TOPIC:

THE “FIRST 500” MEN OF THE IMPERIAL LIGHT HORSE

Of all the Colonial units that served in the Anglo-Boer War, the one with the proudest history was the Imperial Light Horse, an irregular regiment that was raised during the month preceding the outbreak of the war. Much of its success stemmed from the character, courage and commitment of the first intake of men into the regiment – the “First 500”.

Most of the “First 500” were “foreigners” (“Uitlanders”), who left the Transvaal when war threatened and who arrived as refugees in Pietermaritzburg, the capital of the Colony of Natal. Recruitment began early in September 1899 and the volunteers included many skilled professional men (mine officials, doctors, lawyers and engineers), men with practical skills (transport riders, hunters and farmers), as well as adventurers with military experience. About 45% of the men were South African born, 45% were British by birth, while the rest were from other Colonies (Australia, New Zealand and Canada) and countries elsewhere in the world.

By the end of September, a little over 500 men had been accepted into the ILH, which was made up of six squadrons (“A” to “F”) of 86 men each, with three troops per squadron and each squadron under the control of four officers. The Officer Commanding was Lieutenant-Colonel J J Scott-Chisholme, who had been seconded from the 5th Lancers. With few exceptions, the other officers were from the ranks of the “Uitlanders”, all men who had been prominent in the affairs of Johannesburg in pre-war years. These officers were personal friends and business associates and all shared a desire to fight the Boers to avenge the treatment that had led to their leaving their jobs and homes in the Transvaal. Since they already knew most of the men they commanded, their common history was a bond that made for excellent relations between all ranks.

Thousands of men volunteered to serve in the ILH and they were subjected to a rigorous selection process. The men chosen were the best in horsemanship, shooting, character and physique. The training that these men received was equally rigorous and those lacking the necessary keenness and efficiency were discharged and replaced by new more suitable recruits.

“A” Squadron was the first to be sent to the front and it was dispatched to Estcourt on 13/10/1899. It was to remain separated from the other squadrons for the next four months. “A” Squadron was largely engaged in patrols of the area south of the Tugela River, often with men from the Natal Police and the Natal Carbineers, who were already familiar with the area. There were occasional contacts with the Boers while on patrol, but “A” Squadron went into action for the first time during the Battle of Willow Grange on 23/11/1899, where it suffered its first fatal battle casualty.

On 16/10/1899, “B”, “C”, “D”, “E” and “F” Squadrons entrained for Ladysmith. A few days later, on 21/10/1899, the ILH met the Boers in battle at Elandslaagte. The ILH dismounted to fight in this epic battle alongside men of the Gordon Highlanders, an Imperial regiment with a long and illustrious history. These two regiments, the old and tested and the new and untried, matched each other in determination and courage. They dislodged the Boers from their part of the battlefield, while the adjacent Manchester and Devonshire regiments were similarly successful. The ILH and Gordons suffered the heaviest casualties on the British side during this battle. Those killed including the ILH commander, Colonel Scott-Chisholme. Two ILH officers were subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross for their gallantry in this battle. The foundation for the fame of the ILH, which was to grow as the war progressed, was laid during the Battle of Elandslaagte.

In spite of the British victory in this battle, their troops retreated into Ladysmith, where they were soon besieged by the Boers. The ILH was to distinguish itself on two occasions during the siege. Firstly, on 8/12/1899, it took an active part with a force of Colonials in a night raid on the Boer position on Gun Hill. The Boers retreated and the raiding party disabled a heavy gun (Long Tom) and howitzer, and carried back to Ladysmith a Maxim gun and the breech block of the Long Tom. Secondly, the ILH played a key roll in defeating the Boers when they launched an attack on Wagon Hill on 6/1/1900. Men from the ILH and Gordon Highlanders again fought side by side, together with men from other Imperial and Colonial units. The battle lasted all day and, as at Elandslaagte, ILH casualties were heavy. One of those killed, Trooper H Albrecht, was awarded the ILH’s third Victoria Cross.

Throughout the Siege of Ladysmith, “A” Squadron formed part of the Composite Regiment of the Mounted Brigade and took an active part in the relief operations. The Composite Regiment was on the right flank in the disastrous British defeat at the Battle of Colenso on 15/12/1899, during which the ILH had men both killed and wounded. Later, the British relief force crossed the Tugela River about 20 miles west of Colenso and a detachment of Natal Carbineers and ILH outflanked the Boers at Acton Homes and ambushed a small party of them. The opportunity to exploit this success and approach Ladysmith from the west was lost and the British went on to suffer other humiliating defeats in the Battles of Spioenkop and Vaalkrans. Eventually, the frontal assault on the Boers defending the Tugela Heights near Colenso was renewed. The Composite Regiment was again on the right flank and this time they assisted in the successful attacks on the high ground south of the Tugela River. After the infantry had taken the Tugela Heights, a forward patrol of the Composite Regiment, including men from the ILH, rode into Ladysmith on 28/2/1900, thus bringing the epic Siege of Ladysmith to an end.

After Ladysmith was relieved, the ILH was reinforced with new recruits to fill the gaps left by the casualties of war and disease. Lord Roberts, Officer Commanding the British Forces in South Africa, then selected the ILH to be the principal mounted element in the operation to relieve the Siege of Mafeking. After a long journey by sea to Cape Town and by rail to Kimberley, the ILH assembled with the other elements of the relief force at Barkly West and set off for Mafeking on 4/5/1900. After several clashes with the Boers in very difficult terrain, a detachment of the ILH rode into Mafeking on 16/5/1900 to end the siege that had begun in October 1899.

Remarkably, men of the ILH were amongst the first to enter both Ladysmith and Mafeking to bring to an end two of the most significant sieges mounted by the Boers during the war. This was a unique achievement.

After Mafeking was relieved, the ILH moved into the Transvaal and, in the course of pursuing the enemy, they traversed the Republic from west to east. After the last setpiece battle of the war was fought and won at Bergendal on 27/8/1900, there was a widespread belief that the war was essentially over. The demobilization of Colonial troops was begun, although the ILH were initially excluded from the disbandment order. There followed a period of great confusion concerning the continued existence of the regiment, which men would be discharged and the leave to be taken by those who stayed on.

Eventually only about 50 men chose to remain with the regiment. Most of those who left were men of the “First 500” and they took with them a wealth of experience. However, their sterling service, together with that of the men who had died or been debilitated by war and disease, left an indelible mark on the ILH. The regiment rose from the ashes of its first year of existence to be rebuilt and later to add a second regiment to its roll. Men of the ILH continued to serve with distinction through the rest of the war, adding a fourth VC to its honours.

Ultimately the ILH was the only irregular regiment raised during the Anglo-Boer War that was not disbanded. It went on to serve in all subsequent conflicts involving South Africa and it survives today as the Light Horse Regiment with its headquarters still in Johannesburg, which is where most of the “First 500” had originated.

MEDALS OF MEN FROM THE “FIRST 500”
(Left to right in the photograph)

QSA (Relief of Mafeking, Tugela Heights, Relief of Ladysmith, Transvaal)
Captain D F Gilfillan
Douglas Flemmer Gilfillan was born in the Cape Colony. He was a lawyer in Johannesburg who took an active part in “Uitlander” politics and in the formation of the ILH. He served in “A” Squadron during the Relief of Ladysmith and commanded “F” Squadron during the Relief of Mafeking. He was discharged on 17/7/1900 in order to take up legal duties with the new administration of the Transvaal.

QSA (Relief of Mafeking, Tugela Heights, Relief of Ladysmith, Transvaal)
166 Trooper L T James
Llewellyn Thomas James was a British subject. He claimed earlier military service with the Royal Navy and during the Zulu War with the Natal Native Contingent and Cooke’s Horse. He also served with Baker’s Horse, possibly during the Basutoland Gun War. He was discharged on 18/10/1900.

QSA (Cape Colony, Tugela Heights, Relief of Ladysmith, South Africa 1901)
141 Trooper J P H Nelson
John Peter Holger Nelson was born in Denmark. He claimed earlier military service in the Franco-Prussian War, the United States Navy, and every conflict in southern Africa between 1879 and 1899. He served in “A” Squadron during the Relief of Ladysmith and was wounded during the Battle of Colenso. He did not take part in the Relief of Mafeking and was discharged on 18/1/1901.

QSA (Relief of Mafeking, Elandslaagte, Defence of Ladysmith, Transvaal)
32 Trooper W Wilson
William Wilson was born in Scotland and had served with the 1st/10th Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers and the British South Africa Police before joining the ILH. He served with “C” Squadron during the Battle of Wagon Hill. He was discharged on 12/10/1900.

QSA (Relief of Mafeking, Elandslaagte, Defence of Ladysmith, Transvaal. Also entitled to Orange Free State and South Africa 1901 [added loose on ribbon].)
219 Corporal T W Hope
Thomas William Hope was born in England. His first Discharge Certificate lists the engagements in which he served as Elandslaagte, Ladysmith, Biggarsberg, Mafeking, Pretoria, Barbeton and Frederickstad. His second Certificate lists operations in the Western Transvaal and Orange River Colony. He was discharged on 16/1/1901, but rejoined the ILH on 21/5/1901 and served until 10/12/1901.

17/2/2011

Brett,

This is a wonderful collection of 1st ILH medals. I think my favourite combination of clasps must be RoM, Eland and DoL although it does always strike me as strange that the RoM clasps should appear so early in the order.

Conan Doyle recorded the enmity that existed between the men of the ILH and their colleagues who comprised the Johannesburg Commando and who had, until recently, been fellow citizens of Johannesburg. Indeed, many of the men in the ILH were known to the Johannesburg Commando.

“But to the men of the Imperial Light Horse, recruited as they were from among the British refugees of the Rand, there was added a burning sense of injustice, and in many cases a bitter hatred against the men whose rule had weighed so heavily upon them. In this singular corps the ranks were full of wealthy men and men of education, who, driven from their peaceful vocations in Johannesburg, were bent upon fighting their way back to them again. A most unmerited slur had been cast upon their courage in connection with the Jameson raid - a slur which they and other similar corps have washed out for ever in their own blood and that of their enemy. Chisholm, a fiery little Lancer, was in command, with Karri Davis and Wools-Sampson [sic], the two stalwarts who had preferred Pretoria Gaol to the favours of Kruger, as his majors. The troopers were on fire at the news that a cartel had arrived in Ladysmith the night before, purporting to come from the Johannesburg Boers and Hollanders, asking what uniform the Light Horse wore, as they were anxious to meet them in battle. These men were fellow townsmen and knew each other well.”

Of the ILH, Sir Archibald Hunter said:

“they were the picked 1,200 men out of about 12,000 refugees from Johannesburg. All the British refugees from Johannesburg were well-to-do men; they were the pick and the cream of the intelligent men who were going out to South Africa, and, naturally, physically they were very fine.”

Hunter continued:

“The first time I ever saw them … was the first day they had ever been on parade as a regiment. It was the first day that Colonel Chisholme had ever had them under his command … I had not long come from a tour abroad, where I had seen nothing but the picked guards of Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Prussia, and Saxony, and there was nothing I saw on the Continent then, and nothing I have ever seen here, except the Irish Constabulary, that could put a patch on them … They were a great success, a most undoubted success. "

Hunter concluded “They were the finest corps I have ever seen anywhere in my life.”

On 13th October 1899, the ILH reported their strength at 350 and they were stationed at Maritzburg. This picture is of the ILH at PMB so it may be one the earliest of the regiment.

David

Thank you for your replies. Like you, I have always thought it odd that the 'Relief of Mafeking' clasp preceded 'Elandslaagte' and others, but then the many anomalies that beset the QSA make it a more interesting medal than most others.

The ILH was indeed a remarkable regiment during the Boer War. Apart from the many comments in a variety of publications about the regiment, its men and the actions in which they fought, there is also an excellent 'official ' history of the regiment written by the Intelligence Officer of the 1st ILH during the War. It is:

The Story of the Imperial Light Horse in the South African War 1899 - 1902.
by G F Gibson, published by G. D. & Co in 1937.

It is one of the best regimental histories that I have consulted and it has added immensely to my enjoyment of researching the men represented in my small ILH QSA collection.

Brett