TOPIC:

I am delighted to hear that an excellent review of “War on the Veldt. The Anglo-Boer War Experiences of the Wiltshire Regiment” has been included in the June issue of The Orders and Medals Research Society’s Journal.

Sincere thanks to Mr Will Bennett who is a leading authority on Orders and Medals and part of the volunteer team at The Rifles Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment Museum, Salisbury.

Well this morning I woke up to a pleasant surprise. I was contacted by Mr Jan De Jager from Bloemfontein South Africa. His Great Grandfather Hendrik De Jager served in the second Anglo-Boer War under General De L Rey and was present at the capture of D & G Companies of the 2nd Battalion Wiltshire Regiment at Rensburg on the 14th of February 1900.

Jan has purchased my book and wanted to tell me about his ancestor. Unfortunately he didn’t know much about his Great Grandfather but had been told by his Grandfather that his Father had bravely ridden at the gallop straight into the British soldiers at Rensburg Siding, shooting from the saddle and ramming into more with his horse. Amazingly he was unhurt himself.

This fits exactly with Wiltshire soldiers first-hand accounts I had been supplied with by their descendants after being interviewed by BBC Radio Wiltshire some years ago and which of course I had included in my book.

I love to find first-hand accounts. I think they bring a book to life and help the reader to understand a moment in time. Sometimes these can be exciting, or even harrowing and sometimes they can be humorous but they are always so interesting.

I have heard that in history the truth is out there if you know where to look, but clearly sometimes it’s also gladly shared.

Good morning Ian (afternoon in Aus),

That was a nice surprise indeed.

I finished your book and really enjoyed it. I appreciated the detail on the Waterval POW camp as I have medals to a number of British soldiers who were sent there.

The fact that Lt Col Carter was involved in the court martial of Breaker Morant was an ending I was not expecting; plot twist for myself (others probably knew that).

Keep up the good work.

Regards,
Shaun

Thank you Shaun, I’m delighted to hear that you enjoyed the book and your comments are very much appreciated.

Kind regards

Ian

Two nice surprises today.

One:

I’m delighted with this!

It’s from a work colleague’s father-in-law who received my book as a birthday gift and I was asked to sign it.

To: Ian Smith
Subject: War on the Veldt

Dear Mr Smith

Thank you very much for your book regarding the Anglo-Boer war. Reading it was not just the usual pick up and put down type of book but a real historical experience. To be truthful it's taken over from all my other reads, which are mainly fiction, and I am still only two thirds through it. I must admit going back a few pages to refer to an earlier point.

I am not sure what experience you have had previously with this type of book but the research must have been phenomenal.
I have mentioned it two a number of my ex colleagues and they are waiting for me to loan it out to them.

Thank you once again for the book together with the personal inscription. No doubt I will be ribbed about that when my old service pals read it.

Best wishes,
Harry (Court)

Two:

Ian,

I'm so glad that people are enjoying your book. Outside of our regimental war diaries, this has been the bestselling book of the year for us. As we have been closed to the public and have relied solely on online orders, I expect this to increase enormously when we re-open to the public with our brand-new in-store shop. We're also very much looking forward to welcoming you in February and expect to sell some more beforehand.

On a personal level, I have been using your book when conducting research for the museum's upcoming temporary exhibition, (curated by yours truly!), which is on the subject of war photography. One of the officers mentioned in your book, Lt Lawrence Mellish, took his camera to war and we have many of his photographs in our collection. As such, your book has been a valuable resource for me.

I should also add that we sold three copies on Friday and another seven online just this morning- so we have just sold out (again!). Mike Horan printers are going to be getting a few orders from us before February as I will re-stock this afternoon and then again in the new year to ensure that there are copies available to people on the night when we host the event.

Kind regards,
Ross Keel
Assistant Curator & Marketing Officer
The Rifles Berkshire & Wiltshire Museum


The event Ross is referring to is an invitation to me to deliver a talk about my book at the museum on Wednesday the 4th of February 2026 (Time to be confirmed).

Plaudits thoroughly deserved!
Please let the forum know the date etc for your talk/ presentation.
Cheers Steve