Hi Dave,
Thanks for the compliment. The above photo also probably qualifies for the post that you wrote yesterday about
'Clasps sent separately'
as both the Cape Colony and Orange Free State clasps appear to be floating midway on the QSA ribbon.
The following is from an interview that was previously printed in period papers with Saddler-Sergeant Satchwell. I would imagine that this printed information would be similar in nature to his published works. Felix, whilst searching I have come across information from a Facebook post that states that a copy of this book is in a historical museum in Camperdown. This may be a good lead for you to track down the information that you are seeking.
OUT ON ACTIVE SERVICE.
CAMPAIGNING EXPERIENCES IN
SOUTH AFRICA.
INTERESTING INCIDENTS TOLD BY SERGEANT SATCHWELL.
In view of the wide-spread interest manifested in the interview with Sergeant Satchwell, published in the Saturday Evening Special, we reprint it today, with the addition of a number of other interesting experiences of the Camperdown soldier while "out on active service.
"LAYING DOWN ARMS.
When Lord Roberts issued the proclamation that all burghers returning to their homes would be protected, the Australians had to undertake the disarming of them. They gave up their rifles and ammunition so freely that when we got to Phillipolis— a town about as large as Camperdown— it took us two days to blow up the ammunition, and there were hundreds of rifles waiting for us. The Free Staters were a different class to the Transvaalers, and seemed anxious to go back to their farms, evidently having had enough of the war. Each farmer has a sporting rifle in addition to the Mauser, and sometimes as many as five or six rifles would be taken at one place; but we never took the shot guns. Four out of every six farmers would invite us to afternoon tea. The girls— some of them very handsome— seemed to delight in telling us how many years they had spent in the boarding schools at Cape Town. They expressed sorrow at so many thousands of brave men being shot, and would say 'The war must soon be over, because there are only a few hundreds of the British left.' To permit the girls to pin the Free State colours to our tunics delighted them. In nearly every instance we had a cordial invitation to re-visit the farmers. There were cases, however, where we were received with the reverse of cordiality, and it was sometimes necessary to threaten to take them prisoners before they would give up their rifles.
OUTPOST DUTY.
"We all had to take a turn at outpost duty. It frequently happened that our outposts and those of the enemy would be separated by only a few hundred yards, and during the day time we had to lie low. Many of the men on our side would place their helmets on their rifles so that the other side could see them. A rifle, or perhaps several of them, would reply every time.
EXCITING PASTIME.
"At Colesberg our outposts were only 2½ miles from the big guns of the enemy. Every morning for a long time they used to shell the hill (we called it the Australian kopje), perhaps for a couple of hours. Our fellows took a delight in appearing on the hill and waving their tunics. Then a puff of smoke would be seen, which was a signal to get under cover. As soon as the shell burst the tunics would be waived again. This sort of thing, which we called pastime, would go on until we got tired of it.
TRAINING FOR MARKSMEN.
"Amongst the Boers were a large proportion of lads, some of them not more than 14 years old, and in short trousers. Young and old can use the rifle, as they are taught from infancy. In every farmhouse are to be seen a target and dart guns. The typical adult Boer is a man about 13 stone in weight, and it is little short of amazing how their ponies manage to get over the ground so quickly with their heavy burdens. Hardly any of the men shave.
"DISPATCH RIDING
is a dangerous duty. You are told to ride to a certain place, and away you go through the Boer lines, and as you fly along every Boer rifle is turned on you and a shower of lead falls about you.
PREFERRED AUSTRALIANS TO ENGLISHMEN.
"It seems somewhat flattering to Australians," observed Sergeant Satchwell, to say that the Boers preferred to be the prisoners of Australians than those of the Imperial troops. This was principally because they got better treatment. We used to give them blankets and allow them to share whatever we had.
EFFECTS OF THE LYDDITE.
"You, of course, have heard a good deal about the effects of the lyddite shell. When one bursts it turns everything near it green, and it makes a hole in the ground big enough for three or four men to get into.
DIAMOND MINES.
"We had the privilege to inspect the diamond mines at Coffefontein and Jagersfontein. They were worth seeing. They are surrounded by three separate barbed wire fences, 12 feet high. We were shown tray after tray of diamonds in their rough state, and other stones taken out of the mines. At one mine alone there were 4000 Kaffirs employed.
HOTTENTOTS AND KAFFIRS.
"The Hottentots are very small in stature, rarely being over 4 feet in height and in appearance yellowish and sickly. The Kaffir, on the other hand, is well set up, and generally 6 feet high. The better class live in bamboo houses, but the poorer ones are content with bag shelters and the protection afforded by holes in the ground. Our transport work was all done by Kaffirs— that is, driving the teams. A Kaffir will handle a team of mules better than any white man. The heavy wagons are drawn by immense teams of bullocks and mules. You will see from 80 to 100 bullocks in a team, and when crossing a drift or spruit three or four teams will be coupled together to get across.
A SOLDIER'S RATIONS.
"Whenever possible, we got bread; but it was not always obtainable, and we had to be satisfied with biscuits and 'bully beef.' The biscuits are not of the ordinary sort; they are 3 inches square and an inch thick. If one is soaked overnight, it would be sufficient for breakfast the next morning. It was impossible at times for the transport wagons to keep any where near us, and consequently our food was limited now and again.
SCARCITY OF WATER.
"In summer it is a common sight to see a few hundred men and horses drinking out of a dam at once. At other times it was necessary to run the water through a handkerchief.
CHASING OSTRICHES.
"Ostriches are to be seen in different parts, and are very plentiful. We used to get a red flag and erect it in the middle of a plain. The ostriches would walk up and inspect it, and then we would ride round in a circle and gradually close in. In ten minutes after, there was a mixture of feathers, birds, horses and men, and many of the ostriches lost most of their beautiful plumage.
WOOL GROWING.
"When I say that in some places we saw bales of wool— in one place fully 100 — at the farm-houses it might be inferred that the country is adapted to sheep raising, and that the industry is carried on a large scale. But that is not so. Some of the land would not carry more than a sheep to every five or six acres. As far as I could see a number of farmers had banded together and stored their wool at convenient spots to be taken away. Of course it was at long intervals that we came across large quantities at once.
BOERS MUSICALLY INCLINED.
"In nearly every farmhouse we visited we found either a piano or an organ. Where the owners had hurriedly left, they had allowed the furniture to remain, undisturbed." "To have any idea of what a soldier is expected to do," said Sergeant Satchwell, "it is necessary to go on active service. Belonging to a little detachment in a town is right enough, but actual experience reveals a great deal more than what can be imagined. It certainly proves that a soldier's life is not all beer and skittles, as the saying is.
"FIRST EXPERIENCE OF SHELL FIRE.
"It was at Colesberg that our fellows first learnt what it was to be under shell fire. We were with Major Eddy, who poor fellow, got shot. The Mounted Rifles were divided into two companies of twenty-five each, one lot with Lieutenant Roberts; the others in the trenches on the plains. We were exposed to the fire of two Vickers-Maxims, carrying 1-lb shells, and two big guns carrying 50-lb shells. I am not ashamed to say that at first I, as well as others, felt as if I wished I had remained at home, as the shells dropped right and left and exploded about us, not to mention the incessant whiz ! whiz ! whiz ! of the Mauser bullets," as they went past or struck. But one gets used to it, and after we had received our baptism we didn't have the least fear, or anything approaching it. As long as an ordinary shell from the enemy burst about 20 yards away there was comparatively little danger.
A NARROW ESCAPE.
"You will hear the soldiers laughing and chaffing under fire, and I have known our fellows to be wrangling over the names of racehorses and discussing Australian topics while the Boer guns were pegging away. It was really astonishing, the quantity of lead that must have been thrown away uselessly. Lieutenant Staughton who is one of the bravest of officers, had a marvelous escape. We knew there were some of the enemy not many hundred yards away, but everything was quiet— not an outward indication of danger. Lieutenant Staughton stood upright, and sat down again, not more than half-a-minute being occupied in doing so. In that brief interval he was struck by five Mauser bullets. Three went through his haversack, one tearing a hole in the loaf of bread which he had in it; one pierced a hole through his helmet, and the fifth exploded his Mauser pistol. Lieutenant Staughton had his hip injured and portions of his clothes burnt.
AUSTRALIAN BRAVERY.
"Our Mounteds distinguished themselves in the fight near Colesberg, and received great praise. Had it not been for the pluck of a small number, the Wilts would have certainly been killed. Our detachment, amongst whom was Arthur Jones, dashed in and rescued the Imperial soldiers while the bullets simply rained about them. The Boers shouted out to surrender, but they wouldn't. To show what a hand-to-hand brush it was, I have only to mention that some of the men had their uniform burnt. Corporal Mawley, of Gippsland, fought as bravely as any soldier who has distinguished himself in the battlefield. The Boers tried to seize him, but they could not, and he succeeded in downing five Boers with the butt of his rifle before he was shot. The English papers referred to the Australians in eulogistic terms for their conduct in that action.
AUSTRALIANS AS SCOUTS.
"The Australians have gained a reputation for being splendid scouts. I may say, without giving our men undue praise, that they acquitted themselves splendidly. Over the veldt, across rivers— wherever they were wanted, there they were ready to go. Arthur Jones is regarded as one of the best, and I would not be surprised if he is retained as a scout.
SLEEPING BESIDE COFFINS.
"There are, as you know," observed Sergeant Satchwell, "no cemeteries in South Africa, at least not away from the large towns. Each family has a vault, in which the dead are placed. The vaults are generally a few hundred yards away from the house, with a stone wall round them. Lying on the shelves are the remains of people who have been dead for generations. To pass a night in such a spot is not what a timid person would care about. I have known soldiers— Australians, too— to be glad of the shelter when the pitiless rain descends in sheets. Entering at the narrow doorway and descending circuitous steps, the intruder looks about for a spot to rest his tired limbs. Visions of the departed spirits of Dutchmen flit through one's mind as you shift the wooden cases and pile them on one another to make room. After a stiff day's march you are prepared to fall asleep anywhere, and as you wrap your coat about you and stretch your weary limbs beside the coffins you are not there long before sleep comes on. Like everything else, you get used to sleeping in a vault, and after the first time or two you have no qualms about it.
CAMP LIFE DIFFICULTIES.
Camping out in the wet weather in South Africa is exceedingly trying. The rain, as I have said before, comes down in torrents, and you are either compelled to lie down in the pools, of water or remain standing. In the summer time the heat is excessive, and the rifle becomes so hot that it cannot be held. At night it is extremely cold, and in the morning a heavy frost covers the ground.
"THE WHITE FLAG AND TREACHERY.
"Too much cannot be said about the treachery of the Boers. They always took refuge in the white flag, abusing its privileges right through."
(Camperdown Chronicle, Vic., Tuesday 7 Aug, 1900)
Trev
