TOPIC:

Thank you for adding me to the group.

I have a poss ZAR rifle turn up at a local gunstore and I'm pretty sure they dont know what they have.

If it is a ZAR and one of the first 2000 I will be banging on his door tomorrow to grab it. What is the serial number range for the delivered rifles? Serial number on the bolt is poss from ZAR rifle 356?

My other rifle is an all matching OVS linked to Burger Stefanus Sebastiaan Vivier who died from wounds in Kimberly hospital after the lift of the seige.

I look forward to hearing from people who are wiser than me.

Kindest regards to all

According to Ron Bester (2003), both serial numbers belong to the second batch of 2,000 rifles, delivered to Pretoria during July/August 1897, which were made by Deutsche Waffen-und Munitionsfabriken. These rifles had serial numbers 1 - 2 000. The first (1896) batch had pre-merger Ludwig Loewe markings, with serial numbers A1 - A10 000 and B1 - B10 000.

As you surmise, the bolt does not match the rifle (a common aspect of souvenirs brought home by British & Colonial troops).

Neville Sir, you are an absolute hero........... off to the gun shop tomorrow....lol

would you have any knowledge of this rifles delivery date please....... it belonged to Stefanus Sebastiaan Vivier?

Nik,
re: DWM Mauser OVS 4377. This is a nice example, and one of only 7925 OVS Mausers made. It was ordered in July 1897. It is stamped SAT (South African Trophy) indicating it went to Australia or New Zealand after the war. I can't see it in Dave George's "Carvings from the Veldt" vols 1-3, but I don't have vol 4. Stefanus Sebastiaan VIVIER came from the farm Welgeluk in Winburg, OVS. When he died at Kimberley age 47 on 20/02/1900 he was with the Bloemfontein Commando, I would expect him to have been with the Winburg Commando when in Natal in Jan 1900. He would have been in the Spioenkop campaign.

re: DWM 1830. It looks correct for a ZAR Mauser. A mis-matched bolt is common and seldom puts the rifle out of headspace. It looks in honest, typcally well used condition. The bore may look quite different - if there is crisp rifling it should be very accurate.
I can't see a serial number on the stock (should be 1 cm into the wood below the number on the receiver - as in your OVS example) so check whether the stock has been excessively sanded - the other clue being the presence of the DWM cartouche on the R side of the butt. ZAR Mausers are fairly rare - 20,000 were made by Loewe and 10,000 by DWM.

Rob

Rob,

thank you so much for that. I had found a little about him but those details really fill in the gaps. This is what I had so far..........

Stefanus was killed after the seige of Kimberly, and his brother Hendrik at the battle of Paardeberg a few weeks later.

In 1901, after her farm at Winburg was burnt down his wife and young family was put in Winburg concentration camp. Even though she was able to keep her own children alive ............. 6 of the wider family group did not survive being in the camp.

Father's line goes back to Normandy and 1593. Wife's line goes back to Ruoen and 1028....... (before the battle of Hastings). Interestingly their family origins both started in the same part France and only 135km apart. The both families moved to SA in the 1600’s, and were involved in "The Great Trek" from the cape in the mid 1800's.

After the war, Stefanus wife remarried again at 48yrs old to 66yr old Burger Johannes Schalk on the 26 Jan 1904.

It appears and yet to be confirmed this might possibly be the Grand Father of Springboks Captain "Basie Vivier".

It looks as if this rifle MAY have been at the battle of SpioenKop in January 1900 and then travelled with the owner to Kimberely in Feb where he and his brother died.


If any one can add to this story id be truly grateful.

How do you think a rifle returned to NZ without a SAT number?

Regards to all,

Nik

Nik,
The Vivier family's time in the concentration camp can be searched here
www2.lib.uct.ac.za/mss/bccd/
Most Mausers were brought back by Imperial soldiers informally, i.e. smuggled in their kit bags. Smetimes you'll see a "duffle cut" under the barrel band where the stock was cut into 2 sections for ease of transport. The SAT rifles were batches sent to Aus and NZ after the war, intended to be displayed officially. I don't know of the numbers involved, but there are write-ups about SAT rifles if you look hard enough.
Rob