TOPIC:

Brett,

It is odd that he was not recognised as CO of the Regiment. Had he stayed, he may well have received a CB? Perhaps his early departure was a major contribution to the decision not to award anything to him? Are you thinking his work at Wagon Hill warranted the DSO?

David

I have a very jaundiced view of Colonel Park. I know I must be marching to the sound of a different drum on this forum, but it was his dismissive attitude to Colonials that annoyed me when I first read his diary. Rereading it in your recent posts of Siege diaries led me to look for other character flaws in the man. Being human, he had some.

As to the charge of the Devons on Wagon Hill, I think the action was ill-considered. A frontal attack had already been tried by the KRRC and it failed, so for senior officers to try another to break a stalemate seems senseless. There is no doubt that the Devons were gallant, and they paid a heavy price, but they actually achieved very little. They were immediately pinned down in the positions they had cleared, and it took the action of the brave Lieut Masterson to get the ILH to provide relieving fire. Having to be rescued by Colonials must have galled Park, who, by the way, had miraculously survived the charge unscathed, unlike some other CO's at Talana and Elandslaagte. I do not believe he deserved a DSO and I am pleased that his superiors felt the same way. If one is to believe the Boer account, they were already preparing to retreat as the day drew to an end. This is what happened at Caesar's Camp, where there was no intervention of a Devons-type charge.

As to the CB .............. I read somewhere that the CB was awarded to Colonels in the absence of a LS & GC medal for officers, but no doubt it was usually well deserved.

I apologise for being a grumpy old man. Having had my say, I am happy to let Colonel Park RIP.

Regards
Brett

1900 - Diary of the siege of Mafeking by Edward Ross

Sunday, 11 March

Last night Abrams, C.P., and his boys went out and occupied one of the Boer forts south that had been temporarily evacuated by the enemy, and attempted to take another but found it too strongly garrisoned; we had two boys killed and one wounded, whilst the Boers must have lost considerably, the boys having fired into them almost point-blank, the enemy having been caught napping. It is known some of them must have stopped the bullets as a big funeral was seen to be going on at their big laager this afternoon. These little night escapades will wake up Mr. Boer again, and teach him that Mafeking is still alive, that he is not always to have the easy go as you please life.

Another feather in the natives' cap this morning (and good fat meat for the town). Some boys who went out a night or two ago returned this morning driving before them 26 head of fine fat oxen, looted from the enemy. This is the sort of thing that riles a Dutchman, and it is only a pity that it cannot be done more often.

Two donkeys were also captured and brought into camp this morning. That’s right, keep it up, we shall get our own back in time.

We have run very short of wood and it takes us all our time now to collect enough to cook our tiny kettle, and worse still if it rains; our kitchen being an open air one in the yard, the damp necessitates our drinking cold water all day (except when we can raise a stick in it).

This morning Tom found that his house had been broken into, but nothing had been stolen, presumably because the house was empty. The burglar had, however, very kindly left his dirty kit in one of the rooms, together with a few bars of soap. The latter, I might incidentally mention, had not been used, hence the state of his kit, a sort of "two years ago, etc., since when, etc. Putting 6 and 11 together after the Sherlock Holmes style, and after immeasurable and deeply thought out deductions, we arrived at the conclusion, naturally considered clever by ourselves, that Sergeant Peter of detective renown had better be informed of the circumstances, and that it be respectively pointed out to him that if two of his minions be placed to watch, it was possible, in fact highly probable, the gentleman might be caught. They say sequels prove. Well yes they do, they did this time.

We were coming home from the Lodge about 11 p.m. after having spent a very pleasant evening, which included a splendid feed of - Oh no you don’t, that’s giving the show away - and had got about as far as the Major’s house, when we were suddenly surprised by hearing an unearthly yell, coming from an adjacent neighbourhood of Friend’s old house. Now as this was next door to the previously burglarised premises, that feminine manner of jumping to conclusions fixed us all, with one loud shout of, ''They’ve got the blighter;” we vaulted the front wall (those who couldn’t vault went through the gate - that’s me) because being Town Guard soldiers of the Queen, we were awfully anxious, don’t you know, to assist at the capture of anything, from a woman-slayer to a second-hand toothbrush nicker, and by the most wonderful (as we fondly imagined) piece of good luck, the foremost of the valiants ran bang into the arms of a great big plump starknaked nigger, who apparently was endeavouring to evade capture by an undersized, diminutive special native constable, whom he could comfortably have eaten in about two minutes, and who in the fear and trembling excitement of the moment, had lost his baton, his cap, etc., etc., and a few other sundries and who seemed very interested in searching dark corners for a lost treasure in the shape of what he called a ''black bottle”. The gallant leader of the relief party clawed the great undressed native with one hand, while the other gripped the flying heathen’s throat with a grip worthy of one of the Mafeking Town Guard, whilst the others meanwhile surrounded him and garrotted him, pulverised him, punched him on the boko, knee’d him in the back and were generally humiliating the daring scoundrel, when up comes another of those "when wanted not there” and fixing the gentleman with a pair of clicker, trotted him off to Heale’s bonded store, whilst we hunted for a' 'drop” to drink to our glorious capture.

Oh, it’s the sequel you want is it? 10.15 next morning. Scene. Court of Summary Jurisdiction. Before the C.C. and R.M.

Prisoner (through interpreter): "I was placed in the house (where the capture was made) by my master to take care of his property, and in the night, thinking I heard a thief, I rushed out without my clothes to try and capture him. I do not know any more.” His master was present at the court and corroborated his statement. Prisoner discharged with only the stains of the previous night upon him.

Very good attendance at Lodge this evening. Davis and Beavis each taking their "thirds”.

Moncrieffe has been taken to the hospital again. Fever, I believe, caused by raising his elbow too high.

Beleaguered Mafeking has now been invested 5 calendar months. It does seem hard luck when one considers the famous great British Empire is at the back of us. If we had only been given, say, two decent guns to retaliate on Big Ben with, matters would have been very different for us. With the knowledge the authorities had, if nothing else but the Cape Times of Sept. last, it was a crime to leave us so unprotected and still expect us to hold out. But did they expect or even want us to? It is no thanks to them we have been able to do so.