TOPIC:

In the aftermath of the Roodewal disaster, General De Wet (with Generals Froneman and Olivier) carried outa number of raids on infrastructure in the hands of the enemy in an area to the west of Heilbron. (Refer map previous post) From the available sources it is not always clear where, at any given date, De Wet’s forces were holed up exactly. Belfield’s map however gives a good indication as it seems that Methuen’s forces followed De Wet’s treks, albeit with a delay of a few days. De Wet is known to have bivouacked at Paardekraal farm on June 20, Methuen’s troops arrived there on June 27. Around this time De Wet captured two British officers: Captain A.G. Masters (Army Service Corps) and Major M.W. Bayly (Special Service Officer, New South Wales Contingent)
Among Belfield’s surviving paperwork is a note scribbled by Captain Masters on a page torn from an army notebook. The self-explanatory note is addressed to Belfield. Because the mobile Boer forces usually could not keep prisoners with them Masters was, according to the information on this site, later released. It is interesting to read that one of De Wet’s forces carried the note to Belfield.

During the Boer War 78 Officers and men qualified for the Victoria Cross. Over the same period approximately 1.160 DSO’s (some sources state 1.167) were awarded. One of the recipients of the latter medal was Colonel H.E. Belfield. Below the invitation to him for the award ceremony on the 18th of December 1902. This, possibly rare, survivor was not among his documents but was found in an online auction more than a decade ago.

Smashing thread, thank you EFV.

You ask about certain British officers:
Lieutenant Percy William Norman Fraser, Queens Own Cameron Highlanders, POW nr Ventersburg Rd 03-08-1900

Celliers/Collins correspondence:
Major PRS Churchward 1st Loyal North Lancs
Civil Surgeon GT Collins

Lt-Col WC Anderson DSO bn Cheshire Rgt, OC 5th bn IY

Source: The Register of the Anglo-Boer War