TOPIC:

A bad week for the Imperial Light Horse

On 21 October 1899, the recently-formed Imperial Light Horse took a leading part in the Battle of Elandslaagte, during which it suffered a total of 48 casualties, including 14 who were killed in action or who died of wounds.

On 23 October, ‘The Natal Mercury’ carried an account of the battle and on the same page it included the following reports:

THE LADISMITH SPIES
Fraser and Telegraphist Shot
Miss Bester in Gaol

We learn from an authoritative source that Fraser, the member of the Imperial Light Horse who was arrested for poisoning horse food, has paid the extreme penalty for treason, and that a telegraphist, of the Ladismith office, has also been shot as a spy. The telegraphist was shot in the square, Ladismith.
Miss Bester is in Ladismith gaol, dispatches to the Boers from Natal Dutchmen having been found upon her while she was proceeding to Pretoria for “safety”.


IMPERIAL LIGHT HORSE
Spies to be Shot

We learn, on good authority, that two troopers of the Imperial Light Horse were to be shot on Thursday as spies.


I was very surprised to read these reports and disappointed that the ILH had traitors in its midst. Hopefully, these bad eggs were the only ones that had weeded out. I wonder if the names of these men were expunged from the records?

Brett

Hello Brett,
Interesting stuff and all new to me too, there were a number of men with that surname in the ILH, can't see a likely man in WO127 or W0100, be interesting to see if there is anything left in WO126.
What happened to Miss Bester and do you know the names of any other ILH involved?
Kind regards Frank

Frank

I suspect that the executed Fraser will not be in any ILH records, but all options should be pursued. 'The Natal Mercury' may have had a follow-up report on the two spies, so I hope to get someone to check later issues of the newspaper.

I also suspect that if Miss Bester had been a Mr Bester, he would have joined the telegraphist in front of the firing squad in the Ladysmith square. There may be a record of her fate in the Natal Archives.

Viewed from a modern perspective, the execution of traitors during the Boer War seems to have been summary and very callous. In the biography of Sgt Vinnicombe, Natal Guides, that I recently referred to elsewhere on this forum, there is a report of such an execution. A young man, John Baxter, an English-speaking Transvaal Burgher, who was known to Vinnicombe, was caught in the Cape Colony wearing parts of a British uniform. This was not done in an effort to deceive, but out of necessity, since his own clothes had worn out. There was a field court martial, a guilty verdict and execution before an appeal or any other outside intervention was possible. Colonel Scobel of the Scot's Greys "joined him in a drink of whiskey" before Baxter was marched away to his execution. I wonder if the account of this event in the Vinnicombe biography is its only published record?

Regards
Brett

PS Another revelation to me in the 'Natal Mercury' issues of this period is the spelling of Ladysmith as 'Ladismith". I wonder when the change occurred?

Issues of "The Natal Mercury" for many days following the announcement on the two ILH spies have been checked and there was no further mention of them.

On the other hand, a report in the 'Mercury' of 24 October 1899 under the heading "An Emphatic Denial" states that the earlier announcement that Miss Bester had been "arrested as a spy is utterly unfounded". It would have been a public relations disaster if she had already been executed by the time her innocence was established.

Brett

But what if the other two were innocent as well? I'm rather confused now, what of those dispatches "found upon her" perhaps they were "planted" or was she as
guilty as a puppy sat next to a pile of poo?

Frank

Perhaps the culture of suing all and sundry started in the Colonies and the Editor of the 'Mercury' decided it was easier and cheaper to apologise and so avoid a court battle with Boers on the British side of the Tugela front.

Regards
Brett