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1899 - Kimberley siege day 64 (51%). Ladysmith siege day 46 (38%). Mafeking siege day 66 (30%). Whole of the first-class reserves called out.
1901 - Johannesburg Stock Exchange reopened.

In Kimberley:

A quiet day; late in the evening I saw from the conning Tower what I thought were 3 large parties of the enemy to the North beyond the Intermediate Pumping Station moving in the direction of Riverton.

I attended the funeral of the Mayor of Beaconsfield in the afternoon – Mr Fred Blacking, a native of Exeter.

Some newspapers were brought in by a native during the afternoon giving accounts of the battle of Magersfontein. I fear our losses are very heavy. The Black Watch suffered terribly. I make it out as 17 of their officers killed and wounded. I wish we had reliable information as to the enemy’s losses. I have lost many old friends, including General Wauchope; one of the very best. I am afraid that very heavy rain storm early in the morning just before the attack on the 12th must have caused confusion; however I do not see this referred to in the papers.

I have thought fit to publish only a portion of what is in the papers. It is difficult to realize the difficulties we under as to spies, and enemy’s sympathizers in our midst. It is impossible here to arrange anything in connection with an attack without its being at once communicated to the enemy outside. I feel certain that the different columns have found, and will continue to find, all their intended movements are notified to the enemy. Here I have on several occasions issued orders that I did not intend to carry out with a view to deceive the enemy, and there have always been indications, and in some cases absolute proof, that the enemy has been at once informed.

I am offering a laager reward for cattle. We have only about 30 oxen left now, and shall when they are eaten have to commence on the cows which is sad.

In Ladysmith:

We are sick of the siege. Enteric and dysentery are steadily increasing. Food for men and horses is short and nasty. Ammunition must be used with care. The longing for the English mail has almost become a disease. Only two days more, we thought, or perhaps we could just stick it out for another week. Now we are thrown back into vague uncertainty, and seem no nearer to the end.

All the correspondents were summoned at noon to the Intelligence Office. That the Intelligence should tell us anything at all was so unprecedented that we felt the occasion was solemn. Major Altham then read out the General Order, briefly stating that General Buller had failed in "his first attack at Colenso," and we could not be relieved as soon as was expected. All details were refused. We naturally presume the situation is worse than represented. Each of us was allowed to send a brief heliogram, balloting for turn. Then we came away. We were told it was our duty to keep the town cheerful.

The suffering among the poor who had no stores of their own to fall back upon is getting serious. Bread and meat are supplied in rations at a fair and steady price. Colonel Ward and Colonel Stoneman have seen to that, and as far as possible they check the rapacity of the Colonial contractor. But hundreds have no money left at all. They receive Government rations on a mere promise to pay. Outside rations, prices are running up to absurdity. Chickens and most nice things are not to be obtained. But in the market last week eggs were half a guinea a dozen, potatoes 1s. 6d. a pound, carrots 5s., candles 1s. each, a tin of milk 6s., cigarettes 5s. a dozen. Nothing can be bought to drink, except lemonade and soda-water, made with enteric germs. The Irishman drinks the rinsings of his old whisky bottles. One man gave £5 yesterday for a bottle of whisky, but then he was a contractor, and our necessity is his opportunity. Of our necessity the Colonial storekeepers and dealers of all kinds are making their utmost. Having spent their lives hitherto in "besting" every one on a small scale, they are now besting the British nation on the large. Happily their profit is not so easily made now as in the old days of the Zulu war, when a waggon-load of food would be sold three times over on the way to the front and never reached the troops at all in the end. A few days ago one contractor thought the Army would have to raise its price for mealies (maize) to 30s. a sack. He at once bought up all the mealies in the town at 28s., only to discover that the army price was 25s. So, under the beneficent influence of martial law he was compelled to sell at that price, and made a fine loss. The troops received this morning's heavy news with cheerful stoicism; not a single complaint, only tender regrets about the whisky and Christmas pudding we shall have to do without.

In Mafeking:

We had a handicap polo tournament. Here are the teams and the result from The Mafeking Mail:—

No. I.—Colonel Baden-Powell (Captain),
Captain Gordon Wilson,
Captain Singleton,
Lieutenant Hon. A. Hanbury-Tracey.

No. II.—Captain Lord C. Cavendish-Bentinck (Captain),
Lieutenant-Colonel Walford,
Major Anderson,
Lieutenant Mackenzie.

No. III.—Lieutenant-Colonel Hore (Captain),
Captain Sandford,
Captain Vernon,
Lieutenant Bridges.

No. IV.—Major Godley (Captain),
Major Goold-Adams, C.B., C.M.G.,
Captain Fitzclarence,
Lieutenant Moncreiffe.

No. V.—Major Baillie (Captain),
Captain Marsh,
Captain Cowan,
Lieutenant Paton.

Match. Goals scored.

1 Colonel Hore ... 1
Lord C. Bentinck . . 1

2 Colonel Baden-Powell . 0
Major Godley ... 1

3 Lord C. Bentinck . 1
Major Baillie ... 1

4 Colonel Baden-Powell . 0
Colonel Hore ... 1

5 Major Godley ... 0
Major Baillie ... 2

6 Lord C. Bentinck . . 0
Colonel Baden-Powell . 1

7 Major Godley ... 1
Colonel Hore ... 1

8 Major Baillie ... 0
Colonel Baden-Powell . I

9 Lord C. Bentinck . . 1
Major Godley ... 0

10 Major Baillie ... 1
Colonel Hore ... 0


Colonel Baden-Powell's team 2

Captain Lord C. Bentinck's team 3

Lieutenant-Colonel Hore's team 3

Major Baillie's team 4

Major Godley's team 2

Colonel Baden-Powell's team had a Captain who played an excellent game. Major Baillie was decidedly the mainstay of his team, not only by the unerring accuracy with which he hit the ball, but also on account of the verbal assistance delivered unceasingly in stentorian tones to his side.

We are now making great preparations for Christmas, which we are apparently condemned to spend here. Church services as usual.

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

I am decidedly low in my mind this morning as I have just been told privately, but officially, that Buller now intends to make fresh dispositions of his forces, which will take some time, and will probably necessitate our holding out here for, perhaps, two or three weeks longer, and that in any case he does not intend to advance further until the big railway bridge at Colenso is repaired and ready for railway traffic. I had been so counting on getting news of you within the next day or two that it is a terrible disappointment. I should not mind anything else, if only we could get letters through safely. A few do get through by Kaffir runners, but I don’t care to risk losing them altogether. The Chief will now allow a very limited number of short messages to be helio’ed through to the relieving force and sent on to be paid at the other end, and I have today sent a message for you, just “Park, Jullundur, well.” and if passed by the Chief of Staff it will probably get through and reach you in two or three days. You will have to pay about twelve rupees for it, but I can’t help that. (She had to pay forty-three rupees, as it turned out). It is the only way in which there is any chance of reaching you. I wish I could get an answer from you. I would gladly give all the money I have here to know you are well and safe; and to think of dragging on till perhaps well into next month without a word is most heart-sickening. All our stores are running low and before another fortnight we shall be beginning to feel the pinch of short rations in earnest. Most of the extras, such as bacon, cheese, jams, rum, pickles, etc. are about finished, and there is only fresh meat, that of the poorest kind, for about a week. We are the only regiment that has any whiskey, and ours will finish in a week.

There is still fresh bread, tea and sugar - no milk, tinned or otherwise - and a good lot of bully beef and biscuit; so that we are in no danger of starving, or even of having to eat our horses and mules. They have two engines going in the town, condensing water for the garrison, which gives us fairly good water at half-a-gallon a head a day, and is enough for the men’s water-bottles and to make our tea in the mess; and there is plenty of coal still, so that ought to be all right. We hear splendid news of Methuen’s force having given the Boers a most tremendous hammering outside Kimberley though he seems to have had heavy losses himself; and the last we have heard of Gatacre is that he tried a night attack, but the Boers got wind of it and attacked him, and he had to retire with heavy losses. I have sent up a second message today to be signalled to the 2nd battalion, asking if I have been gazetted to command and where Yule, Bartlett, Hayley and Green are. I may get an answer in two or three days. Yesterday and today have been intensely hot with a white haze and glare just like India, and the result is that several men have come into hospital with fever. I believe, though, that we are still a good deal the fittest regiment in the garrison; and as yet we have no declared case of enteric, and one corps I know has over forty. I am very thankful that I am so well and am really very fit, and so are most of our fellows. Burnside, the doctor, is bad with fever and has been sent out to the big hospital camp, and we have a Captain Marder in his place, who seems a nice fellow. Burnside says he is a very good and painstaking doctor. Must stop now. It won’t do to write too much, as paper is running short and I can’t get any more.

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

Turned in about 1. There was almost a total eclipse of the moon from 2.30. Roused at 3.30 when we had the usual morning exercise followed by Church Parade. News received that Gen. Buller had failed in his advance, the enemy being so strongly entrenched. Generally regarded as a bluff. Harte and Prince who went into hospital yesterday are to be taken to Intomba Spruit Camp (neutral ground). Feared they are in for enteric. 106 out of 350 stationed here are now on sick list. Rations today are coffee and bread early morning, breakfast mealie porridge, bread and coffee, dinner bully beef, bread and tea. Madden, I.L Horse, called to see me. Walked as far as Dr. Anderson’s and had a chat, turning in 9.30.

1899 - From the diary of Miss Bella Craw in Ladysmith

Sunday here again. I have lost my bet with Mr. Fred Tatham. I bet a packet of cigarettes that General Buller with the Relief Column would be here by midday today (this was at dinner last Sunday). The General told Uncle George that night that General Buller was not yet at Colenso, so we may consider ourselves lucky if we are relieved by the New Year. The rumours we hear are most wearying. One day we hear they are only six miles away and have had glorious victories, another day you hear Duller has had a reverse and a hundred of men have been taken prisoners and are now on their way to Pretoria, and so it goes. One day up and another down.

A potentially rather expensive bet, I assume she might well have been a smoker then?

djb wrote: 1899 - From the diary of Miss Bella Craw in Ladysmith

Sunday here again. I have lost my bet with Mr. Fred Tatham. I bet a packet of cigarettes that General Buller with the Relief Column would be here by midday today (this was at dinner last Sunday). The General told Uncle George that night that General Buller was not yet at Colenso, so we may consider ourselves lucky if we are relieved by the New Year. The rumours we hear are most wearying. One day we hear they are only six miles away and have had glorious victories, another day you hear Duller has had a reverse and a hundred of men have been taken prisoners and are now on their way to Pretoria, and so it goes. One day up and another down.

1899 - Diary of the siege of Mafeking by Edward Ross

Sunday, 17 December

Our friends the enemy again respect the sabbath; so did we, by having a big polo tournament.

During the morning a little surprise was arranged by the Colonel for the amusement of the wily Boer. Thirty men picked from the out-defences were armed with lances flying pennants (these were sticks with points used for tent pegging with coloured ribbons attached) and sent round to the different outposts, all eventually meeting at Cannon Kopje. They looked indeed smart, and would make a useful nucleus lancer troop for these purposes. The Boers must have wondered what was the matter, and where on earth these lancers came from. We could see them mustering round the brickfields, and a very large crowd at the big gun watching the movements of these men. They are very frightened at cold steel and it is quite possible this show of B.P.’s may have a good moral effect, at any rate that was one of the purposes for which the show was given. It is said that B.P. sent out to the Boers and told them that they did not keep a very strict watch round the town as a troop of lancers had just ridden up from Kimberley.

Two native runners arrived in this morning from the south and it is reported that our troops are now swarming into the Transvaal and Free State like locusts. The natives also bring us some rumours that Cronje has been utterly routed; they also tell us that Boers are surrendering everywhere.

A Mr. Brown, who came from the Transvaal before the war commenced, was knocked about last night by some natives; they used their sticks and knives. It is to be hoped that our natives are not going to round on us, otherwise we shall have a very rough time.

Surgeon-Major Dowling, who is in charge of the military field hospital at the bridge, fell off his horse today and was badly cut about. This is most unfortunate as we are so short of medical assistance, and even one man going temporarily off the rolls makes it very awkward.

A very laughable but in a way serious incident, almost like a comedy, occurred this evening. Major Panzera, second in command under the Town Commandant, came down to the Court House at about 9 o’clock to pick out six men from D. squadron of the P.R. to go out on special outpost duty. After parading them in front of the dugout he ordered "Load magazines”, when it was found that the men did not even know the proper way to load the magazines of their Lee Enfield rifles, and one man would persistently keep the muzzle of his rifle pointing at the next man to him until threatened with arrest. The very funny part of it then occurred. Panzera, after showing the men, and seeing that all the rifles were properly loaded, fell the men in to attention, and ordered the senior trooper to fall out and take charge of the squad, when who should take two paces to the rear but the man whom Panzera had threatened to arrest and who did not know how to use his own rifle properly. These are men from the P.R. who are supposed to have been drilling for months past. I saw this with my own eyes so I can vouch for the truth of it. I am not saying a word against the men’s courage because one and all of them have had their pluck proved, but it did seem funny that they couldn't even load their own magazines.