TOPIC:

Alfred Edward Nieuwenhuis

Private, Cape Police District 2 – Anglo Boer War
Sergeant, 5th Regiment, South African Mounted Rifles – WWI

- Queens South Africa Medal with clasps Cape Colony, Transvaal & Orange Free State to 825 Pte. A. E. Nieuwenhuis, Cape Police
- Kings South Africa Medal with clasps South Africa 1901 & 1902 to 825 Pte. A. E. Nieuwenhuis, C.P. Dist. 2
- 1914/15 Star to Sjt. A.E. Nieuwenhuis, 5th S.A.M.R.
- British War Medal to Sjt. A.E. Nieuwenhuis, 1st S.A.I.
- Victory Medal to Sjt. A.E. Nieuwenhuis, 1st S.A.I.
- Permanent Forces of the Empire beyond the Seas Long Service and Good Conduct Medal to No. 1867 Sgt. A.E. Nieuwenhuis, 5th Regt. S.A.M.R.
- South African medal for War Services (unnamed as issued)

Not much is known about the early years of Alfred Edward Nieuwenhuis. His name itself is a bit enigmatic with very English Christian names mixed with a surname which speaks to a Dutch influence at some point in his family’s life. Such combinations are not unusual in South Africa, especially in the Cape Colony, where both European-descended cultures mingled freely with one another without the animosity which was to manifest itself in the Boer War at the end of the 19th century.


Nieuwenhuis is seated second from the left in the first row sporting his medals in this 1936 photo

Born in Cape Town in the Cape Colony on 14 May 1879 he first attracts our attention at the outbreak of the Anglo Boer War as a member of the Cape Police which he appears to have joined at some point in 1900 – the year after the Anglo Boer war started – when he enlisted with Cape Police District 2 as a Private with no. 825. CPD2 had its headquarters in Kimberley – the centre of the diamond mine industry and the town which was under siege from late 1899 into the first few months of 1900.

At the commencement of hostilities the Kimberley force comprised 226 members serving a very wide area. Apart from their duties in regular warfare the Police had throughout the campaign to look after the numerous rebels and suspects, very many of whom they captured and brought in during January and February 1900. Quite what Nieuwenhuis was occupied with, what column he fought with and where he was deployed is largely unknown. That he would have been involved in some of the action is a certainty given the state bars – Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal – that he was awarded to his Queens Medal after hostilities. That he was operational for at least eighteen months is also known with the award of the Kings South Africa medal which necessitated at least that much service in order to qualify for the award thereof.

After the cessation of hostilities on 31 May 1902 Nieuwenhuis continued on in the service of the police in the Kimberley district. He became an active member of the Free Masons being initiated into the Windsorton branch of the Franklin Lodge on 3 June 1909. He must have been stationed at Windsorton which is about 46 kilometres north of Kimberley.

1913 saw a fundamental change in the police landscape in South Africa. All the various police forces were amalgamated into five regiments of the South African Mounted Riflemen – a body brought into being for the purpose. Nieuwenhuis was attached to the 5th Regiment which had Kimberly as its headquarters. With this change came a change in his force number – to 1867. Unbeknown to most a war of a far larger magnitude was looming on the horizon – on 4 August 1914 the world woke up to the fact that Britain and her Allies were pitted against Germany and those who had sided with her. Initially South Africa wasn’t involved in the conflict but a few days later Botha, the Prime Minister, declared war on Germany. Nieuwenhuis, as a S.A.M.R. man was already part of the Permanent Force it thus followed that he would be engaged in the conflict. On 23 August 1914 he was called upon to play his part. With the rank of Sergeant he was with “A” Squad of the 5th S.A.M.R. and, having married Jane Helena Roux at nearby Daniels Kuil at some point, mentioned her as his next of kin. She had moved out to Daniels Kuil to stay with her parents soon after war had been declared.

The South African Mounted Rifles were initially required, along with several local regiments, to suppress a rebellion which started in the Orange Free State and parts of the Transvaal. Disaffected Boers, with the memory of the conflict a mere 12 years before, fresh in their minds were unhappy about the decision to throw South Africa’s weight behind the British Empire. Armed Commandos took to their horses and there were many skirmishes and a significant loss of life before the rebellion was quelled and passions cooled. Nieuwenhuis played his part in this conflagration as well.

Now free to invade German South West Africa the South African forces moved into the territory. Facing the Germans was one thing but a bigger concern was the conditions they had to operate in – vast deserts, freezing cold at night and boiling hot during the day awaited them.

Coupled with this was the problem of providing food and water to both men and animals as the retreating Germans poisoned all the wells and ripped up the railway tracks as they fled. Nieuwenhuis was to succumb to the harsh conditions as well – on 18 February 1915 he was admitted to the Kuruman Hospital with an undiagnosed complaint (which was found to be Measles), being discharged on 1 March 1915 and given 7 days sick leave. The Germans surrendered on 9 July 1915 and his involvement in that theatre came to an end.

Having returned to South Africa Nieuwenhuis recommenced his police duties but the war lingered on and, on 18 May 1918 he completed attestation papers for service with the 1st South African Infantry Brigade (S.A.M.R. details) in France and Flanders. Claiming to be 39 years of age he confirmed that he was a Sergeant with the S.A.M.R. and that he was based in Kimberley. He was married but had no children.

Physically he was 5 feet 8 ½ inches in height and weighed 165 pounds. He had a fresh complexion, blue eyes and brown hair and was a member of the Church of England. Nieuwenhuis was taken on strength for pay purposes on 26 May 1918 with the rank of Private and no. 20724. Having been accepted he was to remain in South Africa until 17 July 1918 on which date he boarded the ill-fated S.S. “Galway Castle” bound for England. (He was made Acting Sergeant whilst on board.)

Having disembarked at Tilbury on 18 August (the voyage took just over a month) he was posted to “E” Company of the Reserve Brigade at Woking. Here he would have been part of a draft waiting to cross the Channel to France – on 21 October 1918 he was admitted to the Connaught Hospital at Aldershot for an undisclosed ailment – after treatment he was discharged to duty on 12 November preparatory to being transferred to the British Expeditionary Force in France on 14 November 1918 arriving at Rouen on 17 November on which date he joined his unit – the 1st South African Infantry. This was of course six days after the last shot of the war had been fired in anger meaning that he had arrived in the theatre just too late – perhaps his illness had, unbeknown to him, saved his life. Nevertheless there was plenty of mopping up to do and other work to keep him employed. On 20 March 1919 he sailed for England en route back to South Africa aboard the H.M.T. “Ingoma” disembarking at Maitland from where he was demobilised on 30 May 1919.

For his efforts (mainly in German South West Africa) Nieuwenhuis was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. His Proceedings on Discharge form rated his Military Character as Very Good and credited him with service of 1 year and 13 days.

Just prior to his deployment abroad a request was made to the Adjutant General on 24 April 1918 for the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, without gratuity. Having received the necessary attention the response came, on 17 July 1918 (the day he boarded ship for England), in the form of the medal for handing over at a suitable occasion.

Back at home with his family in Kimberley Nieuwenhuis resumed his policing duties but his services were in demand - on 13 December 1920 the Permanent Force (S.A.M.R.) Headquarters in Pretoria wrote to the Secretary for Public Health (Military Medical Section) requesting that he and a colleague “be placed at his disposal for employment in the Department under his control.”

The letter went on to state that “the details named are at present serving under the Control of the Commissioner of Police. They are required, if sanction is granted for their employment to assume duty at Robert’s Heights (Pretoria) as early as possible.” Further details were provided a day later when it was revealed that Nieuwenhuis would be seconded to the medical staff at No. 4 General Hospital at Roberts Heights and that “these men have been selected from a number of names submitted to this Office as being the most suitable for the work required of them.” At this point in time he was stationed in Barkly West outside Kimberley – a very great distance from Pretoria.

On 27 January 1922 an urgent memorandum was sent to the Director of Medical Services from the Adjutant General informing him that “the above named (Nieuwenhuis) having been found unfit for further service in the Permanent Force will be discharged “Medically Unfit””. This occasioned a response from Nieuwenhuis to the effect that “I respectfully beg to request that I may be granted a pension on my discharge. My address is No. 6 Percy Street, Kimberley, Cape Province.”

With his career at and end and at the age of only 42 Nieuwenhuis would have had to find something else to generate an income with. It is sadly not known what avenues he pursued in order to achieve this end but it is known that he played an active role in the running of the British Empire Service League (Kimberley Branch) of which he was, in 1935/36 the Secretary. So involved was he that he and his wife went on a B.E.S.L. pilgrimage to England aboard the “Edinburgh Castle” on 30 May 1938.

Despite being too old for service in World War II he must have had a small part to play as his medal group came with an (unnamed as issued) South African Medal for War Services – normally awarded for good works on behalf of the troops to civilians.

Nieuwenhuis passed away at the ripe old age of 87 in the Kimberley Hospital on 22 June 1966. The cause of death, not surprisingly considering his age, was Coronary Thrombosis and Hypertension. His place of residence was 211 Du Toitspan Road. He was the secretary of the S.A. Legion at the time of his passing. His wife had predeceased him on 13 October 1954 and there had been no children of the marriage.

Whilst going through the file on another of my recipients - Lt. Wilfred Graham Bartram AUSTIN - I recognised another of my men in the photo, none other than Alfred Edward Nieuwenhuis.

Now that's what I call hitting the jackpot. Nieuwenhuis is standing on the extreme right of the photo.



Regards

Rory

A very nice find, Rory.