TOPIC:

1900 - Mafeking siege day 163 (75%). Fourth New Zealand contingent sails for South Africa. "C" Battery Royal Canadian Artillery disembarks at Beira. Carrington leaves Beira for Marandellas.
1901 - Babington defeats De la Rey at Wildfontein.
1902 - First drive in West Transvaal.

In Mafeking:

[Baillie has two entries for the 24th and none for the 23rd]

24th. Last night the Boers evacuated their brickfield trenches, which we occupied with much cheering; they left several cases of dynamite behind connected with a wire, with which they proposed to blow up our men; the wire was, however, promptly disconnected: In Dutch newspapers discovered in the trenches was found the account of the fall of Bloemfontein, which was confirmed by runners from Plumer this morning. The Boers have now withdrawn to a respectful distance all round the town, which is, however, still invested, but the big gun so far is quiet. This must be the beginning of the end, and we have nearly completed our six months' siege. I fully expect the big gun to be removed in a day or two j last night was the first, time she has failed to reply to our artillery fire.

We have started a post-office here, with stamps, &c, and also a very tastefully designed £1 note. I must finish off my entries as a go of fever makes it difficult, almost impossible, to write at all.

24th. Last night Sub-Inspector Murray and Trooper Melahue, Cape Police, went out, and having reconnoitred the rear of the enemy's trench, came to the conclusion that it was unoccupied. Inspector Browne, of the Cape Police, and the Cape Boys under Lieutenants Feltham and Currie, proceeded to occupy it. The Boers had left a mine of 250 lbs. of nitro-glycerine behind. Sergeant Page, Protectorate Regiment, discovered and disconnected the wire. The men cheered themselves hoarse, and rightly too, for this is the most decisive success we have scored since the commencement of the campaign, as the town is now for the first time free from musketry fire, and our guns are again within striking distance of the Boer artillery.

Hi Everybody
24 March 1902: Skirmish at Rhenoster Valley (between Sutherland and Fraserburg)
There is a brief reference in “The Colonials in South Africa”, p147:
“On 24 March at Rhenoster Valley a detachment of Marshall’s Horse was badly cut up, losing 7 men
killed and 1 officer and 7 men wounded.”
Further details are in Taffy & David Shearing’s booklet “General Jan Smuts and his Long Ride” p182:
“In faraway Fraserburg (Commandant) Neser ambushed a patrol of Marshall’s Horse at Renostervlei.
Jasper Rupping told us that his father was sent to Bakoondkraal to fetch fodder and warned Neser he
had spotted four scouts ahead.
They were part of a patrol of Marshall’s Horse who were on the Sutherland-Phisanterivier road,
climbing up the steep track to Renostervlei. Riding without scouts, they reached the top where Neser
and his men lay hidden in the renoster veld. They opened fire and nine men were killed and a further
eight wounded.
The survivors regrouped, and the fight continued all day. They fled when it was dark. Neser and his
men were remounted and rearmed”
Neser, in his Memoirs (Christiaan de Wet Annale, No7), covers the skirmish against Lt Col Callwell’s Column in detail and claims that they took approximately 100 men prisoner.


QSA, 1 bar CC: 21408 Pte C.H. von Plaster, Marshall’s Horse

Claude Herbert von Plaster was born in in Grahamstown on 24 June 1865. He enlisted in Marshall’s Horse at Grahamstown on 28 Nov 1900 and was one of the unit’s seven casualties at Rhenostervlei. The other two men killed served in the Sutherland DMT.
The QSA is as originally issued with single bar Cape Colony (QSA roll May 1903) Two additional bars (OFS & Tvl) were ticked and issued later on an unspecified date. Von Plaster does not appear on the KSA Roll for Marshall's Horse and no indication could be found of the issue of the two date bars to which he was entitled.
Henk

1900 - Diary of the siege of Mafeking by Edward Ross

Saturday, 24 March

At a little past one o’clock this morning a squad of Currie’s Cape Boys were told off to rush and occupy the Boers’ advanced trenches which they had been trying to evacuate during the day. They gained the position without firing a shot, although the surrounding evidence shewed very plainly that some of the enemy had scooted mighty hurriedly at the last moment, leaving behind them bandoliers, Mauser cartridges, food-stuffs, water-bags, biltong, etc., etc., and last but not least, some late copies of the St. and Diggers and other newspapers. Our men had not been long in the Boer trenches when they found a nicely prepared dynamite mine, kindly laid for us by the enemy, and containing about 250 lbs of nitroglycerine. The leading wire being found, it was cut and hauled in, eventually taking three or four men to do this, the length secured being about 1 000 yards. Just the very stuff we are short of and want badly. Of course it is very lucky the enemy did not explode the mine as it would have given us a terrific shaking up, and would no doubt have done us a lot of damage at the brickfields. The Boers no doubt expected to get a lot of our men in their trenches and then blow them to perdition, but we were too wide awake for that, and the very first thing done was to locate any mines they had prepared, and in this manner clean dusted them down.

The newspapers brought in give us the very welcome intelligence of the fall of Bloemfontein on the 4th March and Roberts’s grand military entrance.

The Boers have now retired out of their advanced posts at the brickfields, it having been made too hot for them, thanks to the C.P., Protectorate Regiment, Volunteers and Cape Boys, and are now occupying their old trenches at the race course.

We have held this old position in the very teeth of all their artillery, including a whole solid day’s bombardment from their 94-pounder from the eastern heights, and all their continual heavy rifle-fire, and have at last succeeded in driving them back to their old original fortifications almost outside rifle range of the town. Those who have been connected with this work deserve all the credit and praise possible.

During the afternoon the enemy ran out towards the south their 1 -pound Maxim and 5-pounder, and endeavoured to snipe our cattle but did no damage.

Whilst this was going on, two of the Volunteers at the brickfields endeavoured to get beyond the Boer trenches we had occupied, but were spotted, and had to retreat mighty smart under a very heavy rifle-fire.

Squads of our men are now kept continually exercising their horses and themselves ready for any emergency, and under the existing circumstances are looking very fit indeed.

Towards evening the enemy opened fire on us with their 5-pounder, but did no damage except scratching a few houses on the east front, and at night gave us two good-night volleys at long range, doing no harm.

So long as that big gun keeps quiet we can stick all this for any length of time.

There are a lot of rumours about town that one of Plumer’s columns is at Saane’s stadt about 15 miles down the river, and will come in early next week. This can hardly be quite correct, but that something is in the wind and will shortly happen is a certainty. There is no smoke without fire. The sooner the better, as Ryan’s new issue of flapjacks for bread will knock us out far quicker than all the Transvaal burghers put together could.