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Hi All,

Recently, a friend and I engaged in conversation about the Trial and execution of Morant and Handcock. We also discussed the 1979 film and the many books, articles and websites we've read over the years. One of the main points that kept coming in our conversation was regarding what, if any, evidence was there that prior executions of Boers took place and was it known to the public? I answered this question within a few minutes of online research.

I did some simple searching online of Newspapers from 1899-1902 and quickly found a number of executions published in articles as early as 1900. Executions of prisoners were reported by both sides. I also found an article from October, 1900 titled Boer Treachery, that states "...Lord Roberts has issued a proclamation warning the Boers that any of them caught wearing British uniforms will be summarily dealt with."

I found another interesting article from the Adelaide Chronicle, 28 April, 1900 Page 27. Titled: Three against Fifty - "Nelson" turns up again - Execution of a Prisoner (from Private Frank Cornish) Norval's Pont March 20.
The Boer was caught with British ID cards which he had shot with dum-dum bullets. He was forced to dig his
own grave prior to being shot by Lancers near Arundel.

I also located dozens of articles reporting the incidents attributed to Morant, Handcock, Witton, & Picton. One
quickly notices that the accuracy of the reports are poor at best. Obviously, sensational headlines were just as
popular then as now in selling copy. As Mark Twain said, "Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story, unless you can't think of anything better." In fairness, I will assume the reporters had great difficulty in confirming stories from the rugged outlying regions.

In conclusion, my friend and I were a bit confused as why the Morant Trial was considered so much more sensational than the dozen or so similar executions I was able to find in the newspapers? I didn't even read all of the search returns I found, there may be many more.

There's a rather cryptic comment in one of the articles stating that if the whole truth of the Morant trial were to be published, it would cause great harm to all of the fine soldiers serving in Africa. Perhaps there's material that never made it into the trial and hence not reported in the newspaper accounts?

For those wishing to continue the search, my source is: trove.nla.gov.au/ select: Digitised Newspapers.

Best Regards,

Robert

Hi All,

I neglected to mention in my post above that while making searches for articles relating to the execution of Boer Prisoners regarding the Morant Trial, I also found numerous other articles about "The Breaker." I've supplied a few samples below.

Saturday, 5 Jan, 1901 Page 3, Windsor & Richmond Gazette
Town Gossip
A returned soldier reports having seen Mr. Harry Morant (" The Breaker"), who went out with one of the South Australian contingents, and has now been invalided home. Many Hawkesburyites have a kindly recollection of "old hard face."

Saturday, 16 Mar, 1901 Page 8 The Advertiser (Adelaide)
Colonial Soldiers in London
Lieutenant Morant, of B.P.P., who went out with the Second Contingent as corporal, is now in England, and is visiting friends in Devonshire.

An interesting article appeared in the Illawarra Mercury (Wollongong) on Page 2, Thursday, 11 July, 1901 under the headline Bushveldt Carbineers. I was not able to copy/paste the article but here is the link: trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13234...=1901-07-11|||sortby

While locating material for this forum post, I happened across a number of other interesting articles about the Trial. One that caught my eye states, Papers before Parliament.

Respectfully Yours,
Robert