TOPIC:

I guess this complex information must have been drilled into them so they could carry out the movements by bugle call without hesitation, even when under fire and on uneven ground.
The problem with skirmishing, as I understand it, is that it relies on the forward momentum of individual soldiers- rather than a mass movement - and at critical moments the urge to take cover must be overwhelming!

Skirmish tactics have evolved throughout history, starting with light infantry in ancient warfare who used ranged weapons to harass enemy formations before a main battle. Later developments, particularly in the American Colonial and Revolutionary Wars, integrated Native American fighting styles that emphasised cover, ambush, and dispersed lines. During the Napoleonic Wars and the American Civil War, the role of skirmishers grew to include cavalry and infantry units that operated in front of the main army to scout, harass, and delay the enemy, leading to the modern concept of a skirmish line as a key tactical formation. 

Throughout the Victorian era (circa 1837–1901), improvements in firearm technology, particularly the widespread adoption of rifled muskets, then breech-loading and eventually repeating rifles, dramatically increased the effectiveness of aimed fire. This led to a gradual shift where the tactics once exclusive to light infantry and skirmishers became the standard for all infantry, moving away from the massed line formations that had dominated earlier eras. This evolution culminated in the fire-from-cover, formation-light fighting style seen by the end of the American Civil War and leading into the trench warfare of World War I. 

As most forummers are aware and have an interest is military tactics.
The Boers, who were primarily farmers and hunters, were expert marksmen and skilled in fieldcraft and stalking. 

Mounted Infantry: They operated as highly mobile mounted infantry, moving quickly on ponies but fighting on foot from cover.

Guerrilla Warfare: Their commandos used skirmishing and fire-and-movement tactics, relying on individual initiative, concealment, and accurate, long-range fire to ambush British troops and then withdraw quickly. They avoided set-piece battles and close combat whenever possible. 

The British Army initially struggled against these tactics, as their doctrine had focused on conventional warfare against less well-armed opponents. After suffering heavy casualties in early battles (the "Black Week" of December 1899), they adapted their approach significantly. 

Skirmishing Lines: The British increasingly adopted widely extended lines of skirmishers as a primary offensive formation to present less of a target to the enemy.

Fire and Movement: They implemented fire-and-movement techniques, which involved one line of skirmishers providing covering fire while another advanced.

Mounted Infantry Units: The British raised and extensively used their own mounted infantry and Imperial Yeomanry units to match the Boers' mobility, particularly during the later guerrilla phase of the war. 

Dave.....

Dear Rob,

I have some great news! Recently I was able to obtain a digitized copy of Infantry Training that's published in 1905. The manual was published in the aftermath of Boer War, and was a result of various measures of tactical reforms going on in the army back then. Although definitions for different formations remains relatively intact, this manual, compared to Infantry Drill of 1896, contains way more illustrations. And various illustrations in the book actually depicted most of the formations that's taken by sections, half-companies, companies, battalions, brigades and divisions. The fact that the organization of the Army during that period stays pretty much identical to that of the Army during Boer war is even better, since tactical units were still organized in the old-fashioned way. You can actually observe the revolution that's going on in the army, as the manual puts way more emphasis on skirmishing, sharpshooting and individual initiatives.

I'll attach the definitions for these formations, as well as some important figures depicting how large units in different formations actually look like to my reply.(THe images for battalion in quarter column and column have to be combined into pdfs due to its size)

If you're interested in reading the manual, it's on the internet archive. The link is below:
archive.org/details/infantrytraining00grea/mode/2up