1900 - David Richards wrote a letter to his parents in Penmachno, four miles south of Betws-y-Coed.
A PENMACHNO MAN'S EXPERIENCES.
....Lance-Corporal David Richards, 1st Royal Welsh Fusiliers, son of Mr J. Richards, Cae lIwyd Bach, Penmachno, writing to his parents from Bloemfontein under date June 21st, says :—Just a few lines to let you know how I am going on after these many years' absence. I am now in the midst of the fearful war now raging in South Africa. I have been in this country now about eight months and have seen a good bit of fighting since. I have been employed on the Medical Staff Corps, and was present at all the engagements in Natal and Transvaal under General Buller. I arrived in this town a week ago from Cape Town. I had come down to Cape Town with some Boer prisoners from Ladysmith through from Pretoria. My regiment is now at Mafeking, about 207 miles from here. We came up from Cape Town a week back, we took eight days to come by train; it should only take us three days; we had to come right through the enemy's country. These rebels (that is, disloyal Dutch farmers, not the Boers) are a very bad set, because they have not got the courage to fight, but keep sniping at us from behind rocks, or from their farms, as we pass by in the train or march across the veldt. We had to wait many a time on the road to get information. We passed through a place called De Aar, only seven hours after the Boers had captured 600 of the Derby Regiment, and two companies of the Imperial Volunteers, and wrecked the railway for 15 miles. We got through all right—there was only a hundred of us—but we could go no further than here, because General De Wet had taken up the railway for 25 miles. People in England believe that the war is nearly finished, but the general belief here is that De Wet has ammunition and food for another 12 months, and that he will be joined by these rebels, which have once given up their arms. They want to occupy this town badly, because it is such a grand position. It is the capital of the Free State, and a pretty big sized town, and it is very well looked after by the British. My regiment has been very lucky through the campaign, and done some good work. It was in the First Brigade to enter the Transvaal from Natal, and was at the relief of Ladysmith and well on the way for Mafeking. It is very easy for the critics in England to criticise our Generals, but a taste of the country would do them good, and the country in itself is naturally strongly fortified. The hills in Wales are nothing to this, and the Boers (by Gladstone's grace) have had 19 years to prepare, but we will give them "prepare" before very long. The climate here is very bad, more than half of our fellows dying from fever, but it seems to agree with me all right: never had a day's sickness, but had a bullet wound in the chest at the battle of Raipan. After I was carried off I learnt that nearly all my section were either killed or wounded. I was taken to hospital in Kimberley, where I stopped for six weeks, but I am all right again. Of course you read in the English papers about the grand treatment of Tommy Atkins, but I can assure you that it is not "all gold that glitters." No doubt there are a lot of things sent out to us, but we don't get half of them. I should very much like to have a new suit of clothes, as I am (with thousands of others) entirely in rags, but I am in the right place for that now, as this is the headquarters of Lady Roberts's charities. There have been a lot of men lost through want of warm clothing . . . . . It is a little rough to be on outpost duty at night on a South African veldt, wet through to the skin, and surrounded by the enemy (I have had it several times), but the sun comes out in the morning and dries the clothing on us, but that's a bad thing for a man's constitution. The food in this town is a lot better than it has been. I was a long time on a biscuit and a half a day and a bit of corned beef. I have been very hard up for tobacco too, having paid five shillings for a small cake more than once, but things will alter for the better now.
The North Wales Chronicle, Saturday 21st July 1900 
