MWidnall wrote: My great great grandfather served as a Trooper in the 32nd Company. His attestation was recorded in Newton-le-Willows on Jan 4th 1900 so he may well have been part of the training at Southport and been on the Lake Erie. I'm hence intrigued by the letters from Richard Howard published in the Southport Visiter. I can't currently find an archive of the paper - is there any way of accessing the letters ?? Thanks in anticipation !!
Not online. The Southport Visiter is normally available to view on microfilm at both Southport and Crosby libraries. I've just phoned Southport Library, and they don't know when their local history section will be reopening, so it's probably the same at Crosby.
Was it Richard Howard that was your gggf?
…."Private R. Howard, whose death we reported in our last issue, wrote as follows to his parents from Upington, Gordonia, on the 5th ult.: -
….When we left Britstown, we were hurried to a place called Prieska, after some rebels, with Lord Kitchener and the Orange River Column. We were composed of the City of London Volunteers and Suffolk Mounted Infantry, the Australian Artillery, and the 7th Dragoons Reserve men. We had orders wired down, when we got to a place for a halt, to go 22 miles express to Prieska, and that the rebels were in force. They put the 7th Dragoons first, in the front rank with the Lancs., then our Company, then the Cheshire, and Warwickshire and London Volunteers. The Dragoons lost 12 horses from exhaustion; we lost two, and the Cheshires and Warwickshires lost six, and it nearly knocked all the life out of the others, and all for nothing. The rebels had retired an hour before across the Orange River. We could not get across, the river was so deep, or we should have been upon them. They left about half a ton of dynamite and 500 rounds of ammunition, which we captured next day, concealed in a rock. We took about 40 prisoners (stragglers), shot three of the ringleaders, fined the others £50 apiece and took all arms and ammunition off them. We captured 300 rifles of all kinds, in a house, and lots of Eley's cartridges, London. We go through all the houses as we pass, and take all the rifles we find. We have had a rough time of it. One of our men says he will have forty days and nights rest when he gets home. We have no tents with us, we have only a rug and a waterproof sheet to lie upon and the floor is covered with all sorts of reptiles. We had to cross the Orange River in a pontoon 25 at a time. The rebels left here a fortnight ago. They have been having fine sport commandeering everything. The country is nothing but bush, this the only decent place since we left Prieska, but you cannot get a drop of beer or mineral water. There are oranges on the trees and we get a few, but we have not much time for anything. In one place we passed through there was only one …..., they had looted everything. They are a badly-disposed people here, nice to your face, and behind your back ready to shoot you. I don't know where we are going from here. We came in on Wednesday, and are stopping till over Saturday, when we shall receive orders. We might go to Kimberley, it is only 150 miles from here. We are about half way between German Africa and the Free State. We have heard officially that Joubert is dead, but we hear nothing about the Transvaal. We heard that some more of the Yeomanry were called up for garrison duty, but whether it is true or not we do not know. Kitchener has left us at Prieska, and General Settle is in command."
Southport Visiter, Tuesday 15th May 1900
I've censored one word, as it's now considered to be unacceptable.
