TOPIC:

1899 - Successful night sortie from Mafeking. Boers concentrate round Ladysmith. Kimberley garrison engages Boers at Macfarlane's Siding.
1900 - Knox captures guns and wagons from de Wet at Rensburg Drift.

The diary of Colonel Kekewich:

Arranged with Commissioner Robinson for Boards to be assembled to ascertain the amount of Government Property, equipment, ammunition, stores, etc left at posts by the Cape Police when those different posts were evacuated. I am afraid large quantities have been lost.

Reconnaisance in the direction of Spytfontein and Fenn’s Farm under command of Lt Col Scott Turner.

Cape Police - 6 officers and 110 men
Diamonds Fields Horse - 4 officers and75 men
Kimberley Lt Horse - 8 officers and 120 men
Mounted Infantry 1/L N Lan Reg - 1 officer and 15 men
Total - 19 officers and 320 men

Armoured train could not proceed further than the Spytfontein Bridge owing to a culvert having been blown up. This was repaired, but it caused much delay.

Later in the day Lt Col Scott Turner with 10 picked scouts reconnoitred the Boer position about 6000 yards from the Premier Mine. He could not see any gun epaulments, but thinks that at present the largest hostile force in this district lies in this direction.


Macfarlane's Farm

From the diary of Lt Burne, RN:

During the week Commander Heriz, R.N., and myself, representing the Admiralty, inspected the hospital ships Spartan and Trojan before their start; they had been fitted out under the Commander's superintendence, and were perfect; in fact, one almost wished to be a sick man to try them! All these continued departures aroused great public interest; on one day we had the Commander-in-Chief (Lord Wolseley), Lord Methuen, Sir William Gatacre, and many other Generals; and on another the Duke of Connaught came to see the 1st Bn. Scots Guards off in the Nubia and gave them a message from the Queen; he came again a few days later to see his old regiment, the Rifle Brigade, off in the German, and he and the Transport Officers were photographed many times. I was told afterwards that my own portrait appeared very often in the cinematographs of these scenes, which were then very popular and were exhibited to crowded audiences in all the London and Provincial Music Halls and elsewhere. I was very pleased on this occasion to meet my old First Lieutenant of the Cambrian, now Commander Mark Kerr, R.N., who was also seeing the Rifle Brigade off with a party of relatives whom I took over the Kildonan Castle.

Here I may mention, to show the different rates of speed, that the German carrying the Rifle Brigade, actually arrived at Capetown some hours after the Briton (in which I myself left later on for South Africa), although it started ten days before us. I have very pleasant recollections of being associated with Major Edwards of the Berkshire Regiment in embarking the Reserves of the 3rd Bn. Grenadier Guards in the Goorkha, which ship I had been superintending for so long; I was able to get their Commanding Officer, Major Kincaid, two good cabins, for which I think he was much obliged to me. These Reserves were going to Gibraltar to pick up the main Battalions of their regiment which took part later on (3rd and 4th November) in Lord Methuen's actions at Belmont and Graspan.

After the 27th October the transport ships left Southampton in ones and twos, and we were not so hard pushed;

From the Northern Territory Times and Gazette, Fri 27 Oct 1899

The news that the Transvaal Executive has publicly offered a reward of £5000 for the body of Mr. CECIL RHODES, dead or alive, comes as rather a shock to us, and is certainly a step in a totally new direction in civilised warfare. The fact that they have done this, however, proves to us that the Boers are well aware, as must everyone be who has studied the question, of the identity of the power behind the throne; it is no regret to them that CECIL RHODES is the man that is pulling the strings, and by exhibiting their anxiousness to capture him it is made very evident that that gentleman would have a very lively time of it if he did fall into the hands of his Boer friends in the Transvaal.

Using an inflation calculator, £5,000 in 1899 would be worth £505,000 today!

Good afternoon David,
This all goes to show that Mr Rhodes did indeed put himself in harms way during the siege, but, I suppose he was very concerned by the presence of the enemy so close to his own empire, everything that he had worked so hard for and clearly ment so much to him.
Regards Frank

djb wrote: From the Northern Territory Times and Gazette, Fri 27 Oct 1899

The news that the Transvaal Executive has publicly offered a reward of £5000 for the body of Mr. CECIL RHODES, dead or alive, comes as rather a shock to us, and is certainly a step in a totally new direction in civilised warfare. The fact that they have done this, however, proves to us that the Boers are well aware, as must everyone be who has studied the question, of the identity of the power behind the throne; it is no regret to them that CECIL RHODES is the man that is pulling the strings, and by exhibiting their anxiousness to capture him it is made very evident that that gentleman would have a very lively time of it if he did fall into the hands of his Boer friends in the Transvaal.

Using an inflation calculator, £5,000 in 1899 would be worth £505,000 today!

1899 - From the diary of Trooper A J Crosby, Natal Carbineers

Roused at 5.30 - didn’t hear reveille. Cleaning up generally. Hoped to have had an easy day. Commenced to write a long letter to Rose but our squadron was ordered to saddle up immediately and join the column on Pepworth’s farm where Boers are about the adjoining hills. A big battle expected. Off-saddled at 4 o’clock (left camp at 2). No fighting but had to stop the night. Prospects of a fine night so didn’t mind bivouacking. Archdeacon Barker called to see me before leaving camp.

1899 - From the diary of Miss Bella Craw

Great Excitement prevails here today. Rumour has it that the Boers are to attack Ladysmith tomorrow at daylight. Every precaution is being taken. After breakfast we watched the long line of Artillery, forty guns, they say. The Irish Rifles, and the Dublin Fusiliers clatter and tramp past, a sight I think we none of us shall ever forget. The poor foot soldiers, weary, and some of them very foot-sore from their long tramp from Dundee, so much so that some of them had to return to town, and they had taken off their boots and wrapped their blistered feet in their puttys. Poor Tommy is having a rough time. What will the morning bring, I wonder? We expect to hear that deadly boom of cannon again at daylight.