TOPIC:

1899 - Kimberley siege day 51 (41%). Ladysmith siege day 33 (27%). Mafeking siege day 53 (24%). Boers advance and intrench at Magersfontein.
1901 - Bruce Hamilton surprises Botha at Oshoek, near Ermelo.
1905 - Resignation of Balfour Government.

In Kimberley:

This morning I am making another small work to better protect the cattle guard near the Reservoir grazing ground.

I noticed this morning about 6 am a large body of the enemy who appear to be moving from Riverton in the direction of the Intermediate pumping station.

The following message dated 24th November was received this morning from General Metheun from Belmont to Capt O’Meara RE for OC Kimberley per Rimington, by despatch runner!!

“We arrive Modder River midday Sunday and attack Spitfontein Monday; you must help our attack at daybreak with mounted men and guns. Look out for scouts – we gave them hell yesterday.”

It would appear that it is not understood how closely we are invested. Luckily by reconnaissances we must have assited much at the time desired. I have always tried to retain as many as possible of the enemy holding Kimberley, and thus withdraw portions of the force, and consequent pressure from the relief column.

I issued a notice this morning that from this date until further order the allowances to consumers per head per day shall be as follows:
(a) Meal ¾ lb or instead thereof, at the option of the consumer
(b) Meal ½ lb and
flour ¼ lb
(c) or bread 1 lb

I issued a proclamation this morning calling upon to register their animals and forage in their possession. When I get the information, I shall decide on the action I think best.

I sent a signal search light message this evening to Lord Metheun saying:

(1) Major Rimington’s despatch of 24th November had been received. It would appear lucky that I did not receive it by the date it was intended I should.
(2) Re Langherg Laager.
(3) “ Oliphants Dam Large laager (4000 men)
(4) That I have made demonstrations and I hope to succeed in keeping a certain number of Boers in this neighbourhood.

I sent despatch to-day to the CSO Cape Town urging the necessity of Imperial officers being sent up especially of the cavalry branch.

Late last night I received the following message by searchlight. I could not decode some of the words, but this what I could make of it:

“From General Metheun to Kekewich. Dec 3rd No 10 GOC Lines of communication wires High commissioner suggests if you concur following telegram be sent to officer commanding Kimberley as opportunity offers begins.

“Arrangements being made send as soon as possible large quantities of supplies. As communication may be interrupted again in view of consequent situation it is desirable reduce as far as possible total numbers. All should be sent straight away North exception of troops persons required for management and working of town and working in mines, for purchasing cattle specifically required ends.

Colonial Government desires all civil authorities should cooperate cordially with you in removing superfluous population expeditiously.

This coincides with orders GOC has received; he will expect these orders to be carried the day he reaches Kimberley and he will have a train ready to send persons away.”

Another message was:

“How far is railway clear South of Kimberley.” I answered. “One mile south of Beaconsfield.”

In Ladysmith:

This morning the General offered the use of the heliograph to all correspondents in rotation by ballot. Messages were to be limited to thirty words. One could say little more than that we are doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances. But the sun did not come out all day, and not a single word got through.

In the afternoon I rode out to Waggon Hill, south-west of our position, to call upon the two howitzers. They are heavy squat guns about twenty years old, their shells being marked 1880, though they are said in reality to date from 1869. They were brought up from Port Elizabeth where the Volunteers used them, and certainly they have done fine service here. Concealed in the hollow of a hill, they are invisible to the enemy, and after many trials have now exactly got the range of the great 6 in. gun on Middle Hill. At any moment they can plump their shells right into his sangar, and the Boer gunners are frightened to work there. In fact, they have as effectually silenced that gun as if they had smashed it to pieces. They are worked by the Royal Artillery, two dismounted squadrons of the I.L.H. acting as escort or support. Them I found on picket at the extreme end of the hill. They told me they had seen large numbers of Boers moving slowly with cattle and waggons towards the Free State passes. The Boers whom I saw were going in just the opposite direction, towards Colenso. I counted twenty-seven waggons with a large escort creeping steadily to the south along some invisible road. They were carrying provisions or the ammunition to fight our relieving column.

We hear to-day there will be no attempt to relieve us till the 15th, if then. A Natal newspaper, with extracts from the Transvaal Standard and Diggers' News, brought in yesterday, exaggerates our situation almost as much as the Boers themselves. If all Englishmen now besieged were asked why most they desired relief, there is hardly one would not reply, "For the English mail!"

In Mafeking:

A quiet day; not much shelling or sniping.

1899 - From the letters writer by Lt Col Park in Ladysmith

News just come that Buller was at Maritzburg on 29th, that Clery had driven the Boers back to the north of the Tugela, and was again in possession of Colenso; and that Methuen had defeated them three times, the last lot being 8000 strong. All that -was five days ago, so that things are beginning to look up all round, and with Buller coming up this side we may expect to move on at any minute. Hooray! How thankful I shall be to get free from this place and to be advancing once more, or, at least, able to pitch a camp and have our communications open again, with letters and papers and fresh food and other such luxuries. Good times coming, and I feel very happy and hopeful.

We had a very peaceful Sunday, with a church parade in the early morning, and after breakfast the regiment played the rest of this section of the defences at cricket and beat them by about forty runs. It was a funny game, played on rough black cotton soil and all among ditches, stone walls, tent pegs, and other such obstacles. I didn’t play, but looked on most of the time. It was an extraordinarily hot day and night, ending in rain and a cold south wind this morning. I am glad to say that the dysentery epidemic has subsided again, and there have hardly been any fresh cases for two days, but young Scafe has had to be sent into hospital with fever, which Burnside says he is very much afraid is enteric though it is too soon to be sure of it.

1899 - From the diary of Miss Bella Craw in Ladysmith

The familiar sound woke us again at half past five this morning again. Only a few shots were fired. They seem to think our reply this morning has knocked one of the enemy's big guns out. Our Howitzers disabled two yesterday so we are getting on. Uncle George came in for prayers this morning and says a kaffir messenger has got through from Maritzburg, and brings news that the Colenso Railway Bridge is blown up but the footbridge across the drift is intact. He also says there are a great many troops at Frere and they skirmish out to Doornkop. He has despatches for the General.

After breakfast Aunt Fanny got a note from Fred Tatham asking for apricots for a man threatened with scurvy. He is next to the General so had got the latest news, for on the back of the envelope was written "Lord Methuen has defeated the Free Staters three times - the last time turning Cronje out of an entrenched position with 8000 men." ’We hear later Lord Methuen was advancing on Kimberley and the last action was at Modder River.

This week is beginning well for us for the greatest news is General Buller is in Natal and is in full command of the forces. Any day now we might hear of them advancing from Colenso.

Our great fear now is fever and sickness, unless we are released very soon. 3 Carbineers, two Border Mounted Rifles and 19 soldiers have all been sent out to Indombi Spruit Hospital - enteric fever they fear. The new gun on Gun Hill or Lombard’s Kop we hear, has been put out by us today, for two of our shells were seen to fall in it, and it has not fired since - that is the fourth and all big ones. I hear a lot of our cattle were recaptured at Doorhkop. While our scouts were out today they found two Boer bodies outside the Manchester pickets at the point of Ceasar's Camp. They had been dead some days. One was shot through the chest and the other through the stomach.

The bell will ring for lights out in a minute. This is quite a new experience, and not a pleasant one. When it rains, as it is tonight, we cannot even sit outside. There was to have been a Promenade Concert on the Parade Ground at the back of this house tonight, but it has to be postponed because of the weather. It has been got up by the Carbineers. I see an awning and stage erected, and they have commandeered a piano.

We have a plague of flies caused by so many horses all round us. The walls, curtains, and everything is black with them. We have tried all manner of killing processes. The most effective is Coooer's Sheep dip and a hot brick and carbolic acid.

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

Piquet Watch 4 to 4.30. Returned to camp. Fatigue at Com. Stores, arms inspection. Took a walk up town. Looked up Dr. Anderson who introduced me to the Chaplain of the Forces. Cold rain about 6 o’clock for an hour. Concert put off in consequence, feeling far from well. Turned in at 8.

1899 - From the diary of Major George Tatham, Natal Carbineers

Wet morning. Boers shelling slowly. Native messenger in from P.M.B. News of British successes in Orange River area against Cronje and others. Natives report two Boer guns disabled.

1899 - Diary of the siege of Mafeking by Edward Ross

Monday, 4 December

Today proved one of the quietest since the siege commenced, few shells in the morning and nothing more until Creetje dropped one south of the town at 9.30 p.m.

It appears the reason of [jv'c] Lady Sarah Wilson’s capture as a spy is owing to the Yankee correspondent who left, taking with him two of Wirsing’s homing pigeons, sending a despatch by one of them from Setlagoli, and mentioning Lady Sarah’s name; or, as another rumour said, Lady Sarah herself wrote a despatch, the pigeon however, whose feathers must have been damaged in transit on horseback, landed in the Boer laager, hence the eventualities. Lady Sarah, we understand, had previously obtained the protection of the enemy, but forfeited this by her subsequent actions. She had left the town just previous to our being entirely surrounded, and was staying at a farm house about forty miles south of the main road to Kimberley, kept by a Mr. Fraser. Of course she would have been very useful there for transmitting despatches, but it was too palpable that she was not there to remain neutral, her husband being in the siege and she known to be a representative of an English paper and also known to be a strong Imperialist.

We are told today that Kimberley is relieved, and that a flying squadron is on the road to relieve us. These series of notices and rumours are continually given us, and generally turn out wrong so that how can they expect us to believe anything? The only news we have found to be true is that which has been conveyed to us through native sources: it has proved a fact that most of the news confirmed as true has been brought in by the natives. What a lesson the Boers have taught us regarding an intelligence department : they have daily and most detailed information whilst we are absolutely cut off from the world in every shape and form, and even if the staff do get any knowledge of course the townspeople are nobodies, and what they do know is kept to themselves, as if it were the dregs of some extra precious liquid.

It has got about the town that the Boers are firing blank shells from one of their seven-pounders, and using them for sending letters into the town: one was telling some Dutch people in town that their relations were all well, 

another one asking us not to drink all the whisky in town as they, the Boers, wanted some when they came in. If they do not get any until they get in here, what a grand I.O.G.T. lodge they could form for the rest of their lives.