Colonel Lumsden, with the remainder of the corps, embarked in the ‘Atlantian’ on December 5, at Cape Town, after a farewell speech from the Mayor of Cape Town, Mr. T.J. O’Reilly.
The following appeared in the ‘Cape Times’ of December 6:
About 2 o’clock yesterday afternoon His Worship the Mayor (Mr. T.J. O’Reilly), accompanied by the Town Clerk (Mr. C.J. Byworth) and the Mace Bearer, attended at the South Arm to say farewell to the Indian Volunteer contingent known as Lumsden’s Horse, under the command of Colonel Lumsden. The men were drawn up on the South Arm, alongside of which lay the huge transport ‘Atlantian,’ which was to convey them to India.
Colonel Lumsden, having called the men to attention, stated that it was very gratifying to him to know that His Worship the Mayor had so kindly come down to the Docks to say a few words to them before they sailed.
RECEIVING THE MAYOR OF CAPE TOWN’S FAREWELL ADDRESS ON THE SOUTH ARM
CHEERING IN RESPONSE
His Worship said: Colonel Lumsden, Officers, and Men of Lumsden’s Horse,—I am very pleased indeed to have the honour of saying a few words to you to-day before you leave South Africa. We are all very grateful to you for the noble services you have rendered in the field for us for upwards of twelve months. You are now going home covered with honour and glory, and I earnestly trust you will find all those you left behind you well and anxious to give you a hearty welcome, which I feel sure awaits you on your return. On the outbreak of hostilities in this country Colonel Lumsden at once offered his services, and also to organise a corps to proceed to South Africa to fight for Queen and country. Out of 1,000 men who eagerly offered themselves in response to the call for volunteers, 250 were accepted. This gratifying response is an eloquent testimony to the patriotic spirit by which the British race all over the world are animated. To the public of India and to Colonel Lumsden belong the credit for the equipment of your corps with everything needful excepting rifle and bandolier, and I can only characterise the action of your Colonel as patriotic in the highest degree, and deserving the hearty thanks of all, apart from the splendid services rendered in the field. I feel assured that if Lord Roberts were now to ask Colonel Lumsden to again return to the field, his request would be most willingly and promptly complied with by one and all of the contingent here to-day, who would be only too eager to follow their trusted and tried leader to further honour and glory. Some of your members have fallen in the field fighting bravely for the dear old flag and the honour and prestige of the Empire. Others, more fortunate, have secured civil and other appointments in the country in which they have acquitted themselves with so much credit to the corps and the country from which they hail. Out of the 250 men comprised in the corps as originally organised, twenty-five have received commissions, a most gratifying percentage, while fifteen men have received civil appointments and thirty have joined the constabulary force commanded by General Baden-Powell, so that on the whole your corps have done exceedingly well as regards employment in South Africa. It is also very pleasing to learn that the contingent holds a splendid record from Field-Marshal Lord Roberts downwards. I wish to impress upon you the fact that, after your Queen and the Empire, you were fighting for the vital principles of right and justice claimed by Mr. Chamberlain and Sir Alfred Milner, and if Mr. Kruger and Mr. Steyn had been willing to recognise the equity of such claim there would have been no necessity to have recourse to the sword. It is recognised that the only man who is capable of establishing permanent peace and settlement in South Africa is His Excellency Sir Alfred Milner, and by urging this fact, in season and out of season, whenever the opportunity occurs upon your return to India you will be rendering a further service to the country which you have already placed under a lasting debt of gratitude for services already performed. We are going to send you a little souvenir of your sojourn in South Africa, and as a slight token of our gratitude and appreciation for the great work you have done for us; and as the years roll on and your children and grandchildren gather around you, probably you may be asked by a son or a grandson as to the history of the souvenir from South Africa. In telling the story remember the refrain of the soldier’s song:
Roll drums merrily, march away,