TOPIC:

The affair at Mahlabatini didn't rank up there with the Paardeberg's or Spioenkops of the Boer War but it was an important action in which a small contingent of the Natal Police fought off a vastly superior number of well armed Boers. Johnstone-Smith was one of the survivors who died by his own hand a few months later.

James Eric Johnstone – Smith

Trooper, Cape Mounted Rifles
Trooper, Natal Police – Anglo Boer War

- Queens South Africa Medal to 2365 Tpr. J.E.J. Smith, Natal Police with clasps Tugela Heights, Relief of Ladysmith and Transvaal

Johnstone – Smith was always going to be difficult to research given the fact that his surname was hyphenated in some records to “Johnstone- Smith” whereas; in other records he appeared simply as “Smith”.


Johnstone-Smith is the tall fellow at the rear.

An Anglo-Indian he was born in Calcutta, India on 27 April 1877 the son of Johnstone Smith, a Broker by occupation, and his wife Alicia Fanny Emma Smith born Cherry. James was baptised in St. Pauls’ Cathedral in Calcutta on 9 June 1877 by Brownlow Atlay, the Cathedral Chaplain. His parents had married in the very same Cathedral on 14 June 1873.

Quite when Smith took the decision to head south to South Africa is unknown to us but he sailed aboard the “Athenian” from Southampton bound for East London on 29 February 1896. After arrival his first appearance in uniform came on 25 March 1896 when he enlisted, at King Williams Town in the Eastern Cape with the Cape Mounted Rifles and was assigned no. 2850 and the rank of Trooper. Smith was 19 at the time and came out as a recruit from England under an arrangement with the Government on a consideration of being given free passage to East London (in the Eastern Cape).

On 1 July 1896 he was transferred to “F” Squadron. On 16 March 1898 he was promoted to the rank of 1st Private. Smith doesn’t seem to have caused as much as a ripple with his service. The Defaulter’s Book is devoid of any reference to incidents concerning him and, on 15 August 1899 he took his discharge from them and made his way over the border into Natal. Four days later, on 19 August 1899, he enlisted with the Natal Police at their headquarters in Pietermaritzburg and was assigned no. 2365 and the rank of Trooper. As his next of kin he provided the name of his mother who, having returned to England from India was resident at 65 Waldeck Avenue, Bedford. Under the remarks column of the Natal Police Service Register appears the entry “Very Good” discharge from the C.M.R.

Smith, as he adjusted to his new life in the Natal Police, would have been blissfully unaware that in a few short months the country around him would be in turmoil and he would be embroiled in the war between the might of Great Britain on the one side and the two Boer Republics on the other.

With the outbreak of war the Natal Police were divided into two components – those who remained in their policing capacity and were to be found manning the various stations around the Colony both urban and rural, and those who were deployed in a more operational role as part of the Natal Field Force. It was the latter category which was to engage the Boers along with their regular army and colonial regiment comrades and it was to their ranks that Smith belonged.

When the siege of Ladysmith in early November 1899 began there were 60 members of the Natal Police at Nongoma, 10 at Nqutu, 84 at Ladysmith, 40 at Tugela Ferry, 40 at Estcourt, and 120 at Pietermaritzburg.

General Buller announced his intention of supervising in person the advance of the troops to relieve the besieged garrison of Ladysmith. He arrived in Natal on the 25th November, and joined a strong force of British troops at Frere, his bodyguard consisting of 40 men of the Natal Police, under Inspector Fairlie of which Johnstone-Smith was a member. The remainder of the police there were attached to a composite regiment under Major Gough, of the 16th Lancers.

This formed a portion of the mounted brigade under the command of Colonel the Earl of Dundonald. The troops moved forward to Chieveley on the 12th December, the mounted men being sent scouting in front.

Two days later the plan was announced for the attack on Hlangwane Hill, and while it was still dark on the following morning the police moved out as part of the advance-guard. The mountain was occupied by the enemy, who were shelled by the 7th Battery Field Artillery, the composite regiment accompanying them. The Irish Brigade and Colonel Long's guns met with disaster, and the mounted men, who were under a very heavy fire, were ordered to stand fast. It was an hour after the troops were ordered to retire that the mounted men received similar instructions, and though they were being heavily attacked the movement was well executed. The police had considerable difficulty in bringing away the Maxim gun, which had been hotly engaged.

Several of the police had narrow escapes during the day. A shell went between the legs of one of General Buller's escort while he was resting on an ant-hill.

A section of General Buller's force was withdrawn to Frere, owing to scarcity of water, but the composite regiment stayed at Chieveley, and reconnoitred in the direction of the Tugela.

General Buller started in a westerly direction on the 10th January, and as it had been raining heavily for three days, this was a very arduous undertaking. The infantry, following the transport, had to flounder through a sea of mud, but the mounted men, being in the advance-guard, were better off. The composite regiment had left to hold Springfield, and next day moved on to Potgieter's Drift, where a punt was seized and brought to the south side of the river, under a heavy fire from the Boers.

When darkness had fallen on the 16th January, General Warren's column, to which was attached the composite regiment, marched to Trichard's Drift, where the Royal Engineers made a pontoon bridge. While this operation was being carried on, patrols of the police were sent out, and in the afternoon a party of about three hundred Boers were seen riding down from Tabanyama towards the store at Venter's Drift. An attempt was made to ambuscade them, and the mounted men, by galloping at full speed, seized two kopjes to the west of the store. The Boers had no suspicion of the presence of the enemy, until someone carelessly fired a rifle, and then there was a general fusillade. The majority of the Boers turned and escaped, but some of them sheltered behind neighbouring boulders, and spiritedly replied to the fire. Supports were brought up, and the Boers surrendered, their total of killed, wounded, and captured being about fifty.

The police continued to guard the left flank of the troops until the 20th January, when the force was split up.

There was joy in Ladysmith on the last day of February, when Boers could be seen trekking to the north in small bodies, and in the evening cheering in the region of Caesar's Camp announced the arrival of the relief column's advance party, which included Sub-Inspector Abrahams and 15 of the Natal Police. There was great disappointment when it was found that they had not brought any food with them.

One of the most serious conflicts in which the Natal Police took part in was the defence, during this war, of the magistracy at Mahlabatini, on the 28th April 1901. Johnstone -Smith was among their number.

About a score of the police under Sergeant Locke had been brigaded with the Natal Volunteers for some months at Dundee, when they received orders to entrain for Zululand. From the Tugela they rode up to Melmoth, where a standing camp was pitched for some weeks until orders were received for them to leave their kits and go on a four days' patrol to Mahlabatini, to which place they rode, establishing a camp outside the court-house. Every morning before dawn a patrol of four men was sent along the road towards Emtonjeneni, and this patrol went out as usual on the day the attack was made.


The survivors who fought off a vastly superior Boer force

As the men were riding past a mealie patch, about two miles from the camp, a shot was fired, and one of the patrol galloped back to camp reporting the incident. The whole force was quickly saddled up, and rode out under Sergeant Locke, with Mr. Wheelwright, the magistrate, and Colonel Bottomley, who happened to be there. They rode quickly down the road, and made a thorough search of the mealie patch, but discovered nobody, so they went along the veldt towards the Emtonjeneni store, about three miles away, until they came to a place where the road divides, the main track passing to the left, and a path going straight on through some wattle trees. The magistrate, with four men, went along the road to the left, galloping to the top of a ridge, where they came under a hail of bullets. The sun was just rising, showing the troopers up very clearly on the skyline, and providing an excellent target for the Boers, who were concealed in the trees.

On hearing shots, the advance party of the men who had gone along the path got into skirmishing order, and entered the trees, where they were ambushed. They were shot down to a man, every one of them receiving two or more wounds.

The remainder of the troop hastily opened out, and arrived on the scene at a gallop, just as a Boer named Van Niekerk, more courageous than the others, came out of the trees to demand the surrender of the whole troop. This was refused, so he instantly fired, hitting one of the horses; but he in return received a bullet fired by Trooper J. Smith.

The police dismounted and took cover, spreading well out. They fired whenever they saw the slightest movement in the direction of the enemy, and after the fighting had lasted some hours the Boers were driven off. The dead and wounded troopers were placed in a police wagon. Sergeant Locke had been very badly injured within an hour of the opening of hostilities. He was found lying on the ground with his head on his saddle, Van Niekerk, also badly wounded, being near him. Most of the men had gone back to camp, and there were few left to attend to those who had fallen. Sergeant Locke was with difficulty lifted on to the wagon, which went slowly towards the camp, but as the jolting was so bad a stretcher was improvised. No natives had been seen about all day, but fortunately at this moment a party of thirty of them in full war paint appeared. They were told to carry the stretcher in which Sergeant Locke was lying, but they were in a violent frame of mind.

The list of casualties was:

Killed: Sergeant Collett (who in one leg alone received seven wounds), Trooper D. Cameron, Trooper Salmond, and Trooper Nelson.
Mortally wounded: Sergeant Locke and Trooper Aldwinkle.
Wounded: Trooper Smith.

Sergeant Locke died the same evening, and Trooper Aldwinkle expired about a month afterwards. Trooper Smith recovered and became a warder at the central gaol at Pietermaritzburg.

On the morning following the attack the survivors dug graves for their dead comrades, this being a difficult task, as the ground all round consisted of shale. As nothing better could be found to mark the spot where the bodies lay, rough crosses made from biscuit boxes were erected over the graves.

The defence had been maintained by 3 non-commissioned officers and 19 troopers of the Natal Police; it was afterwards discovered that the enemy had numbered about 150 (some reports suggest 400), and the little British force killed nine of them. The rest went back, and, thinking they had been opposed by a regiment, shot their native spies, who had told them that there were only a few men of the police there. When they discovered how many troopers there really were at Mahlabatini they sent along a disconcerting message to the effect that they would pay a visit to the camp on the first moonlight night and wipe out every man there.

The following telegram was sent by Lord Kitchener on the day following the fight:

"Please express to the chief magistrate and Civil Commissioner, Zululand, and to Natal Police, my appreciation of the gallant defence of the Mahlabatini magistracy, by the magistrate and staff and field force of the Natal Police. I greatly regret their heavy loss, but in such a brilliant action losses are inevitable. Please send names of any men who have distinguished themselves."

The following official message was sent by the Prime Minister:

"The Government has learnt with deep regret of the loss of so many brave lives in the attack on the Mahlabatini magistracy yesterday morning. It desires, however, to express its admiration of the brilliant manner in which the Natal Police field force acquitted itself on that occasion, when attacked with overwhelming strength, with the result that the attack was repulsed and the enemy were defeated. I beg of you to be good enough to convey this expression of appreciation to the remaining members of the field force who took part in this engagement."

In “the Nongqai” – the official police magazine – a photograph of the survivors appeared along with a brief account of the action which read as follows:

“The Magistracy, Mahlabatini, Zululand, was attacked by a large force of Boers at 5.a.m. yesterday. The defence was maintained by a detachment of the Natal Police Field Force, comprising 3 N.C.O’s, 19 men and 2 civil servants. The fighting lasted 6 hours, and resulted in the defeat and repulse of the Boers, who numbered 400 strong (according to computation of prisoners captured)

Fresh from the surviving the incident described above Johnstone-Smith returned to Mahlabatini to resume duty. Tragedy struck a mere four months later when it was announced that Trooper James Eric Johnstone-Smith had died at his own hand at Mahlabatini on 24 August 1901. The reason for his suicide was never advanced and no note appears to have been left by him. Possibly it was the stress and trauma of having survived the encounter not too many months earlier but we will most likely never know the real reason.

His kit inventory listed a number of items such as 1 silver watch, 1 gold ring, 1 leather belt, 2 Balaclava caps and other pathetic reminders of a life now lost. His effects were left to his mother and siblings Lt. Clement Arthur Johnstone-Smith of the Royal Garrison Artillery, Calcutta Mountain Battery, Punjab, India and Lt. Colin Walter Johnstone-Smith 29th Punjab Infantry. His mother in writing to the Master of the Supreme Court from England erred with the date of her son’s death stating it to be 24 September 1901. A sad reminder of how far removed he was from his family before his untimely death. [/size][/size]

Good Morning Rory......

Another fantastic posting........

Maybe he pronounced his name Smyth instead of Smith...... LOL....... At least it would be a little different.......

Mike

Thanks Mike

Johnstone-Smith was a "diamond in the rough" - I knew him to have committed suicide but had no idea he was one of the "Mahlabatini 19" until I paged through old copies of the Nongqai and spotted him in the photo you see in the post.

Many thanks for your encouraging words - you must send me the odd colonial medal to research for you.

Regards

Rory

Rory
In my opinion. and of course I am not biased, this is your best QSA purchase for a long time. Congratulations on acquiring the medal, and revealing the story behind it.
Regards
Brett

Another fabulous write-up that does and the man and Boer War history proud.

Many thanks gentlemen for your comments.

It is truly an honour and a privilege to research and "resurrect" these long forgotten men and, albeit for a brief moment in time, allow them through the medium of forums like this, to enjoy a prominence they might never have had in their lifetimes.

Regards

Rory