TOPIC:

On a lighter note.

During a moonlit night, late December 1901, somewhere on the empty plains near Standerton. A small commando under VC Herman slowly approaches a railway line. In the distance the black silhouette of a formidable blockhouse becomes visible. It is dead quiet.

VC Herman (whispers): Boet, Cobus, Jannie, William ons gaan die Blockhut skiet. Is jij klaar?
Boet: Ja Baas
Cobus: Mij pijp gaan nog aan.
Jannie: Wag ‘n bietje, mijn pony moet kak
William: I say, a bit of evening sport, sounds like a bag of fun.

VC Herman to Boet: Wat seg die halve Rooinek?
Boet: Hij gaan mee Baas.

A few moments later, the men are ready and line up for the frontal attack on the Blockhouse. VC Herman looks at William.

VC Herman to William: Seg Willy, wat is die stokke?
William: I’m Sorry?
Boet to William: Them sticks, what voor?
William: Oh, Good heavens….… these are golfclubs of course.

Boet reflects on this for a moment, then:
Boet to VC Herman: Slae stokkies…soort van Engels spelletjie, Baas

VC Herman frowns, rolls his eyes but decides to ignore the matter.

VC Herman, So, ok Manne…klaar?...
All the men nod in acknowledgement.

VC Herman: Ok Boers, STORM VIR DIE TRANSVAAL!
The men ram their spurs and the horses bolt forward towards the blockhouse.

They have galloped less than 50 meters when, suddenly:

Boet: Baas, stop, daar staan wat!
VC Herman: Boet, blij gaan met die banaan!
Boet: Nee, nee kiijk daar!

Now VC Herman sees it is well. He raises his hand, and the men reign in their horses, not 200 yards from the blockhouse. In front of them unfolds the following Panorama.



VC Herman (while peering through his battered field glasses): Merry Christmas toe nail? Merri is ‘n perd, nie?
Cobus gets his pijp out, flicks a vuurhoutjie: Dat zeg gelukkig Kersfees vir ons al.

The men look at Cobus, who is now sucking fire into his pipe. William breaks the silence.

William: If I may say, Sir, that’s damn sporty of the lads!
Cobus: Hij is reg, baas, die blockheads zijn baie vriendelik met ons
Boet: Ons kan dat nie skiet nie!

At that very moment, the crew exits the blockhouse. They line up in front of an officer and start singing a Christmas carol, the officer conducting with his swagger stick.

The commando stands quietly and listens to the sweet sounds of Christmas drifting through the silent night over the empty plains. VC Herman, now clearly overcome by emotions, takes a handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabs his eyes. After a few moments…

VC Herman: Kom manne ons gaan, ons moet die Rooineks hulle kersfees laat vier.

But the men keep listening. Suddenly William slips from his saddle with a number 1 wood in the hand. The men watch when he places a ball on a little knoll.

VC Herman: Wat de fok gaan aan?

Before anyone can answer, William arches his club and swings hard. The wood connects perfectly and the ball arches towards the blockhouse. A few seconds later there is a dull sound and the conductor falls.

William: FORE!

The blockhouse crew scatters and a few seconds later a white flag is run up a pole.

Moral of the story: Shouldn’t trust a Rooinek at golf.

Ook op 'n ligter noot

Deur 'n rooinek



Geïllustreerde London Nuus, April 19, 1902



(With thanks to Google Translator)

An interesting photo I just found on the National Army Museum website.



It is captioned: "Black African soldiers seated outside a blockhouse, 1900 (c)"

The following info is also supplied:

"From an album of 44 photographs taken and collected by Colonel O M Harris DSO, Royal Artillery."

"On the outbreak of the Boer War in 1899 the British had made a tacit agreement with their Boer enemies that both sides would not arm the black population. As the war progressed however this stance proved difficult to maintain and they began employing armed blacks as scouts. It is estimated that between 15,000 and 30,000 black Africans were serving under arms with the British Army as scouts and sentries, while another 100,000 worked as labourers, transport drivers, blacksmiths, wheelwrights, farriers and builders."

I first took a serious interest in the Second Boer War about 3 years ago and I am sure the Imperial War Museum and National War Museum websites did not have the amount of photos & info regarding the conflict that they have now. Also the Wikipedia page seems to have gone undergone a major revamp and expansion with some interesting (and new to me) casualty data.

Smethwick, you are quite right in that the history of this war is still being written. The re-discovery of 66 concentration camps for black South Africans is one example. The growing realisation of the involvement of all the peoples of South Africa has led, in some circles, to the re-adoption of the earlier name "The South African War" in preference to "The Anglo-Boer War".

Here are 3 blockhouse images, all from a NAM book:

This photograph shows how the blockhouses were manned by different regiments over time, each outfit leaving their calling card in the form of stone decorations at the front gate.

The pebbles at Blockhouse No 137 spell out "5th R.D.F" (5th Bn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers) and "3rd S.R." (3rd Bn. Scottish Rifles). I imagine the ship motif has something to do with the name of this particular blockhouse; perhaps "H.M.S. Victory"?
My great grandfather's Field Troop built a corrugated iron footbridge which they named "H.M.S. Kruger" due to its resemblance to a ship.



.Courtesy of the McGregor Museum, Kimberley




.Courtesy of the McGregor Museum, Kimberley


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