TOPIC:

I have been looking into this unit as I don't know anything about it.

I came across the entry In Memorial for Tpr S De Klerk, Kidger's Scouts, who died of disease in Dordrecht on 30 May 1902.

There are 2 S De Klerks on the medal rolls; one in the Farmer's Guard and Orange River Colony Volunteers (possibly the same man?).

Looking at the attestation papers for James Francis WHITEHEAD
Age: 18, Trade: Farmer
Previous service: Winterberg Mtd Rifles
Address: Tarkastad
Father: Geo. Whitehead, Tarkastad
Enlisted: Kidger's Scouts B Sec CDF at Tarkastad 17 Dec 1901
Reg. no. 25

This suggest Kidger's Scouts was part of the Colonial Defence Force?

Hi David

I found this on Kidger's Scouts:

F-C. Paul Coetzer, a Tarkastad rebel emerged at the head of this new formation.
In November he began to employ basic guerrilla tactics in the Tarkastad district,'marauding' and arresting Boer farmers who gave information to the British. On the night of the 8th December a joint patrol of the Queenstown Volunteer Rifles and Kidger's Scouts surprised Coetzer's force at Hoogstede, a farmhouse near Klaarfontein. The commando escaped, but left behind 24 horses, 14 saddles, 7 rifles, 600 rounds of ammunition, a gig, clothing and camp equipment. A Boer farmer they had arrested for giving information was also left behind.
(Tarka Herald, 14 December 1901.)


It seems as if there was an association with Tarkastad, and Kidger.
But who was Kidger ?

There was a Capt Cecil Edward Kidger in the Cape Garrison Artillery ,and a magistrate prior to the Boer War. But according to his entry in the 1911 Who's Who, there is no mention of Kidger's Scouts for him.
I will keep looking.
Regards

Adrian

Hi David
This must be him:

The Anglo-African Who's Who and Biographical Sketchbook, 1907

Capt William Kidger, of Johannesburg, son of William Kidger of Tarkastad, he is a member of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Served in the South African War with Brabant’s Horse latterly being intelligence officer for Tarka, Cape Colony, where his knowledge of the surrounding districts was of great local value.


Regards
Adrian

Adrian,

Thank you for that information. One of the few mentions I found was the dissertation that mentioned the engagement. Something to go back and read as time allows!

William Kidger looks like the man.

I will link the casualty's record to Brabant's Horse.

Many thanks
David