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Old brother look how a man can forget... 7 years 6 days ago #52574

  • Rory
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Stephanus Johannes Hartman

Rijdende Dienst Macht – Mounted Police Force
Sergeant, Orange Free State Artillery Corps (O.V.S.A.C.) – Anglo Boer War


- Anglo Boer War Medal to Sersant S.J Hartman

Stephanus Hartman was born in Bethlehem in the Orange Free State on 8 March 1870 the son of Andries Hendrik Hartman and his wife Mary Lucy, born Whittle. The Whittle family hailed from the Transkei area of the Eastern Cape and were English speaking in the main.

Little is known of Hartman’s early life save for the fact that he was brought up in a pastoral setting in the farming community of the Eastern Free State where his family worked the land on the farm Schoonzicht. At some point Hartman moved west to the capital city of Bloemfontein where, at the age of 17, he joined the ranks of the Orange Free State Artillery on 14 September 1887 for the princely sum of 1/- per day.

From 10 February until 5 March 1888 he was on unpaid leave for an undisclosed reason but, having returned to the unit, was promoted on 13 June 1889 to the rank of Onderoffisier/Korporaal (Corporal) skipping the intermediate rank of Bombardier in the process. This brought with it a doubling in pay to 2/- per day. After serving for an initial period of three years he took his discharge on 1 September 1890.



Hartman is in the middle front sporting his Sergeant's stripes in this photo

NCO’s in the Staat’s Artillerie, having attended Artillery School, were normally well educated and were highly sought after by other Government departments in both the Orange Free State and the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek (Z.A.R. or Transvaal). The O.V.S.A.C. battled to retain their men as a result which led to the addition of the rank of Sergeant Major at a later stage. Hartman now turned his attention to the Rijdende Dienst Macht or Mounted Police for employment and it was as a member of this service that he wed his sweetheart, Johanna Margaretha Georgina Theunnisen in Bloemfontein on 23 April 1894. He was then 24 years old and she a young 19.

The Rijdende Dienst Macht or R.M.D. were the brainchild of a man who was to play an important role in Hartman’s life – the German Fritz Albrecht. Styled on the “Gendarmerie” they were a police force trained along the lines of an army and were required to protect the population from the “ever increasing and ever more brutal criminals and vagrants both in the Diamond Fields as well as the surrounding areas”.

They came into being in the middle of 1889 and were comprised of white men only and were, initially, only 20 strong. With their headquarters in Bloemfontein they were under the command of Major Albrecht of the Artillery. Candidates had to be between 22 and 35 years of age and medically fit. They had to declare and oath of allegiance and agree to serve for at least 1 year. A tunic and riding breeches were issued to them every six months, while shoes and boots were issued annually. The men supplied their own horses but were issued with carbines, helmets, bandoliers etc. from 1891 they were deployed in the districts and were required to not only patrol the area but also to visit every farmer who had to sign the register confirming the visit.

The R.M.D. doubled in size in 1891 and was at 87 in 1893 before the numbers reduced to 81. In January 1899 they were at a strength of 97. As a consequence of the Jameson Raid in 1896 the O.V.S.A.C. were expanded and the R.M.D. was placed under the command of the Commissioner of Police.

His future prospects looking bright Hartman and his wife set about making a family. The first to come along was Machiel Wilhelm who was born on 9 February 1895 and christened at Thaba N’chu in the eastern Free State. The Chairman of the “Volksraad” – O.F.S. Parliament – Mr J.G. Fraser, was one of the witnesses at the baptism.

Andries Hendrik came next on 22 May 1896, also in Thaba N’chu where Hartman must have been stationed. Prolific in the baby department Adriaan Stefanus made his appearance on 13 September 1897 in Bethlehem the town to which the family had returned. On 29 December 1898 Hartman was required to undertake a new Oath of Allegiance of which a copy is in my possession. The intention was, therefore, obvious that he had every intention of pursuing a police career but others elsewhere had other ideas and these were to have a direct impact on his life and the lives of many others.

The Orange Free State, Transvaal and the British Empire stood on the very brink of war – an ultimatum from President Kruger to the British Government in early October 1899 was predictably ignored and the world woke up on the morning of 11 October 1899 to find part of itself at war. A trained Artilleryman Hartman was immediately called up for service and, already a Sergeant in rank, found himself in that role in charge of a Battery. In fact according to republican law all trained artillerymen were to report back to the artillery corps in the time of war.

In order to gain more insight into the O.V.S.A.C. at the outbreak of the war it is worthwhile to refer to an article penned by Carl Von Heister in December 1900. He was Major Albrecht’s Adjutant and the article was written after that worthy had been taken prisoner. It read, in part, as follows,

“Anyone who has read the English reports of the battles will come to the conclusion that the Orange Free State had at its disposal a numerous and thoroughly trained artillery. Nothing could be more erroneous. In the beginning of the campaign it was only by calling in reserves and the purchase of horses that 3 batteries of 4 guns each could be raised. These formed the whole artillery.

At the beginning of the war there were 14 Krupp guns at Albrecht’s disposal. The artillery consisted of 3 batteries distributed in the following manner. A battery under Albrecht in the western theatre of the war – Kimberley; a battery under Lieutenant Schmidt in Bethulie; a battery in the eastern theatre of the war – Natal. The commanders of these other two batteries, both born Free Staters, had already drilled a battery in peacetime, they, however, had not an opportunity of exercising their powers as battery commanders, as the small number of guns necessitated a splitting up of the units, and at the most 2 guns could be spared for a single command, while with these two batteries the other officers’ posts were filled by Sergeants (Hartman was one of these).
In Albrecht’s battery the one section leader was a very useful sergeant, a Free Stater (Hartman)”



The entire O.V.S.A.C. is pictured here - they took on the might of the Royal Artillery formations

As has been mentioned Albrecht, with Hartman as a section leader, manned the battery on the western front of the war. One of the very first major actions in which he was engaged was the Battle of Modder River, which took place on 28 November 1899 in the North West of Cape Colony on the border with the Orange Free State. It pitted Lieutenant General Lord Methuen against General Cronje and General De la Rey of the Transvaal and General Prinsloo of the Orange Free State with 8,000 men on each side (Boer numbers are uncertain: some estimates put them as low as 3,000).

Following the Battle of Graspan the Boers withdrew to the Modder River, where they prepared to resist again the advance of Methuen’s force. Due to the partnership of the two Boer Republics, the Orange Free State and the Transvaal, command was divided. Prinsloo led the Free State burghers while Cronje and De la Rey commanded the Transvaalers. De la Rey, a deeply religious but able commander, resolved not to repeat the mistakes that had cost the Boers a run of battles. His men would entrench in the plain, not on the hilltops where they were vulnerable to British artillery fire. De la Rey ordered his commandos to dig trenches along the bank of the Modder River, at the Riet River junction, astride the wrecked railway bridge south of Modder River station.

On 28th November 1899 Methuen’s army marched at dawn. The British command discounted any Boer resistance south of Spytfontein a station twelve miles north of the Modder River crossing. It is reported that the British high command neglected to carry out any adequate reconnaissance to see where the Boers were and where the British might expect to meet resistance. Nevertheless Lord Methuen himself on 27th November rode up to inspect the Modder River Railway Bridge which the Boers had destroyed. He saw nothing of the Boers.

Methuen’s advance is a striking example of an army moving ‘blind’. A reconnaissance up to the Modder River would have revealed the extensive Boer positions to the British and enabled Methuen to attack with a proper plan, perhaps with a river crossing above or below the Boer positions, instead of blundering into them as he did.

The Boers destroyed the railway bridge and built trenches along the north bank from the area of the Rosmead hotels and bungalows to the railway line and then further east onto Twee Rivier. Some 8,000 Boers occupied four miles of entrenched positions on both sides of the river. On the south bank the Boers built a line of trenches in the wooded strip along the river bank. Half of the Boers were Free Staters on the right under Prinsloo, the other half Transvaalers under Cronje and De la Rey. The Boer artillery, commanded by the German Major Albrecht, comprised seven field guns and a heavy gun positioned some two miles in the rear. The Boer field guns were scattered individually along the centre and eastern sections of the line. A gun and some Boers watched the ford well to the east.

De la Rey’s directions were that the British were to be permitted to approach the Boer trench line within 400 yards before fire was opened on them, the idea being to spring an ambush.

1st Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders joined Methuen’s division at Klokfontein, the first battalion of the Highland Brigade marching up to join Methuen’s division. Also on its way to join the army was 62nd Field Battery RFA, currently at Belmont Station. Methuen’s force now numbered 8,000 infantry, 400 cavalry and 16 guns, which would rise to 22 guns once the 62nd Battery came up.

The force marched out of Klokfontein at dawn on 28th November for the Modder River crossing, not expecting any serious Boer resistance until Spytfontein. The soldiers were seriously short of water and looked forward to reaching the river. The British infantry deployed as they approached the river.

The Royal Naval guns were on the left, the two RFA batteries on the right. The 9th Lancers and the Mounted Infantry supported the right flank. The first British troops to approach the Boer positions were the cavalry and mounted infantry on the right. They saw a body of Boers moving away and a Boer field gun opened fire on them.

The British 18th and 75th Batteries unlimbered and opened fire on the Boer positions east of the bridge. As at Belmont and Graspan the single concealed Boer guns were difficult to target. The German artillery commander Major Albrecht had caused concealed gun pits to be built along the Boer line and his guns moved between these pits when they came under fire.

The British infantry line advanced on the Boer positions, unaware of their presence. Instead of following Cronje’s instructions to let the British advance to within 400 yards the Free Staters opened fire at around 800 yards. The fire extended along the Boer line so that there was four miles of rifle fire blazing at the advancing British troops. The British infantry went to ground and began to return the fire. Although the trap had been sprung too early the British infantry were in a difficult situation, unable to withdraw or to advance, mostly in the open without cover in the blazing heat of the South African sun. The Boer pom-pom (automatic Maxim 1 pounder gun) achieved a direct hit on the Scots Guards Maxim machine gun, destroying the gun and killing or wounding the gun crew.

Methuen telegraphed to the 62nd Battery coming up from Belmont to press on with all dispatch. 2 companies of Royal Munster Fusiliers were ordered up from Belmont by train. The British batteries on the field worked forward and began a prolonged bombardment of the Boer positions, while the riflemen on both sides exchanged fire. The temperature rose to 110 degrees and the British troops lay in the open, few with any water. The movement and shell explosions disturbed innumerable ants nests, the ants adding to the discomfort of the soldiers lying among them.

At around noon the 62nd Battery arrived after a twenty-five mile march in which several horses died of exhaustion. The battery came into action on the left flank at a range of 1,500 yards. At Methuen’s request the battery moved up to 900 yards and resumed firing, incurring casualties. Once the Boer guns were silenced the battery withdrew out of rifle range only to be redirected to the British right flank where they were required to repeat the operation, firing six rounds a minute until the Boer guns there were silenced.

As the afternoon wore on the battalions on the left, the KOYLI and the North Lancashires, began to work their way to the left and up to the river. They stormed a farmhouse held by the Boers and moved forward to the river bank. A number of KOYLIs crossed the river above the dam by the Rosmead Drift only to be driven back to the south bank. A company of Argylls stormed across the river only to be driven back leaving several men dead in the Boer trenches on the far bank.

These attacks were supported by the fire of the 62nd Field Battery.

The next crossing was the one that finally achieved the necessary breakthrough. Colonel Barter led an infiltrating attack of KOYLIs at the dam itself, which involved scrambling in the water from iron strut to iron strut along the dam to the far side. Eventually some 400 men were on the north bank and began to force their way along the bank to the east.

The batteries supporting the river crossing mistook the KOYLIs on the north bank for Boers and fired on them causing them to fall back, but the breakthrough had been achieved. The Free Staters holding this part of the Boer line were badly shaken by the artillery bombardment, the British rifle fire and finally the hand to hand fighting at the hands of the charging KOYLIs and Argylls. At around 2pm a large party of Free Staters left the trenches on the Boer right and rode off to the east. And then at around 4pm there was a general retreat from the Boer trenches around Rosmead which extended along the Boer positions.

By this time the British infantry on the right were virtually out of ammunition with no re-supply possible in the conditions of the battle.

Due to their exhausted state after a full day in the scorching sun under rifle and field gun fire the dazed British soldiers did not realize that the Boers were leaving the field and anyway were in no condition to follow them up. Many fell asleep and spent the night in their battle positions. The night was cold and greatcoats had been left in camp.

Initially the Boers abandoned their field guns and wounded on the battlefield but they returned during the night and retrieved both.
On the morning of 29th November the Naval field guns fired a number of rounds to signal a new crossing of the Modder River. There was no response from the Boer lines. The British troops crossed unopposed. The Boers were gone.

British casualties were 4 officers and 93 men killed and 20 officers and 362 wounded.

De la Rey and Cronje withdrew to the Magersfontein position 6 miles to the North of the Modder River to await the next attack by Methuen’s force, pressing on up the railway to relieve Kimberley.

Hartman, as part of the Boer battery, got away with the rest of his men. In his “Vorm B” – the application completed by Boer combatants for the Anglo Boer War Medal - Hartman makes mention that he served under General Theunissen until he was wounded and captured with 100 men, “but (he wrote), I charged out with my guns and served again under General de la Rey, General De Wet, General Prinsloo, Kommandant Naude and Veldkornet Gideon Blignaut. General Hertzog was our artillery head but I couldn’t find him; he was on the run with President Steyn.”

(The General Theunissen referred to above was in fact Commandant Theunissen who tried belatedly, to help Cronje get out at Paardeberg. He was however surrounded at Oskoppies and surrendered with 87 men on 27 February 1900)

Having made good his escape Hartman and his battery continued with the Free State forces. The next action in which he featured prominently was in and around Lindley in the Orange Free State. Fortunately both the German volunteer with the OVSAC, Oscar Hintager and Captain WH Muller, last CO of the OVSAC, mention Hartman in their memoirs and it is them we have to thank for an account of the action:

Hintager wrote on 22 June 1900 that he visited a gun position south of Lindley. Here he found a captured British 12-pounder (one of the 12-pr 7cwt guns captured from Q and U Batteries RHA at Sannaspost on 31 March 1900). The gun crew said they were commanded by Corporal Hartman (his artillery rank), who also later arrived on the scene. Hintager mentions that they were still testing the fuse settings of the British shrapnel shell ammunition, so it seems they only received the gun shortly before this date.

Hintager again mentions Hartman on 2 July 1900 and that his gun had to be put in position on the eastern side of a valley where they awaited the British march on Bethlehem. He also mentions that Lt. Strydom of the OVSAC told Hartman that Judge JBM Hertzog (then the acting CO of the OVSAC) had ordered him to take command of Hartman's gun, but Hartman declined!

The next day Muller wrote that Hartman also had an older 9-pounder Armstrong rifled muzzle loader gun under his command during the same period: "Ons het slaags geraak met die vyand op Elandsfontein ten ooste van Lindley op die 3de Julie. Daar was die vyand op 'n kop (Grys of Greus-kop) met 'n kanon. Na die suide was ook 'n kop (Ek meen Bakenskop) en hier was Generaal Michael Prinsloo. My kanon was op 'n middel bult tussen die twee koppe. 'n Myl of meer verder oos was Korporaal Hartman met 'n voorlaaier Armstrong op 'n rand oos van die Bakenskop."

Translated, the above states that, “We were in action against the enemy at Elandsfontein east of Lindley on the 3rd of July. The enemy were atop a hill (Grys of Greuskop) with a cannon. To the south there was also a hill (I mean Bakenskop) and here was General Michiel Prinsloo. My cannon was on a mound between these two hills. A mile or further east was Corporal Hartman with a front-loading Armstrong on a hill east of Bakenskop.”

It would thus appear that Hartman commanded one of the OVSAC's old 9-pr 8cwt Armstrong RML guns early in the war and was later also given a captured 12-pr 6cwt RHA BL gun.

Although some sources state that the outdated 9-pr RML guns were not used during the Anglo-Boer War, they definitely saw action during the early stages. One or more were used to bombard Kimberley during the siege, one of these possibly under Hartman's command. The fact that Hartman mentions fighting with De Wet after the Battle of Modder River (from his Vorm B) and that he was not captured with Albrecht at Paardeberg (as was the case with most of the OVSAC serving on the Western Front) indicate that he would have been fighting under De Wet while he was trying to relieve Cronje at Paardeberg.

Another German volunteer, Wilhelm Mangold, wrote the following delightful piece in his diary of a "repeatedly repaired" muzzle loading Armstrong gun that was in action on 23 Feb 1900 near Paardeberg: "For this old gun we first had to build a proper schantz, since the gunners claimed the enemy would concentrate their entire fire on it. This was mainly due to the old gun being very conspicuous and on top of that it still used black powder. After the earthworks were completed the gun commander (probably Hartman) arrived with a rope and ordered twelve men to hold the gun down to prevent it from capsizing or running back. Because of its antique powder, "Ou Sanna" caused a large smoke cloud when she finally fired. The shell took some time to travel the distance, but it should be said to the praise of this old blunderbuss, it was a direct hit. After eight shots she broke down again." Later in the war one of the old 9-prs scored a direct hit on a loaded British 15-pr near Ficksburg in the Eastern Free State, killing most of its crew.

According to Hintager, at the Battle of Bethlehem (6/7 July 1900), Hartman was positioned on a steep red hill behind the town. On 7 July the British took another flat hill on Hartman's left flank and he was put under immense lyddite fire from a howitzer battery. One Lyddite bomb scored a direct hit on Hartman's position killing an artilleryman and 13 horses and wounding an artilleryman and an "agterryer" (whose leg was blown off completely). This is the last time Hartman was mentioned but the story is not yet fully told – Hartman, in a series of letters now in the possession of the Anglo Boer War Museum in Bloemfontein, wrote the following on the big fight of the 3rd of July where he played a major part in the capture of some British guns. Unfortunately these guns couldn’t be brought out and were later left behind. Hartman wrote first as to the “English version of events” quoting from some source, followed then by his own account which I have translated from the Dutch:

“July, 3rd 1900 Skietmakar between Lindley and Bethlehem

The English history of this event is as follows.-

Today we found they had a large gun, a Croeser, which outranged ours. The artillery duel lasted all day till 4 p.m. when a general attack was made by the Infantry and Yeomanry on the Koppie. While this was going on a force of Boers dressed in khaki and helmets, the same as those used at Lindley, managed to creep up on the 38th Battery who had run short of ammunition and shot the men down at the guns.

The Captain and Lieutenant were killed and Major Oldfield was mortally wounded. As may be imagined the situation was now verging on disaster. Major Oldfield had received a death blow, Captain Fitzgerald was helpless with a bullet in the thigh, Lieutenant Belcher was shot at his guns. The gunners and drivers of the guns had nearly all dropped dead or were dying – their horses in death agony strewing the ground. It was impossible therefore, to remove the guns. The dashing work co… killed and wounded, besides Captain Dill, 2nd Yorkshire, infantry, wounded and Lieutenant… and Adjutant AFC Wil…. (attached to Brabants Horse) dangerously wounded.

Hartman’s version:

There were no Boers near to the guns, my first shot at 3500 feet mowed down a team of horses and 3 drivers. The second shot at 3600 from where the shell burst, spread out nicely over the guns and the third shot at 3700 feet I fired at one gun and Lieutenant Belcher fell. He stood behind the gun, half of his head was taken away by the bomb. …… one shrapnel and one grenade bust in a short time the guns stood alone except for 8 of the Artillery who hid in a trench then 100 men from my gun went and took the guns away until they reached a rise and they couldn’t get the cannon to move further... then they came out with the men, with… fight only one of… men one light wound… received.”

It was shortly after this that Hartman was captured. Writing many years after the event from his home in Magterburg, Howick, Natal; Hartman provided some background to his capture. This appears to have been at the instigation of some friends and family members:

“30 May 1947

My Statement

When I was 16 years old I went to join the artillery in Bloemfontein where I learnt cannon drill. I was a Corporal and mostly travelled round with President F.W. Reitz as well as officers of his bodyguard and few days after three years’ service got my promotion to Sergeant in the Mounted Police. I was sent to Bethlehem and was then through the entire Free State up to the border at Kimberley as Sergeant of the Police.

With the advent of the Boer War I was sent out with cannon and was under the command of various Generals’. With General Prinsloo’s surrender I was with General Theunissen (Commandant) when he was wounded and with 100 men taken prisoner. I got away (rode out) with my cannon and was later between Lindley and Bethlehem where I delivered a huge blow with one of my cannon wherein 7 officers perished and many men and horses.

General Prinsloo then took 100 men and seized the cannon and 8 men who were hiding there. I then went to the farm Schietmaker to my children. My son-in-law is E.J. De Wet, P.O. Lindley, O.F.S. I was later captured and sent to India. One (child) was one month old in the grace of our Lord God in the fight at Schietmaker, this was in 1900.”

In another letter he wrote an Uys in Paarl dated 30 May 1947.

“Dear old brother everything is well with us and I trust with you and your family as well. I am sending a short piece of my life story the rest I have omitted. I had a trooper under me a Jan Esterhuizen, the enemy shot him with a 15 pound shell that he shot 15 feet up in the air and then got up from the ground laughing and shaking the dust off his trousers. It was a miracle he hadn’t a scratch on him. I never lost a man or a horse or a cannon during the war. Look my path wasn’t spread with roses but with thorns.

The farm that the Voortrekkers called Schietmaker is where I dealt a severe blow with my one cannon and is now the farm which belongs to my children.
On 3 June 1947 – another letter to Paarl from Magterburg, Howick, Natal.

Old brother look how a man can forget who is 77 years old. I left out the best in my statement – the highest title (accolade) I received was being called “Hartman’s Cannon” among the Generals.

Then the all-time best was that a “hensopper” (hands upper or traitor) captured me but I escaped and a commando of Zulus was sent after me and before I could escape they caught me. First they wanted to shoot me dead but our Heavenly Father prevented them from doing so and I was given 6 months hard labour in Pietermaritzburg and then with the last ship was sent to the furtherest camp in India – Kakool camp. The six months I spent in the Pietermaritzburg jail was heaven on earth for me who had adopted the spirit and I preached the gospel to hundreds and hundreds of prisoners day and night every month on the ships right into India.”

In his “Vorm B” application for his medal, applied for from Vryheid, Natal in August 1941, Hartman provided much detail including the following statement:

• “Gen Hertzog knows that I managed guns under him
• I left here on the last ship as prisoner to Kakool Camp in India and later to Abadneger (Camp) and signed after 31 May 1902 and came back. We were 200 men and 500 remained , refusing to sign before Genl de la Rey got there. Old uncle Sarel le Roux from or not residing on (??) Potchefstroom, Harry van der Spuy residing on Spruite, PO Rooikraal, Potchefstroom left the 500 behind. He knows my history. I served under various General(s) during the war.

Once in India it became obvious that the claim he had made in respect of finding religion was indeed correct in every sense. On 4 February 1903 he penned a long and rambling letter from Ahmednagar Fort to his “Tanta Poppie” (Aunt Poppie) – difficult to read and even more so to translate the gist of the letter is that he was consoling her on the loss of a family member. The letter is peppered by biblical text references and it was clear to all that Hartman knew his bible well.

Allusion earlier in this work was made to the children born to the Hartman couple prior to the commencement of war. Much has been written about the Concentration camps set up to house Boer women and children and, even more has been written about the scorched earth policy pursued by the British in an effort to force the surrender of the Boer Commandos by depriving them of a food supply chain necessary for their survival. No-one knows for sure what drove Hartman to religion but could it have been because he was on the receiving end of devastating news in relation to his young family?

The official records contain the following deaths in British Concentration Camps in the Brandfort area of the Orange Free State:

• Master Andries Hendrik Hartman, male, white, 6 years old, Hartman family Bethlehem.
• Master Adriaan Stephanus Hartman, male, white, 5 years old, Hartman family Bethlehem
• Master Machiel Wilhelm Hartman, male, white, 8 years old, Hartman family, Bethlehem.

The only surviving member of his family to walk out of the camps was his wife and daughter Maria (born in the camp on 13 March 1901) – enough to drive any man to distraction.

After the war was over Hartman and his wife set about picking up the pieces of their lives. Moving to the Lindley they started a new family. Cornelia Dorothea Johanna Hartman was born on 22 June 1904 followed by Sara Adriana Van Niekerk Hartman at Ladybrand on 26 May 1906 and Ruth Hartman on 31 December 1908. Other children followed including, in 1913, Samuel Hartman whose WWII medals I have.

In conclusion I am proud to be the custodian of the medal of a man who gave more than just blood sweat and tears for his country – he gave his children as well.


My grateful thanks go to MC Heunis, Henk Loots and Elmarie Malherbe for their assistance.









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Old brother look how a man can forget... 7 years 6 days ago #52580

  • Baden Powell
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Great Story and Presentation Rory:
I my 64 years of collecting I never considered the collection of the medals of the "other side". Your in depth work and great writing here gives me pause to realize there is a real field to explore there.
Thank you for "expanding my horizons".
BP

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Old brother look how a man can forget... 7 years 6 days ago #52596

  • Rory
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Thanks BP

I too have never concerned myself with collecting medals to the Boer side of the affair. Perhaps it's time for a step change?

There are quite a number of ABW for sale weekly on a local auction site. There might well be a sleeper among them - hard to to tell really as the medals only ever give the rank, initials and surname and never the Commando or unit.

Regards

Rory

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Old brother look how a man can forget... 7 years 5 days ago #52599

  • Brett Hendey
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Rory
Very good medal and a great story to go with it. Thank you for sharing with us. ABO's were long under-rated, but are now getting the attention they deserve.
Regards
Brett

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Old brother look how a man can forget... 7 years 4 days ago #52618

  • Rory
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Thank you Brett

My passions were so inflamed that I bought another yesterday to a POW taken at Paardeberg!

Regards

Rory

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Old brother look how a man can forget... 7 years 4 days ago #52619

  • Brett Hendey
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Good for you, Rory! Fortunately not much happens in the Eastern Cape so you will have plenty of time to expand your interests to include ABO's.
Regards
Brett

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