by the Colonel Commandant, his Staff, and the Company officers generally of the Rifle Depot.
The Adjutant was five times changed, but the Quarter-Master, Major Riley,[[84]] remained constant to his difficult duties throughout the whole of this trying ordeal.