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Hi everybody


On 1 January 1900 LtCol Pilcher’s Flying Column (1st Queensland Mtd Infy with its machine guns, 100 Canadians, 2 guns of the Royal Field Artillery and a maxim gun) surprised and attacked a Boer Commando on the farm Sunnyside in the vicinity of the small town of Douglas. The Commando, consisting of Cape Rebels under Commandant Scholtz, was tasked with preventing the British re-occupation of Douglas, which marked the extreme of Gen Piet Cronje’s right flank. However, the majority of the men had left the previous day to celebrate the New Year with their families and the remainder left in the camp were not expecting an attack.
In the ensuing skirmish the Boers lost 6 killed, 12 wounded, and 40 captured, while 2 men of the attacking force, Tprs V S Jones and D McLeod of the QMI, were killed: the first Australian casualties of the Boer War.
Bombr G E G Wieck, 1st QMI, writing to his father on 14 January 1900, said:
"We left here on the 31st December, to attack rebels at Sunnyside. We were told that there were about five hundred of them, and as we were only about three hundred, we anticipated a lively time. We went about twenty miles, and camped nine miles from the enemy. On New Year's Day we started out through prickly bushes, to surprise them. We stopped about three miles from their camp, and sent the R.H.A. round some hills, so as to take their attention from us. We were anxiously waiting to advance, when we heard the first shot from the twelve-pounders. It struck the Boers' laager when they were getting their dinner ready, and caused a great commotion, as they were taken completely by surprise. They started running up the Kopje, and the next shell drove them down again. The third one burst in among their tents, killing a few, and clearing them out on the hills, where we met them. The M.I. were then ordered to advance. After climbing over places with the guns where a goat could hardly walk, we met them, and a hot fire started on both sides. We got a good line on some of them with the Maxims, and when we looked afterwards to see what damage we had done, we found one man with nine holes in him, and another with six holes in him, and a lot of blood leading from the spot. After firing at them for about half-an-hour, they raised the white flag and laid down their arms, and we got forty-one of them alive. The next thing was the wounded. We found McLeod was dead, shot through the spine. He was in the battery with me, and I was sorry for him. The Boers lost twenty odd killed and wounded, whilst our loss was two dead and two wounded.”

Sunnyside was the first British success after the “Black Week” earlier in December 1899, when the Boers defeated the British at Stormberg, Magersfontein, and Colenso. The action received accolades from around the Empire. Chamberlain, Secretary of State for the Colonies, sent a message to the Lieutenant-Governor of Queensland congratulating the Colony on the gallant behaviour of the Queensland troops in the engagement.

• ABO : Burger N J Doman EF-
Nicolaas Doman, a Cape Rebel from the farm Belmont, Kuruman District, served under Commandant Scholtz of Gen Cilliers’ Commando, having joined on 27 December 1899. He was one of the few who managed to escape capture after the skirmish at Sunnyside.
He saw further action at Koedoesberg, Prieska, Fabersput, etc until February 1902 when he was invalided home due to malaria. Doman’s son assisted him in applying for the ABO medal in March 1954.
Doman’s name appeared in an undated General Index of alleged rebels as no 388 and as an absconded rebel in 1900.
Henk

Good heavens, that is very nice indeed, Henk.

Henk
Thank you for another excellent story - a good way to start the New Year!
Regards
Brett