TOPIC:

Given that many of the blockhouses were garrisoned by Militia battalions, I thought it might be worth having a quick leaf through my copy of "A Militia Unit in the Field" (printed for private circulation, London 1902). This scarce little volume deals with "the doings of the Sixth Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers in the South African War during the years 1900 and 1901".




The book includes the following orders (pp. 84-89):


General. – Pickets and outposts are mounted to guard the approaches to the town and camp, and to prevent the enemy from surprising the garrison, by holding certain outlying posts, either permanently or for a sufficient time to enable troops in camp to take up their positions and prepare for action. This being the most important and vital of all military duties, it is absolutely necessary that all officers, non-commissioned officers and men make exceptional efforts when on this duty to faithfully carry out the following orders, and to be alert, watchful, and ever ready for any emergency, and to bear in mind that not only the safety of the entire garrison depends solely on their untiring vigilance, but any carelessness or neglect will be punished with the utmost severity.

Block-Houses. – The non-commissioned officer in charge of the picket will be held personally responsible that the ammunition, rations and water supply are intact and in good order. He will immediately report any deficiency in quantity or quality. He will post his sentry by day so as to command as good a view as possible of the roads and surrounding country, while placing him so that he can still command the entrance of the block-house. At night he will post his double sentry so as to command all approaches to the block-house, taking care that one sentry is inside the wire fence. The remainder of the picket will sleep round the inside of the block-house, below the loopholes they are told off to defend, with their rifles beside them. Great care must be taken not to break down the "berm" or ledge running round the inside of the block-house, and no one must on any account stand, or sit, or place articles on these ledges. No civilian will be allowed to enter the inner fence of the blockhouse or to loiter in the vicinity under any circumstances whatever. Sufficient rations and water for seven days, and an extra 100 rounds per man are kept in each block-house, and in event of attack on the station these blockhouses form part of the principal permanent defences, and will be held at all costs to the last. They are absolutely impregnable to infantry without guns, and could be easily held against any force by the men allotted to them. The non-commissioned officer will hand over the block-house clean and in perfect condition to the relieving picket.

Road Pickets. – A non-commissioned officer and three men will be left on duty by day on the four roads. The sentry will stop all persons (except soldiers in uniform), and all vehicles passing in and out, and examine their passes. Any one not having a proper and efficient pass, signed by the Commandant or other authorized officer, will be sent to the Commandant's office under escort. After 9 p.m. all vehicles will be detained till morning by the picket, unless in possession of a special pass.

Gun Hill Picket. – The orders for block-houses apply to this picket as far as possible. The day sentry will see that no one attempts to pass through the wire fences.

All Pickets. – No man is to leave his picket post without permission, which will only be granted to one man at a time where absolutely necessary. No non-commissioned officer or man, or picket, or sleeping party may remove his belt, pouches, or boots under any circumstances, but he may undo the clasp of his belt, and unbutton his coat when not actually on sentry duty. Sentries are to remain on the beat where posted, and are on no account whatsoever to quit their arms for a moment; they are to allow no one (soldier or civilian) to enter into a conversation with them or permit any one to draw away their attention from their work. By day they may walk about their posts, but at night they should only move when necessary to patrol the front or rear of the block-houses, and should as far as possible get below the sky-line, where they can see without being seen. When it is so dark that a person is invisible at a few paces distant, sentries will fix bayonets.

Challenging. – Sentries will challenge all persons approaching their posts after dark in the following manner: –
If one or two persons, they will remain perfectly still until the person or persons are within a few paces, when, if it is light enough to clearly see that they are unarmed, they will challenge in a low tone in the usual way, and having satisfied themselves by questioning them that they are friends and have a right to pass, they will let them pass. If it should not be light enough to distinguish who is approaching, or in case of any doubt, both sentries will load from the magazine, and cover them with their rifles, and when quite close one will challenge in a low tone. If a number of people approach the post, one sentry will immediately warn the picket quietly, and then challenge in the usual way, allowing one person only to approach, and proceeding as before, using every precaution to prevent being surprised or rushed. Care should be taken not to fire on dispatch riders, who may gallop up to the post in ignorance of its position; it is extremely unlikely that one or two horsemen boldly riding up to a picket have any hostile intentions.

Sentries on picket will pay no compliments, but will stand to attention at the order, or slope, when an officer or armed party passes them. Sentries are on no account to put anything in the loopholes of forts and blockhouses, or to climb on the walls, or remove or displace any stones or other portions of the works. Should it be necessary to alarm the garrison, magazine fire will be used for the purpose.



..

Neville - I now have to revise my opinion on "Standing Man, Blockhouse No 195" as he also appears to be wearing a pocket watch adapted to be a wristwatch:



However , the 195 wearer, appears to be rank & file whereas the HIL wearer owing to swagger stick, uniform and demeanour appears to be an officer. Interesting that we have 1 Officer + 1 NCO + 6 rank and file. Hattingh & Wessels state that the blockhouses were divided into blocks of 5 which were overseen by an officer. We have already seen some racial tensions in blockhouse life as when the black scouts were allowed in the photos they were always set apart. Presumably there were also class tensions when the officer commandeered a "corner" (quotation marks owing to some of the blockhouses being round) of the blockhouse as his "office". Although, I think H&W also reckoned that the officers slept in a tent in the blockhouse "grounds".

Do you know the names of the members of the PIY who received watches from Lady Phillips and was the presentation carried out at Picton Castle. They embarked for SA on 14th March 1900 having first marched from Tenby to Haverfordwest where they entrained for Southampton. However, those that already had a horse diverted to Picton Castle to say adieu to Colonel Phillips (CO of the Pembrokeshire Yeomanry) and his good lady - I think, but could be wrong, that about 30 of them already had horses.

The PIY did not officially return to Blighty until early July 1901 but obviously some came earlier for various reasons. Members of the Haverfordwest Vols also served in other outfits - e.g. a L/Cpl/Sgt T C White who served in the Welsh Regiment. Again do you know the names of the watch recipients?

Have now done some more research on wristwatches and found a website with a video entitled "How the 2nd Boer War Birthed The Wrist Watch." Other websites are in general agreement - will do a post on the matter when I have sorted out the material I have downloaded. Meanwhile here is a screenshot from the video of what looks likes a modern recreation of what Rank & File 195 and HLI Officer were wearing:



Regards, David.

From my record of other Haverfordwest presentations, four of the twelve PIY recipients were probably:

30th (Pembrokeshire) Company, 9th Bn. Imperial Yeomanry –
4094 Sergeant William Devonald Edwards
4110 Trooper [Colour-Sergeant] Herbert Wynne Jones
4111 Trooper [Corporal] William FORD
4123 Trooper Thomas Warlow

“In the presence of Colonel Sir Charles Phillips, Bart., and other officers of the company and friends, Lady Phillips, of Picton Castle, recently presented twelve troopers of the Pembrokeshire Yeomanry with wristlet watches, field-glasses, &c.” (Western Mail, 12 Mar 1900).



The volunteers were:

Volunteer Active Service Company, Welsh Regiment –
7347 Lance-Corporal [Sergeant] Thomas [Tom] Canavan WHITE
7333 Private John [Jack] William JOHN
7341 Private John [Jack] REES
7336 Private Morgan MATTHIAS

Presentation made by Lady Philipps (of Picton Castle), in the Masonic Hall, Haverfordwest.

Having checked my database, these were full-sized pocket watches and not transitional wristwatches. This makes more sense, as the smaller watches were intended for campaigning in South Africa and not for civilian life back home.


By the way, I met up with one of the UK's most respected watch dealers a few years back, who has a particular interest in the development of the wristwatch. In terms of the ABW, he has seen small "fob" watches that have been converted for wrist use, either with leather bracelets or with the addition of lugs to take straps. However, despite 40 years of dealing he is yet to find an attributable ABW-period factory-made watch, designed from the outset as a wristwatch. He does, however, believe they are out there.....

I think this subject deserves its own thread.


..

Thanks Neville, Now why were only 12 favoured with wristlet watches and why those four who between them make two varieties of cheese and two types of chalk.

I have already posted on the colourful and varied life of 4110 Colour Sergeant Herbert Wynne Jones:

www.angloboerwar.com/forum/search?query=...2/2024&childforums=1

4094 Sergeant William Devonald Edwards & 4111 Corporal William Ford were at the opposite ends of the age spectrum and the first had to knock several years off to be accepted. William senior was a bit of a chancer - I gave up doing a write-up on him because his life was so complicated and I developed a headache, his mother was a Devonald who seem to have been a noted Pembrokeshire family. William junior was the son of the miller at Carew Tidal Mill.

4123 Trooper Thomas Warlow - in your write-up on the Ogmore Valley & Nantymoel Tribute Medal you described him as a "potential recipient" and as an "Ogmoreite". His father was Pembrokeshire born and served as a policeman in the county, there is a newspaper report of a local being on charge of attempting to murder him, and Thomas was born in Pembroke. By the time he attested aged 26 Thomas had also become a policeman. When he was discharged a newspaper reported he was returning to duty as a policeman at Nantymoel. By 1921 he was married and living with family in Haverfordwest and still a policeman. He was buried at St Mary's in Tenby in February 1960 and here he is, according to the creator of a PFT on Ancestry:



I know nothing about the four Welsh Rgt men except for L Cpl White whose father was a Haverfordwest watchmaker and died a couple of days before his son set off for SA. This interesting April 1900 newspaper clipping also seems to refer to him:


I wonder if Private John was related to the Trooper John who served in the PIY although, as any Welsh rugby fan will tell you, it is not an uncommon surname in Wales.

You cannot go in a Pembrokeshire Graveyard without tripping over a grave bearing the surname Matthias. I know two who are still alive and tenants of farms where I go searching for eggs of the rare Brown Hairstreak butterfly.

Bit more investigation required.

Description
Men of the 1st Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse, probably sentries at a blockhouse, having a break and a meal. The reclining soldier, second from left, is believed to be 41 Trooper Montague Stephen Gildea however the remainder are unidentified. Two of the men have added an 'A' to the puggaree of their hats.



Description
SOUTH AFRICA, 1899-1902. BLOCKHOUSE ON THE TRANSVAAL. BOER WAR.



Description
South Africa, c. 1901. A stone block house, no 15, surrounded by barbed wire. This block house is in position to guard a bridge (not seen). The entrance is elevated and is accessed by retractable steps on which some troops are standing. Note the number 15 above a firing slit to the right of the steps. This blockhouse is one of 8000 built by the British in 1901 to trap the Boers in ambush.



Description
Panoramic print of a British Army block house adjacent to a South African railway line. A rifle is resting against the earth works at left and their is some sandbag protected accommodation at centre rear. The blockhouse is typical of the many similar defensive outposts built later in the war in an attempt to contain Boer raiding parties.



Description
SOUTH AFRICA. C 1900. A STONE BLOCKHOUSE, SURROUNDED BY SANDBAGS.



Description
SOUTH AFRICA, C.1901. SAPPERS BUILDING A BLOCKHOUSE BESIDE RAILWAY LINE.

All images courtesy of the Australian War Memorial

I don't believe I have come across this concept before: a "Travelling Blockhouse".




..