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Hi All,

My Great Grandfather, William Henry Pragnall was a Trooper in the 14th Kings Hussars, his number was 194. He was wounded on 24th Apr 1900 and died of his injuries the following day. The “official” records said he died at Grootfontein but other sources say Roodekop. Whether he was shot at Roodekop and sent to Grootfontein (field hospital), I don’t know. I have tried quite a few different sources for more info with no luck.

My question is, would he be on a memorial somewhere in the Johannesburg area? Is there somewhere where I could find out any more information.

I will be visiting Johannesburg in Sep ’17 and would appreciate any information on the location where he died

Source Information, Military-Genealogy.com, comp. UK, Casualties of the Boer War, 1899-1902. Historical records of the 14th (Kings) Hussars and Archive page of the 14th/20th Kings Hussars web site
Thank you in advance, Les

Les
Welcome to the forum. I can't help with the location of any memorial for your GGF. However, I had a trawl through various sources and 14H as a unit had several casualties at Grootfontein on 24th April; possibility he succumbed to his injury elsewhere. Your GGF had previous service as 4116 in 7H, according to my QSA Cavalry roll. His QSA medal bore the clasps "Cape Colony" and "Orange Free State".
Good luck with your quest.
Regards
IL.

Hi Les


On the 24th Hamilton occupied the waterworks at
Sanna's Post, Smith-Dorrien's brigade 10 miles in rear, the
rest of the 9th division in Bloemfontein ready to march east-
ward, the object being to cut off the line of retreat of the
Boers in the south. Brabant made little progress, the Boers
holding their own against him and renewing the attack on
Dalgetty. Pole-Carew reached Roode Kop, 14 miles from
Dewetsdorp, on the 24th, French pushing on to the east as
far as Grootfontein, in order next day to sieze the Boer line
of retreat on Thaba 'Nchu at Vaalbank, 9 miles northeast
of Dewetsdorp. Bundle's scouts also came in touch with
Brabant's outposts on the Caledon.

The Boers, on the night of the 24th, however, abandoned
their positions at Dewetsdorp and Wepener and retired on
Thaba 'Nchu and Ladybrand, respectively.

Fron "The Second Boer War 1899-1902"

Regards
Adrian

Morning Les

Your GGF died in the Orange Free State. Casualty locations for the ABW are tricky and often imprecise.

Using the gazetteer my father and I wrote - A Gazetteer of the Second Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902 (Military Press, Milton Keynes 1999) I have looked into the location and come with three possibilities. Although the 14th Hussars are not mentioned, they were at one of these points. Some careful re-reading of the sources and The Times (or other newspapers) would be beneficial looking for references to the 14th Hussars.

Grootfontein
[2926: 2930-2645 not marked] a farm in the Orange Free State (Dewetsdorp district; Free State), ten kilometres north-east of Dewetsdorp. On 24 April 1900 a column commanded by Major-Gen J.D.P. French heading towards Thaba 'Nchu* was engaged by the Boers, six were killed and 22 wounded. This action known as Rooi Kop (3)* in the casualty rolls. On 17 November, a Boer laager was spotted near the farm by mounted infantry from the garrison at Dewetsdorp* commanded by Maj W.G. Massy, RFA; on 19 November, it moved to Damfontein (2)*. HMG III p.491 (map no.54), CR, Bell.

Roode Kop Ridge
[2926: 2928-2630] a farm and prominent hill, 1,718 m high, in the Orange Free State (Dewetsdorp district; Free State) 20 km north-west of Dewtesdorp. Variants: Rooikop (Afrikaans spelling for the name of the hill as used on the 1: 250,000 map); Roodekop Hill (used by Goldmann). Barring the British advance on Dewetsdorp* from Bloemfontein (2)*, Veg-Gen P. Fourie was sent with a force to hold the ridge. On 24 April 1900, the 16th (Queen's) and 17th (Duke of Cambridge's Own) Lancers were sent to seize the ridge, but heavy enfilading fire prevented any advance until the 9th (Queen's Royal) and 12th (Prince of Wales's Royal) Lancers captured the hill and brought pom-poms into action. HMG II pp.322323 (map no.35 (incorrectly located)); Times IV pp.70 and 71 (map of the Orange Free State in the front pocket); Goldmann pp.205-206 (fourth map facing p.218).

Rooi Kop (3)
[2926: 2930-2645 not marked] a farm in the Orange Free State (Dewetsdorp district; Free State), ten kilometres north-east of Dewetsdorp. On 24 April 1900 a column commanded by Major-Gen J.D.P. French heading towards Thaba 'Nchu* was engaged by the Boers, six were killed and 22 wounded. This action is known as Grootfontein* in HMG. HMG III p.491 (map no.54), CR, Bell.

The 14th Hussars suffered 1 killed and 10 wounded on the day. The man killed was Cpt PR Denny who is reported in The Last Post (M Dooner) as being killed at "at Roodekop, near Dewetsdorp". He is buried on the battlefield with a memorial in Bloemfontein Cathedral (amongst others in the UK).

Regards
Meurig

Les,
Found this as it may be what you are looking for :Roodekop, 24 Apr 1900

There was an advance towards De Wetsdorp that took the cavalry past Roodekop. Here the 14th and 8th Hussars were ordered to occupy a high ridge to their front. They galloped forward and dismounted, reaching the top just before the Boers. A fire-fight ensued during which A Squadron were pinned down so that they had to keep their faces flat on the ground. The squadron CO was killed outright, he was Captain Denny, on attachment from the KDG, and 2 other men were killed. This action delayed the cavalry so that it was unable to cut off the retreat from Wepener. The infantry captured De Wetsdorp but the Boers were reinforced by Louis Botha and withdrew to the mountains around Thabanchu.
14th Hussars
Sand River Drift
It was here that the 4th Brigade narrowly avoided being surrounded, only managing to escape due to the rearguard actions of the 14th. Several of their horses were lost but no men were hit, only one was captured by the enemy but later released.

Hello Les
As a salted Free Stater allow me to cast some more light on all of the references in the posts below;
'Roode Kop' is a hill and not a town.
'Grootfontein' is the name of a specific farm. 'Vaalbank' is also the name of a farm.
'Thaba Nchu' is the name of a missionary settlement / village, but is also the name of a prominent mountain east of Sanna's Post due east from Bloemfontein.
So when the report says the Boer commandos retreated to Thaba Nchu the reference is to the mountain and not the village.
I find the various references most interesting, Thanks Evyn