TOPIC:

Watkins in the Langeberg Campaign and Defence of Kimberley 5 years 3 weeks ago #62963

Rory
Topic Author
Offline
Senior Member
Posts: 3337
Thank you received: 2141

George Edward Watkins

Trooper, Bechuanaland Border Police
Sergeant, Diamond Fields Horse – Bechuanaland Campaign
Company Sergeant Major, Kimberley Volunteer Regiment
Lieutenant, Scott’s Railway Guards – Anglo Boer War
Sergeant, South African Medical Corps – WWI

- Cape of Good Hope General Service Medal with Bechuanaland clasp to Sergt. G.E. Watkins, Dmd. F. Hse.
- Queens South Africa Medal with clasps Defence of Kimberley, Orange Free State & South Africa 1901 to C. Sjt. Maj. G.E. Watkins, Kimberley Vol. Regt.
- Kings South Africa Medal renamed “G.E. Watkins” – self named and not entitled to.
- Kimberley Mayor’s Star “A” hallmark – unnamed as issued.

George Watkins certainly liked a uniform. Although never regular army, he was a keen volunteer whose obvious enthusiasm took him from the Bechuanaland campaign of 1896, through the Defence of Kimberley and on to the campaign in German East Africa during the First World War.

George was born in Leominster, Herefordshire on 26 March 1864 the son of George Edward Watkins, a Grocer and Corn Dealer by occupation, and his wife Sarah Jones Watkins, born Evans. According to the 1871 England census a 7 year old George was the eldest child in the family resident at 23 Broad Street, Leominster. Following him were siblings Henry John Watkins (3) and Sarah Rachel Watkins (1). As if confirming their affluent station in life, there were three servants in attendance – George Gray (23), William Evans (17) and Elizabeth Smith who at 14 should not have been in service – but then we are forgetting that this was Victorian England.

Ten years later, at the time of the 1881 England census, the family had moved to 56 Bridge Street in Leominster. Mr Watkins was now a Journeyman Baker. George was now 17 year old and employed as a Drapers Assistant, of his other siblings there was no sign, in their stead was newcomer 9 year old William Edward. The trappings of prosperity were now almost gone with a distinct absence of servants – these having been replaced by a 41 year old Boarder and a 16 year old Errand Boy.

At some point Watkins, perhaps doubting the long term prospects of his job, determined on a course that was to change his life forever, he booked passage for South Africa, setting sail for the southern tip of the Dark Continent where, shortly after arrival, he appears to have joined the ranks of the Bechuanaland Border Police.

This august body had a ten year life span. Sir Charles Warren’s 1885 expedition to the western border of the Transvaal Republic led to the adjoining territory being proclaimed a Crown Colony with the name of British Bechuanaland. At the same time the huge native enclave lying to the north and stretching as far as the Matabeleland border was also annexed as the Bechuanaland Protectorate.

As a result it was decided to raise a regiment of mounted men to garrison the two territories – this regiment was named the Bechuanaland Border Police and recruiting started in earnest on 7 September 1885 with men signing on for either one or two years. Headquarters were initially at Mafeking on the border of the two territories and close to the Transvaal border. The strength was capped at 500 men including an artillery troop. The regiment was absorbed into the British South Africa Police in 1895.

No attestation papers for this outfit have survived, it is thus difficult to determine when Watkins joined up and when he took his discharge, although we know he served with them for four years . We have only his claim of prior service with the B.B.P. on his WWI attestation papers to go by.

We next encounter Watkins in the Bechuanaland Campaign as a Sergeant with the Diamond Field Horse, a Kimberley- based regiment. That he was a senior N.C.O. would imply that he had joined their ranks several years before. But what was the Bechuanaland campaign and what role did the D.F.H. play in it?

In 1896 a serious epidemic of rinderpest broke out in Bechuanaland affecting many herds. The government took drastic measures and issued regulations to combat the outbreak that included the slaughtering of infected herds. The Bataplin tribe from the former Crown Colony land objected to the regulations and refused to implement them. Also a minor Bataplin chief named Galishiwe fired on a Cape Police party that came to arrest him at Pokwani in connection with the murder of a German trader living nearby.

According to an article in the Eastern Daily Press of 28 December 1896 “The native rising was developing seriously, though still confined to Galishiwe’s natives in the Taung Reserve. Offers for a parley were made but declined and a skirmish ensued with the natives’ driven from a strong position, which was now occupied by a force of police and volunteers.” That the D.F.H. was present as part of the volunteers can be gathered from the fact that a Lieutenant of the regiment was seriously wounded.

The article continued, “At the Pokwani camp last evening Reuter’s correspondent found a force of 200 police under Mr Robinson, the Diamond Field Horse and Artillery under Major Peakman and a detachment of the Medical Staff Corps.

The police then sent 600 men to arrest Galishiwe but as they arrived the Chief’s men dispersed and he escaped in the confusion. These “rebels” then killed another European trader and looted his store. Once again the police party sent to deal with the matter failed to apprehend Galishiwe; this led to a troop of Cape Mounted Riflemen under Captain Woon riding in support of the police, but by now the Batlaro natives had also risen in revolt. Woon decided that the rebels were too strong and so he withdrew. Finally in mid-February 1897 the Cape Government decided to form the Bechuanaland Field Force and despatch it to deal with the rebellion. Meanwhile the rebels, about 2,500 in number and armed with good rifles and plenty of ammunition, had fortified very strong defensive positions in the Langberg mountain range that runs in between Kuruman and the German South West Africa border. Large herds of cattle had been driven into these hills.

In early March the Field Force marched the 150 miles from Kimberley westwards to Kuruman, where a base and a hospital were established, and then on to Ryan’s Farm which was located 16 miles east of the Langberg Mountains. The rebels controlled the few water sources in the hills, and as the surrounding countryside was arid the Field Force was dependent on the limited supply of water at Ryan’s Farm for all its needs. Water carts were used to bring water up to the troops, but the rebels soon learned to ambush the carts and shoot holes into them to cause leaks. Large storage tanks had to be constructed at the farm and filled during the warmer daylight hours. The first attack on the rebels was made on the Gamasep Kloof which contained a good water supply that was defended by the rebels. The plan was that the force would ride at night from the farm to the base of the mountains, dismount and leave the horses with a protection party, split into three groups, two of which would climb the slopes on either side of the kloof and prevent the rebels from escaping whilst the main column attacked up the kloof.

Lieutenant Colonel Dalgety’s main column attacked at dawn and the rebels withdrew towards where the northern group of men under Captain Woon should have been waiting to confront them. However the rebels escaped. At dawn they moved to a better position for a further night but supply problems, particularly of water, were acute. Dalgety then ordered a withdrawal and the force returned to Ryan’s Farm to recuperate from its exertions. The rebellion dragged on.

For the next few weeks the force, working without accurate maps and also without useful intelligence as all natives in the area were unfriendly, patrolled and burned crops to deny them to the rebels. The Langberg range was blockaded and a few small rebel positions were captured, all being characterized by the stench of thousands of rotting cattle corpses that the rinderpest had killed. Lieutenant Colonel Dalgety requested reinforcements whilst the Cape Prime Minister, far away from the reality, sent a message ordering that the rebellion be satisfactorily ended by “daily fighting”.

At the end of June a group of miners arrived from Kimberley to sink new wells at Ryan’s Farm and to erect more water tanks. The rebels were now suffering badly from lack of food, and at the end of July their commander Chief Luka Jantje was killed in a fight at Gamasep Kloof. Afterwards a white flag was observed flying from the main rebel stronghold. Dalgety ordered Johnson to ride up the mountain and arrange a capitulation with Chief Toto, the new rebel commander. On approaching the rebels Johnson’s party was fired at and his escort retaliated, killing Toto. The remainder of the rebels, apart from Galishiwe who vanished, surrendered as they were now incapable of further resistance.

For his contribution to the campaign Watkins was awarded the Cape of Good Hope General Service Medal with Bechuanland clasp.

Things now went quiet and Watkins returned to Kimberley and his full time occupation as a Miner on the Diamond mines. This hiatus was to be short-lived however, the Boers in the form of the Transvaal Republic and their Orange Free State ally had other ideas. Long festering tensions between the Boers and Great Britain finally burst to the surface with war being declared on 11 October 1899. One of the first moves made by the Boers was to occupy towns which they deemed to be strategic and Kimberley, with the added attraction of Cecil John Rhodes (their nemesis) in residence; sealing the towns fate.

On 14 October the Boer forces besieged Kimberley.

Watkins was already either part of, or joined there and then, the Kimberley Regiment of Volunteers which was formed in February 1899 with the amalgamation of the Kimberley Rifles which served in the 1896 – 1897 Bechuanaland campaign and formed the right wing of the Regiment with five infantry companies, and the Diamond Fields Horse (his old regiment) which formed the left wing of the Regiment with two companies of mounted infantry. The Honorary Colonel of the newly formed Regiment was none other than Cecil John Rhodes.

The Regiment was called out and mobilised under Lieut.-Col. R. A. Finlayson on 3 October 1899 and at the time of the commencement of the Siege consisted of 14 officers and 285 N.C.O.’s and men.

This outfit, consisting of mine employees in the main, including Watkins, had paraded “seven companies strong” in the town on 6 October in the run up to the outbreak of war “marching into camp amid enthusiastic cheers.”

One of the first actions in which they participated was a fight at Macfarlane's Siding, six miles north of Kimberley, in which considerable loss was inflicted on the enemy. This became known as the battle of Dronfield in which the Kimberley Volunteers played their part - as additional reinforcements they had been ordered to be in readiness, and at 2 o’ clock a train, filled with these reinforcements, steamed out of Kimberley Station and headed for the action.

The train was brought to a standstill a few hundred yards south of the Siding, and the men were detrained with the object of going to the Artillery’s assistance. The enemy started firing into the train, and it was under very trying circumstances that the troops were got into attack formation. As the infantry advanced across the open towards the Boer position, they were met by a dropping fire, the effects of which were quickly noticeable.

On reaching cover they poured volleys into the bushes and covered each successive rush with the fire of flanking parties. The enemy began to retire as the men advanced. As the evening drew to a close the whole force returned to Kimberley.

After this there were many skirmishes and sorties in which the mounted men did most of the fighting, while the infantry, including the Town Guard, held the trenches and defensive works. In the making of these works coloured labour, largely provided by the De Beers Company, was mainly employed. Very soon the defences were so strong that the Boers were afraid to face an assault indeed, all through the siege the defenders did most of the active or attacking work, the enemy relying mainly on artillery and long-range rifle-fire.

Probably the most important engagement throughout the entire siege was the attack on Carter’s Ridge which took place on 25 November 1899 – in which 5 officers and 132 Other Ranks of the Kimberley Regiment took part along with most of the outfits defending Kimberley. This action under the command of Scott-Turner was at the instigation of Colonel Kekewich and was aimed at attacking the gun positions being constructed by the Boers at Carter’s Ridge, just outside Kimberley.

At daybreak two forces left Kimberley – the mounted troops under Scott-Turner and the Artillery and Infantry under Chamier. The latter, including the Kimberley Volunteers, was despatched in the direction of Wimbledon Ranges to engage the enemy and prevent any movement against Scott-Turner. It was falsely assumed that the relief force was “close by” and that a demonstration of this size against the enemies most formidable bombardment position would be necessary to divert attention from the advancing troops.

Chamier’s column had moved out from the reservoir and was advancing in the direction of Johnstone’s koppies where they were told to engage the enemy and turn them out of their redoubts. They were hotly engaged in the direction of Wimbledon, fighting continuing more or less briskly for over 3 hours, during which time the men were exposed to a most galling fire. Eventually after Scott-Turner ordered his force to retire, the order was given for the infantry to do like-wise which they did under cover of the guns. The Newton Camp detachment of the Kimberley Regiment, about 160 strong, under Lieut. Colonel Finlayson, who acted as reserves and supports to the artillery, came in for their share of the enemy’s shell fire, several shells falling unpleasantly close to their extended line.

On 28 November a second attempt at Carter’s Farm was made to capture the enemy’s works and push back his line of investment on the south-west side of Kimberley. On this occasion the sortie was on a much larger scale with some 2000 men involved - split into three columns. Watkins and his Kimberley Regiment was part of the centre column – again under Colonel Chamier. Shortly after 3 p.m. Chamier deployed his troops in attack formation.

A company of the Kimberley Regiment was detached to take and hold Wright’s Farm, which they succeeded in doing without casualties. At about 5 p.m. the fatal advance from Carter’s began with Scott-Turner and a small force leading the attack on the enemy’s laager, driving them out and capturing the whole camp. But it was the assault on the second redoubt that went painfully wrong and led to the death of Scott-Turner and twenty others.

Fortunately (for them) Chamier and his men held a strong position at Carter’s Farm and Wright’s Farm and, as he had heliographed he, “intended to remain there”. That night the Imperial forces, under the cover of darkness, re-entered Kimberley. The loss of so many men and a high ranking officer demoralised the defenders and a sombre mood prevailed in Kimberley for a long while after the disaster.

Kimberley was finally relieved on 15 February 1900 but for Watkins and the Kimberley Regiment the war wasn’t over. They took the fight into the neighbouring Orange Free State as the British juggernaut rolled northwards. Watkins earned for his efforts the Queens Medal as well as the highly-prized Kimberley Star, a medal struck at the request of the Mayor to thank those who helped fend off the aggressors. He was a Company Sergeant Major throughout the Siege.

On 24 June 1900 Watkins became “non-effective” as the medal rolls put it; but his war was far from over. On 11 February 1901 he was commissioned into Scott’s Railway Guard. This corps, with a strength of about 500, under Lieutenant Colonel R G Scott, VC, DSO, did work on the Orange River - Kimberley line not unlike what the Railway Pioneer Regiment did on the Central Railway. Although the Kimberley railway was not in the centre of the theatre of operations, still the west of the Orange River Colony, and that portion of Cape Colony bordering on it, was infested by roving bands bent on destruction; and Scott's Railway Guards had often skirmishes involving losses, and had much dangerous patrol work to undertake.

On 15th June 1901 the corps engaged the enemy at Hartebeestfontein, in the Western Transvaal, and captured some prisoners, stock, and ammunition. The Inverness Courier carried an article under the heading “Fighting in the Western Transvaal” which read as follows: -
“Kimberley, Tuesday – Colonel Scott’s Railway Guards engaged the enemy at Haartbeestepan, in the Western Transvaal, on Saturday last. The engagement lasted five hours, and resulted in the capture of a quantity of stock and two waggons, with rifles and ammunition. For Boers were taken prisoner.”

The Shields Daily Gazette of 29 June 1901 carried the story, under the banner “Raiders’ attacks’ on the railway” – Cape Town, Friday. One hundred Boers attacked Biesjespoort Station to the south of Victoria West on Wednesday, and after looting the goods sheds decamped.

A patrol of Colonel Scott’s Railway Guards has been attacked at Honeynest Kloof.”

On 20th August Lieutenant A V Harvey and 1 man were killed and several wounded at Devondale and at Lillifontein on 19th October they had again several casualties, and at the various posts where the corps were stationed — Devondale, Brussels, Content etc, they often had a few losses.

Life then for Watkins was not without incident. As an officer in what was a reasonably small outfit he would have been involved in most of the actions in which they took part. He took his release from the S.R.G. on Christmas Eve (24 December 1901) earning himself the South Africa 1901 clasp to his Queens Medal.

Having fought in two separate campaigns in the space of five years Watkins would have welcomed the peace that now prevailed. He returned home and to his occupation on the mines in Kimberley. The world was taking a breather but all that had come to pass was but the curtain raiser to the main event. On 4 August 1914 the world woke up to find itself at war – the war to end all wars.

Watkins joined the 2nd battalion of his old regiment, the Kimberley Regiment, with the rank of Sergeant but was discharged medically unfit on 10 December 1914. Undeterred, and claiming to be 47 years of age (he was by now 52) he enlisted with the South African Medical Corps, completing the attestation papers at Potchefstroom on 3 December 1915. He confirmed that he had 4 years prior service with the Bechuanaland Border Police and that he had been 7 years and 6 months with the Diamond Fields Horse (he obviously included his Kimberley Regiment service as part of this)

As next of kin he gave his wife, Lucy’s, name and his address as 7 Graham Street, Kimberley. He stated that he had four children aged 14, 12, 8 and 3 and that he was a Miner by occupation. Physically he was 5 feet 8 ½ inches tall, had a fair complexion, blue eyes and light hair. By way of distinguishing marks about his person he had a scar on his right leg, lumps on his right breast and a birth mark on his back.

Assigned no. 579 and the rank of Private – he was mustered as an Orderly – commencing service with the 2nd South African Field Ambulance in German East Africa. On 8 June 1916, like so many others, he succumbed to Malaria and was admitted to 19 Stationary Hospital at New Moschi. He was discharged to Detail Camp before proceeding to South Africa aboard the Hospital Ship “Ebani”, docking in Durban on 23 July 1916 – the same day as his discharge. His Proceedings on Discharge papers rated his Military Character as Good and he was credited with 242 days service.

The old saying goes that you “can’t keep a good man down” and Watkins was just that – a good man. On 16 November 1917 he completed attestation papers for “service in Kimberley only” stationed at No. 5 General Hospital. Assigned no. 1824 and the rank of Private he commenced work. On the same day he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant, a rank he held until 21 December 1918. He was discharged at Kimberley on 4 January 1919 on reduction of establishment.

On this occasion his discharge papers indicated that his Military Character was Very Good and he was allowed to claim 1 year and 51 days service.

George Edward Watkins, after a long and active life, passed away at Addington Hospital in Durban on 26 March 1945 at the age of 84 on the day he was born! His residence at the time of his death was 133 Clarence Road, Durban. He was survived by his wife and children, Stanley, Henry, Graham, Mildred, Alice, Herbert and Gordon.

His Last Will and Testament, drawn up in Kimberley in 1904, left everything to his wife.