The names of the men originally contributed to the C.I.V. Infantry Battalion were as follows:
Lieutenant E. Treffry
Colour-Sergeant B. Palmer
Civil Surgeon E. L. M. Rusby
Bugler S. V. Hunt
Private G. J. H. Brown
Private C. J. Brymer
Private J. C. Dale
Private R. S. Hutchings
Private G. B. Jackson
Private S. H. Little
Private D. R. Morford
Private A. R. Page
Private J. W. Portch
Private E. A. J. Seccombe
Private F. W. Shorter
Private B. G. Shorter
Private R. G. Simpson
Private H. P. B. Taylor
Private L. E. Wilton
Private A. L. Wood
Draft
The following H.A.C. men were in the reinforcing Draft which embarked for South Africa on July 12,1900, on the 'Ulstermore’:
Private E. E. Brown
Private S. C. Jones
Private E. A. McKechnie
Private C. H. Paine
Private L. H. Busby
Private R. A. Woolner
Lieutenant Treffry was in charge of the left half of C Company, and the rest of the H.A.C. men formed part of No. 4 Section of that half company. The same preliminary caution applies here as it did with the Mounted Infantry. Fractions of the Battalion were frequently separated and doing different work; but, unless it is otherwise stated, account is only taken in this narrative of the doings of our own men.
They left England on January 20,1900, landed at Capetown on February 16, and four days afterwards were despatched by train (with the whole Battalion, under Colonel MacKinnon) to Orange River, for a spell of work on the lines of communication. C Company was sent thence to Wittiputs, seven miles south of Belmont, and the half company with which we are concerned was posted at Fincham Farm for five weeks. Our men thus took no part in the fighting at Prieska, where some of the Battalion were engaged; but their position was no sinecure, for the country round was only nominally conquered, and was full of open disaffection. Rebel farms had to be watched, patrols regularly sent out by both night and day, and constant watchfulness sustained. The work was hard, but on the whole seems to have been very enjoyable. It came to an end on March 30, with an order for the Battalion, whose various companies had been much scattered, to concentrate once more at Orange River and proceed by train to the front. There was a delay, however, of ten days at Naauwport, which were spent in practising battalion drill, field firing, and route marching; and of three more at Springfontein. Here marching began in earnest, eight continuous days of it; till they reached Bloemfontein on April 23, and obtained a glimpse of their mounted infantry comrades who had recently come in from their Paardeberg campaign.
Two days later, after a well-earned rest, the whole Battalion marched to Glen and were now literally at the 'front,’ and in presence of the enemy. On the first night eight H.A.C. men, under Corporal Taylor, formed the southernmost outpost.
This was the period when Lord Roberts was gathering himself for the advance to Pretoria. In that advance, it will be remembered that part of the Mounted Infantry of the C.I.V. accompanied the central or main body. The Infantry, including our own men, now joined the right wing and were incorporated in the 21st (General Brace Hamilton’s) Brigade. There were three days at Glen, and then the Brigade marched away to the east, taking up Broadwood’s cavalry on the way. On the 30th they were at Schanskraal, and on May 1, near Jacobsrust, came in contact with the enemy, and joined Ian Hamilton’s force, which had already had two days’ fighting.
Here our men were under fire for the first time—a long-range rifle-fire—and behaved steadily and well. They marched the long distance of eighteen miles that day, and at the end of it were on outpost duty for the night, during which they captured a spy. The nights had begun to be very cold, with heavy dews.
Their Brigade now became part of Ian Hamilton’s Division, and began to march north on May 3, pushing the Boers before them. On the fourth there was a fight at Welkom, in which our men had their first experience of a hot shell-fire, lying down in a mealie field while the artillery duel raged. They afterwards attacked the Boer position, but found it evacuated by the time they arrived. The day, which included sixteen miles’ marching, was a very trying one, but was borne admirably.
The 5th took them to Winburg, and the 6th to a camping-ground ten miles north of it, where they stayed two days. From here Lieutenant Treffry had to be sent back to Winburg, sick with dysentery. The rest of our men were present at the fight at Zand River, whither they marched on the 9th and 10th, and found the Boers in force. On the 10th they were afoot for thirteen hours, marching and fighting. On the 12th, after two more arduous days, they joined the main army again at Kroonstad. Here Lieutenant Treffry rejoined his company, having in his zeal utilised every possible means of conveyance, riding in a railway-trolley pushed by Kaffirs from Winburg to Smalldeel, and in a Cape cart thence to Kroonstad.
On May 15, Ian Hamilton’s Division again started off east to clear the right flank, and in three days arrived at Lindley without opposition, taking the same road that the Battery travelled by in its opening trek a month later. The last day’s march was a very heavy one, and was topped—for the H.A.C. section, among others—with outpost duty. It should be mentioned that very strong outposts were habitually used in this Boer-ridden region, involving a heavy tax on the infantry, and accordingly on our men, who, from all accounts, rarely got more than one night in three to themselves. This particular one was exceptionally lively, for prowling Boers managed to get inside the line of pickets, and gave a good deal of trouble.
The next stage was a three days’ march (May 20-22) to Heilbron, with no very serious opposition, but under a very severe strain from lack of food, owing to the slowness of the convoy. The second day, of eighteen miles’ hard tramping, was done on a cup of coffee at starting. The enemy, after a slight demonstration, deserted Heilbron, and the Division marched through it and on to Spitz Kop on the 23rd. On the 26th, the C.I.V. Battalion was part of the rear-guard, which was attacked by 800 Boers. C Company was deployed with another to support the Sussex Regiment, but the enemy lost heart when our guns opened, and drew off. On the same evening Vredefort Road (on the railway) was reached, and Lord Roberts’s main army rejoined for the second time.
The Division now crossed over and took its place on the left flank instead of the right, passed the Vaal by wading on the 26th, and rapidly marched due north towards Johannesburg for three uneventful days. On the 29th, just beyond Doom Kop, and at the close of a long day’s march, the Boers at last made a vigorous stand, and afforded the C.I.V. Battalion the best chance they had yet had of showing their mettle.
The instructions given to Colonel MacKinnon were, briefly, to advance in attack formation towards the north-west, engaging the enemy whomever they resisted. The country was open and undulating for the most part, but was dotted with several kopjes, two of which, on the right and left of the line of advance, were strongly held by the Boers with field guns, pom-poms, and riflemen. As soon as the Battalion was extended in the open it came under a heavy shell and rifle fire; but it accomplished its work with admirable steadiness, taking every advantage of cover, yet pushing on resolutely, and in the end storming both kopjes and driving the Boers from the whole position after four hours’ continuous fighting. The H.A.C. men were On the extreme left flank during the whole day, and consequently had the farthest distance to travel, in addition to the item of fighting. They must have covered at least twenty miles in the day, for General MacKinnon (in his ‘Diary of the C.I.V.’) gives eighteen miles as the general distance traversed by the Battalion, apart altogether from the fight. Their company reached the camping ground last of all, and again it was their turn to do outpost duty at night. It should be mentioned that in the course of the day they were fired on from the farm where Jameson and the * raiders’ surrendered. The casualties for the Battalion were one officer and eleven men wounded; none of them H.A.C. men.
On the next day there was a short march to Florida, where messages of congratulation from General Ian Hamilton and Lord Roberts were read to the Battalion on parade. Here is an extract from the official despatch on the action, written by General Smith-Dorrien, who commanded the infantry:
‘The features of the day were the attacks of the Gordon Highlanders and the C.I.V. That of the C.I.V. convinced me that this corps, at any rate, of our volunteers, is as skilled as the most skilful of our regulars at skirmishing.'
The advance on Pretoria was then begun, Johannesburg being only skirted, not entered. On June 5 the capital of the Transvaal was reached, and in the afternoon the Battalion marched past Lord Roberts. Since leaving Springfontein they had covered 523 miles in forty marching days, a most remarkable performance, which was highly praised by the Commander-in-Chief.
Rest was urgently needed, but unhappily it could not be given them. South to Irene on June 6, north-east to Garsfontein on the 8th, then west to Donker Hoek on the 11th, where the Boers were found in force. There was a long day’s skirmishing, in which the enemy slowly retired to their main position on Diamond Hill. Among other casualties, one of the H.A.C. men, Lance-Corporal Little, was severely wounded.
On the next day there was fought the important battle of Diamond Hill, leading to the final retreat of the main Boer forces eastward towards Komati Poort. The formidable position that had to be stormed—three miles of rocky and precipitous kopjes—the deadly fire that swept the approaches to it, and the gallant conduct of the British troops, including the C.I.V. who were acting on the centre—these are matters well known to the public. It is only necessary to say that our men were in the supporting line during the first half of the day, but joined the front firing-line later, when it was finally strengthened for the assault. They were lucky in having no casualties, those of the whole Battalion numbering nineteen, two killed and seventeen wounded.
The neighbourhood of Pretoria having been cleared of the enemy, Ian Hamilton’s Division was ordered back to Pretoria, and arrived on June 16 ; but again no real rest was given them, for, on the 19th, they began another long march (the same that our men in the Mounted Infantry engaged in) southward to the Vaal, by way of Rietfontein, Springs, and Heidelberg; the last place being evacuated by the Boers, after a little sniping and skirmishing, on June 23. Here General Ian Hamilton broke his collar-bone, and General Hunter took command of the Division. The march was resumed on the 27th, the Vaal crossed near Villiersdorp, and Frankfort reached on July 1.
A force, including our men, was now detached (July 4) to escort a convoy to Heilbron, under the command of Colonel MacKinnon himself. It was a delicate and dangerous undertaking, for the country swarmed with Boers who unceasingly harassed the escort and the long cumbrous convoy; but it was successfully accomplished in two days, twenty-one miles being covered on the second.
The almost unremitting exertions of the last two and a half months had reduced the G.I.Y. to rags, footsoreness, and general exhaustion. Barely half the strength was fit for duty, and several of our own men had been left behind sick. It was decided, none too soon, therefore, that they should remain to recuperate at Heilbron, acting as garrison; and during the three weeks’ rest that ensued they made rapid recovery. Our men were on outpost at Kaffir Kraal for the whole period. Meanwhile, Prinsloo was being surrounded on the Basuto Border, and de Wet had escaped from the great trap, as described in Chapter VIII., and, moving rapidly and audaciously among a host of enemies, had cut the line and captured a train near his favourite Honingspruit, and was now reported to be moving north towards Heilbron. The district round was becoming more and more infested with roving bands of Boers, and, on July 23, the order was given to evacuate Heilbron and remove the garrison to Krugersdorp. The transference by train (under very great difficulties) took three days.
On July 28, the Battalion was ordered to join General Smith-Dorrien at Bank, twenty miles to the south-west. This it did, and then marched on with the whole force, to Frederickstad (July 31) and bivouacked on some rising ground.
At 7.30 on the next morning (August 1) two Boers, under the white flag, were ushered in to Colonel MacKinnon (as he relates), and demanded the immediate surrender of his force. They were politely referred to headquarters, and shortly afterwards a fierce Boer attack was made on the camp, which had been partly surrounded during the darkness. Fortunately, the approach of the Boers was discovered in time—and discovered, it is pleasant to record, by H.A.C. men, who were on outpost duty that night, and reported suspicious signs to Lieutenant Treflry when he visited the sentries on his round. But for this the camp might have been completely surrounded, and serious disaster suffered; for the Battalion’s bivouac was at some little distance from the rest of the force. As it was, there was a very sharp little fight, in which two men were killed, and four wounded, before the Boers were beaten off.
A week was spent here on very short rations, and in the presence of the enemy. De Wet, meanwhile, was steadily trekking north with various pursuers at his heels, had crossed the Vaal and was moving on the Gatsrand Hills. The CJ.V.’s (under Smith-Dorrien as before) were now sent to assist in trying to cut him off, and marched away to Welverdiend by night with great secrecy, on August 8. Here part of them were detached on a separate mission, but the rest, including C Company, marched, on the 12th, to Rietvlei, and, on the 13th, twenty-five solid miles to Zwartkop, in order to draw near to Lord Methuen, who was fighting and chasing de Wet. There followed two more days of sixteen miles apiece, and then it was announced at Leeuwfontein (on the 15th) that de Wet had escaped once more, this time through Oliphant’s Nek into the Magaliesburg mountains.
However, other work was promptly found for oar men, who, on the next day, were despatched to Brakfontein to relieve Colonel Hore. This officer had been for ten days invested on a kopje with five hundred men (Rhodesians and Australians), and had kept at bay two thousand Boers with three guns by sheer bluff and indomitable pluck. His besiegers decamped when our force appeared, and the position where this magnificent defence was made could he examined.
Two marches, on the 17th and 18th, brought the force to Rustenburg in the Magalieshurg mountains, and thence to Hoedspruit and Wolhuter’s Kop (not to be confused with the Bethlehem hill of the same name). Sudden orders now came for Colonel MacKinnon to take half the whole force back to Pretoria, and, on August 28, our men re-entered the capital for the third and last time, having completed just 1,000 miles of marching since leaving Springfontein in April. They were reviewed by Lord Roberts, and then established at Arcadia Camp, their headquarters for the next six weeks, in the course of which parts of the Battalion were engaged on various errands and duties at different times. The H.A.G. men, with the rest of C Company, were, on September 6, sent out to Daspoort range, about three miles outside the town, to do outpost duty, and remained there until the whole of the C.I.V. started homewards on October 3.
Lieutenant Treffry was granted the honorary rank of Lieutenant in the Army, afterwards served as Captain in the Imperial Yeomanry, and was severely wounded at Bethel, May 1901.
Private Little afterwards obtained a Commission in the Second Battalion Connaught Rangers.
Colour-Sergeant Palmer was mentioned in despatches.
Private Hutchings died of enteric on board the ss. ‘Aurania’ during the voyage home.
For further individual information, see Chapter XII and Appendix.
