Thanks Meurig
No, my JFdeFS was not at Talana. When Gough attacked Blood River Poort he did not go in with his whole force, only three companies including JFdeFS. A few were killed and the rest taken prisoner. The rest of the MI at the poort must have withdrawn intact without having seen any action and it might well be this contingent that was later at Talana. As for JFdeFS this is what he had to say after their capture.
"We were then mustered, and ordered up the Poort to a farm. But before marching off General Louis Botha made a brief inspection, and professed, or pretended to profess, the greatest indignation at the way in which we officers had been treated, in being stripped of our clothing etc. However, all this availed nothing, since the "officers" did not appear to exercise the slightest influence over the burghers, who did just as they pleased. Personally, I did not want sympathy. All I needed was my trousers back! On the way up to the farm, I walked alongside a mounted Boer, who told me that we would in all probability not be detained longer than a day or two, since the Boers did not look forward to feeding so many extra mouths having, in fact not too much food for themselves.
On reaching the farm, the wounded were made as comfortable as circumstances permitted, by both the British and Boer medical services, each of whom had administered First aid, so far as possible, before leaving the field of action. Here, an old Boer gave me an overcoat, for I was clad in only pants, shirt, and socks. Fortunately, the weather was warm. On arrival we were relegated to the farm buildings for the night. There, we were given a little food. Gough, however, contrived to evade his guards, and to escape on the way up to the farm. Having been stripped like the other officers, he eventually got back, footsore and weary, to De Jagers Drift next day.
We were kept where we were all next day, the main feature of which was considerable activity on the part of the Boers, who were continually mustering in parties of from 50 to 100, and riding away.
Next morning, about 10.0 am, a convoy of British Ambulances arrived, under a flag of truce, from Vryheid, and the dead and wounded having been placed in them, the rest of us were told that we could get into Vryheid (about 15 miles distant) as best we could. As I personally had to do it all in my stockinged feet, it was fortunate that the "going was good" and nearly all over grassland. As it was, I was considerable sore, by the time we reached Vryheid!
At Vryheid, I found H.Q. and the other Section of battery, which had left De Jagers some days before we moved out with Gough. Next day, the dead, to the number of 17, were all buried in one grave, in the presence of representatives of each unit in garrison. A day or two later, Captain Dick of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, also succumbed to his wounds.
On the 23rd September, we proceeded to return to De Jagers. We had lost 26 horses, 2 guns, 1 ammunition wagon, in addition to all stores and baggage. Gough, of course, had been entirely deceived by false information regarding the enemy movements and dispositions. Doubtless, the native spies whom he employed were in 'Boer pay as well.' However, this was a case of frequent occurrence inn the South African War.
After a fortnight at De Jagers, I was suddenly ordered to Pietermaritzburg on "special duty." On arrival, I discovered that this duty amounted to proceeding to Fort York, an isolated outpost on the Natal-Zululand border to take over command there, as apparently an invasion by the Boers was now threatened in that quarter.
Zululand 1901
So to Fort York I duly proceeded, first by rail to Greytown, thence by horse to my destination. On arrival, I found the post to consist of a small blockhouse at the head of a steep and thickly wooded valley, with a garrison of 15 men and a machine gun. There I was detained for five days, and was by no means sorry to be ordered back on the 6th day to Ladysmith to rejoin the 69th Battery, due to embark for India at once.
During my short stay at the blockhouse, I received a visit from an old Zulu Chief. He was most anxious to get hold of a silk top hat, to complete his costume "ál' Anglais." He already, it seemed, possessed the conventional black mourning coat and vest, and cashmere trousers, but no hat! Much to his chagrin, I was unable to oblige him! All I had to offer him was a loaf of stale bread left over from our rations of the day before, which he gratefully accepted, however.
The Zulus, and in fact all the [deleted] tribes of South Africa, have a mania for European clothes, and especially for discarded military uniforms, and lose no opportunity of buying up the latter. I will remember one day in Durban, running up against a colonial gentleman clad in an old full dress Dragoon scarlet tunic, and a pair of Army Service Corps trousers, and obviously "Fancying himself"
I reached Ladysmith on the third day after leaving Fort York, where I found the guns and horses of the battery had been handed over to 50 Battery, R.F.A. and the "personnel" concentrated to embark for India.
That same afternoon, we took the train for Durban. On arrival at that port, we embarked in the Hired Transport "Armenian" together with the "personnel" of the 67th Battery, and one section of the 13th Battery. The whole was under command of Lieut. Col. E.A. Lambart. R.F.A. also, we constituted an escort for 1200 Boer prisoners of war, all destined for various internment camps in India. In addition, various details of officers were on board."
That was the termination of JFdeFS's Boer War service
George
