TOPIC:

"Letters From The Veldt" (The Imperial advance to Pretoria through the eyes of Edward Hutton and his Brigade of Colonials)
By Craig Stockings, first published 2020. ISBN 978-1-922265-97-5.

Some months ago, IL had to spend several days in dock and was out of contact with his files, library and PC. For company, one of the books he chose was a newly purchased copy of "Letters From The Veldt".
Written by a senior lecturer in History at the Australian Defence Force Academy, the book largely consists of letters from the front written by Maj.Gen. Hutton to his wife; letters not of a personal; type - but as a record or diary of events. There is a reasonable introduction covering circumstances leading up to the outbreak of the Boer War, and chapter one provides a good biography of "Curly" Hutton up to his selection for Special Service in South Africa.
As a professional soldier, Hutton certainly had qualifications for selection. A member of the Wolseley Ring, he had active service in three campaigns, had championed the concept of Mounted Infantry to the War Office and must have been elated when, in early 1888, the War Office heeded him and directed that a Mounted Infantry was to be raised at Aldershot as part of the Cavalry Division, 1st Corps. Hutton's administrative qualifications then saw him appointed to command the military forces of the Australasian Colony of New South Wales in 1893 and several years later to similarly command the Canadian militia. As Stockings points out, those appointments were no bed-of-roses and Hutton continually clashed with politicians over funds or the lack of them.
Chapters two to eight detail the personally recorded activities of Hutton's 1st Brigade in the field and each chapter has summaries of events by Stockings. A jarring note - at least as far as IL is concerned - is that each summary would have been better printed in italics (or boxed in); to better isolate it from the text of Hutton's letters. Sometimes one runs into the other. A minor point, perhaps - and IL overcame confusion by simply marking passages/pages as either Hutton's words or summary. Another minor jarring note was Stockings' referral to 'loyal' South Africans serving with the British. Why the quotation marks? Why not just say loyal?
The composition of Hutton's 1st M.I.Brigade as it developed is tabled - and the various Colonial units are named. Perhaps it would have assisted a researcher had the composition of the Imperial M.I. Battns. serving alongside the Colonials in that Brigade, and earning the same clasps, also been named. All is not lost in that regard - as a quick look at Appendix 1 or Vol.3 of Maurice (OH) age 528 supplies the deficiency.
The book's Epilogue details Hutton's later career as GOC, Australian Military Forces from 1902 until he again ran afoul of political interests and resigned at the end of 1904. During the time of his command, his particular "favourites" were the Light Horse regiments; M.I. by another name.
With a couple of reservations, IL did enjoy reading this stand-alone book. The maps were satisfactory, some of the illustrations were a bit "muddy" and there are certainly opportunities for a reader to indulge in "spot-the-unit" when researching a particular aspect of the Advance.
The book is recommended.

"The Poems of Frank Edgar Buxton"
Buxton was an able bodied seaman on the HMS Powerful. He was among a team of seamen who pulled the Powerful's heavy guns to Ladysmith to break the siege.

I just received the book "Poems of Frank Edgar Buxton" published privately by his widow Florence "Ada" Maud Buxton, in 1925, the year he passed away. There are 42 poems in the 63 page, hardcover book. The copy I have is signed by Ada M. Buxton was presented to Emeline Purmont on Christmas, 1925, and included a loose photo of Mrs Buxton.

There is no mention of the sea, conflict, Africa, the War, WWI, just pleasant, optimistic little poems commemorating birthdays, anniversaries, Ada, friends, Nature… and the beauty of NEW ENGLAND, USA! [He must have moved to the USA shortly following his discharge from the Australian Imperial Force in 1919.]

There is a poem celebrating the USA holiday "Flag Day' June 14. There is another celebrating USA "Memorial Day." Several praising the New England countryside, and mentions of several states in the northeast part of the States. The dated poems range from 1899 to 1924.

Buxton was born in London in 1880, so he was only 20 when at Ladysmith. In addition to his 14 years service in the Royal Navy, he enlisted for WWI in Melbourne, Australia, in 1915 and served as Chief Mechanic, sergeant, in the Australian Flying Corps.

THE COMMISSION OF HMS TERRIBLE BY GEORGE CROWE, MASTER AT ARMS.

I have just finished reading this account of HMS Terrible's commission, it is a reprint of the original 1903 first edition by The Naval and Military Press.
Written by a man who was there, Master at Arms George Crowe, it is a commentary of the principal events in connection with HMS Terrible and of Naval Brigade participation in the South African and North China wars. The Boer War section includes accounts of defence preparations at Durban and the Ladysmith Relief Operations. Appendices include nominal rolls and a list of officers and men mentioned in despatches.
The efforts of the Naval Brigade in moving guns through some of the most hostile terrain in South Africa for wheeled heavy artillery pieces is described in much detail. As are the actions where they were engaged with the Boers.
Following their service in SA, the 'Terribles' as the ship's company were known, were sent to China and became a key component in the operations to relieve Pekin, Tientsin, Taku Forts and the Legations working within a coalition of a multinational force. Crowe gives a detailed account of these actions.

All through the commission the reader really gets to see how the time honoured traditions of the senior service run through everything these men did, from the description of the ceremony of the crossing the equator involving crew members dressing up and paying homage to King Neptune to the frequent references by the author to Lord Nelson 'England expects every man to do his duty'

Finally, there is the joyous and long awaited homecoming to Portsmouth after a 4 year commission and all the festivities thereof.

A small section of the book is devoted to the daily routine aboard ship and Ship's Regulations which makes interesting insight into the daily life of the Terribles.

In summary, a very informative read written in an eloquent manner. It is very much a work of it's time and Crowe often espouses the virtues of the Anglo Saxon race and conversely describes the native populations of both SA and China in a negative light.
If you enjoy reading about the traditions of the Royal Navy being upheld during conflict then you will find this title a worthwhile voyage.

Here are a couple that I have found quite good......

The Golden Book is 1/2 in English and 1/2 in French, there is another edition that is the reverse...... (Did find one great picture will do another post....)



The Buller book I found a bit dry but OK......



Mike

IL alerted me to this book last week. I cannot find it in the UK yet but that will soon change.



By Chris Ash

It is described as:

This comprehensive military atlas covers every aspect of the Boer War in some 230 full-colour maps, diagrams and detailed ORBATs. Maps covering the conflict on a strategic, operational and tactical level guide the reader through each stage of the war, from Kruger's invasions of Natal and Griqualand West, through the famous battles of the conventional period, to the vast 'drives' of the Guerrilla War phase which broke the back of the Bittereinders and brought the war to an end. By showing where every operation and battle fitted into the bigger picture, the reader is able to understand how and why any given action was fought, and how the war was ultimately won by Lord Kitchener's men. Utilising standard NATO symbols to represent the various units involved, all the maps in this unique resource were drawn specially for the Atlas, and combine contemporary military maps with modern 1:50000 survey maps to ensure unprecedented levels of accuracy and detail. A detailed time line helps explain how the war unfolded, and the maps are organised into sections which cover the various fronts. The Atlas is also lavishly illustrated with contemporary photographs and drawings, as well as modern-day photographs to show how the battlefields look today, and to illustrate some of the many monuments erected to commemorate the men who fought and died. Though some of the battles covered are well known, this work also provides detail on many others which - though major actions - are almost forgotten today. The operations and smaller battles of the long and bitter Guerrilla War are also exhaustively covered. Other maps depict the details of the vast lines of blockhouses which were constructed across hundreds of miles of South Africa, and the critical role these played in the latter stages of the conflict. Whether you are new to the war, or a well-read enthusiast, The Boer War Atlas is an indispensable guide to understanding how this highly mis-understood war was fought.

I am not clear why Chris Ash thinks the Boer War was 'highly mis-understood'?

Interested Forum members
After some tribulation, and paying full rate for both book and freight, I received my copy of Ash's Boer War Atlas a week or so ago. The Atlas is very large; Twelve inches by fourteen and a half inches (no metrics here), It contains a timeline of events, an introduction, a description of the actual invasion of the British Colonies, several excellent schematic layouts of the textbook deployment of an RA Battery, and a similar layout of a British army battalion attack showing spacings, echelons and reserve. There follows the heart of the Atlas; maps as described on the rear cover (reproduced on djb's post). Because of the large dimensions of the maps, it is possible for the reader to gain an idea of the vast distances needed to be covered during the campaign and the scope of some of the battlefields.
I found Ash's maps to be superior to those reproduced in the Maps volumes of N@MP's reprinted Official History - which is not surprising, given the age and limitations of the originals. Yesterday, when doing a little reading of the doings of TMI and the KRRC on the Tugela, automatically I reached for the Ash Atlas to follow events.
The Atlas is very heavy - due to its thickness and the quality of the paper used. For a copy to be sent by courier to OZ, the cost of carriage was twice that of the cost of the book. Readers in the UK apparently will be spared carriage costs as a search on-line shows a number of booksellers advertising Ash's Atlas.
For any reader interesting in following the ebb and flow of a certain action, or doing a spot-the unit trawl, I definitely recommend the Ash Boer War Atlas.
Regards
IL.