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Joseph John De Bloe

Farrier Corporal, Bedford District Mounted Troops
Trooper, Gorringe's Flying Column – Anglo Boer War
Private, 9th South African Horse – WWI

- Queens South Africa Medal to Far: Cpl. J. De Bloe, Bedford D.M.T.
- British War Medal to Pte. J.J. De Bloe, 9th S.A.H.
- Victory Medal to Pte. J.J. De Bloe, 9th S.A.H.

Joseph De Bloe was born in the small Eastern Cape hamlet of Somerset East in about 1878 the son of Joseph De Bloe and his wife Alida, born Schoeman. As was so often the case in these isolated and remote communities an Englishman met and married a woman of Dutch farming descent thereby blurring the cultural lines. This in itself wasn’t a problem but there was always the possibility of strife and confused loyalties should conflict between the two cultures spring up.

This was exactly what happened in October 1899 when Joseph would have been 21 years of age. The Anglo Boer War commenced between the two Dutch-speaking Republics of the Orange Free State and Transvaal and the might of the British Empire. The remaining territories in what was to later become South Africa, comprised the Cape Colony and Natal – both of which were Crown territories legally annexed to and governed by the United Kingdom.

Initially the war was confined to northern parts of Natal, where the Boers besieged Ladysmith, and the uppermost parts of the Cape Colony where they laid siege to Kimberley and Mafeking but, as the war raged on and more British troops combined with locally raised units took to the field, the Boers were driven back and, in what became known as the guerrilla phase of the war, small highly mobile commando units would harass isolated pockets of British lines of communication stealing what they needed and then riding off into the distance.

Additionally, in a desperate bid to add men to their cause they ventured south into the Eastern and Southern Cape on the look-out for Dutch-speaking men to join them. They were also in need of supplies and would frequently “invest” some of the smaller towns they encountered, plunder the shops, steal the bounty from neighbouring farms and then move on.

For this very reason, quite apart from the irregular Colonial units already referred to; there was a need to protect the towns and their burghers as well as those on the farms in the districts surrounding them. This led to the creation of Town Guards and District Mounted Troops – the role of the first was to protect the townspeople and their possessions from attack from these marauding commandos and the second was to fulfil the same function but with a remit to ride further afield in order to keep the Boers at bay.

Bedford and its neighbouring towns of Somerset East and Adelaide were examples of this strategy – all had both a Town Guard and a D.M.T. – a study of the medal rolls reveals a number of surnames with a Dutch or even English bent but of men whose home language would have been Dutch by the time the war commenced. Why would this be the case? For the reason I advanced earlier – the mixing of the cultures through marriage and where the women of the homesteads had the most influence over their children whilst their men farmed the lands.

Thus it would have been a common sight to hear and see Dutch spoken amongst members of Town Guards and the District Mounted Troops. Whatever the case may be Joseph De Bloe threw in his lot with the Bedford D.M.T. as a Farrier with the rank of Corporal. This outfit certainly saw its fair share of exposure to the ever present Boer threat. The Dundee Evening Telegraph of 11 May 1901 reported on one such incident in which they were involved:-

“The Boers have been beaten off by the Bedford and Beaufort (Fort Beaufort a neighbouring town) district mounted troops. The Bedford men came into touch with the enemy near the town on Tuesday, and drove them off. The Town Guard has been in the trenches since Saturday. Business is altogether suspended. It is reported that the Boers are in a tight corner, as there are no serviceable horses left on the farms.”

This was a typical action and probably one of many the D.M.T. men were called upon to undertake in defence of their district.

The war over on 31 May 1902 the D.M.T.’s and the Town Guards were disbanded, their members earning the Queens Medal for their efforts. It would also appear from the medal rolls that many of the men saw either pre or post service with Gorringe’s Flying Column – an irregular Eastern Cape-based unit – but an account of their particular involvement is unknown.

De Bloe returned to his civilian pastimes – that of a Farmer combined with Blacksmith work. There was little to trouble the tranquillity of the area in which he lived, the Frontier wars of the 1870’s had long since ended and peace among the locals prevailed. What hadn’t been foreseen was the advent of the Great War in August 1914 where Great Britain and her Empire were pitted against Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and his Allies. Many of the men in South Africa were not involved in the opening gambit on African soil – the invasion of German South West Africa – but once these troops had returned in July 1915, the option of taking the fight to either East Africa or to the Western Front in Europe opened up.

De Bloe chose the first option and, at Roberts Heights on 15 May 1916, completed the Attestation Papers for service with the 1st Mounted Brigade for service in German East Africa. Joining the details section of the 9th South African Horse he claimed to be 43 years old, married to Elizabeth Catherine with six children and that he was a Farrier by trade. He also confirmed that he had fought in the Anglo Boer War. Physically he was 5 feet 9 inches in height with a fair complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair. He was a Presbyterian by way of religious denomination. The address he provided was “Oakdale” a farm in the Adelaide District.

Having been passed as Fit by the Doctor he was assigned the rank of Private with no. 6211.

On 16 June 1916 he embarked with his regiment aboard the H.M.T. "Armadale Castle" destined for East Africa where, on arrival, the 9th S.A.H. was placed under Major General J.L. Van Deventer’s 2nd Division, more specifically the 1st S.A. Mounted Brigade under Brigadier General Manie Botha. They were in good company with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th S.A.H. regiments alongside them. Added to this was the 3rd S.A. Infantry Brigade under Brigadier General Berrange which included the 9th, 10th 11th and 12th South African Infantry.

The strength of the 2nd Division had been greatly reduced by sickness, due to the hardships and exposure during their original advance and the rainy season, and to the shortage of supplies. About the middle of June 1916 there were about 1200 sick men in hospital. Towards the end of May and the beginning of June reinforcements and fresh units arrived.

The Germans kept up an intermittent bombardment of the camp, paying particular attention to an airfield which had been built which was eventually moved to twelve miles north of Kondoa. On 24 June explosions were heard and fires seen behind the enemy position, and on the following day the infantry were pushed forward. The enemy positions were found to be only lightly held and by nightfall the whole of his line was occupied by the South African troops.

General Van Deventer had now to wait for sufficient supplies to amass before he could continue his advance. On 7 July the 9th South African Horse joined the 2nd Division. The Saranda (Kilimatinde) Column, consisting of a squadron of S.A. Horse and the 9th S.A. Infantry moved off under the command of Colonel Kirkpatrick, on 14 July, for Kwa Mtoro, which was occupied on the 20th. On the 26th they reached Kaia; and on the next day, just as the advance guard was approaching Mpondi, a heavy fire was opened on them with machine guns and rifles.

The country was very dense bush, and the enemy were in position barring the road. The mountain guns were brought into action and the 9th South Africans pushed straight in, under cover of well-directed gun fire. They carried the position and Mpondi was occupied in the late afternoon. They had eight killed and nine wounded. Considering it was a direct frontal attack on a prepared position, they got off very lightly. On 30 July this column occupied Saranda and Kilimatinde without further opposition.

Much skirmishing was experienced in the following months but sickness was taking its toll on the men. On 25 December an enemy force, estimated at 500 rifles, with machine guns, was holding a position about three miles to the north of Lukegeta Neck. General Van Deventer divided his force into three columns with Colonel Hartigan on the right with the 1st, 4th, 7th and 9th S.A. Horse (dismounted as all their horses had succumbed to sickness), numbering in total about 500 rifles. The right and left columns had orders to march by Makungwas and Boma Likininda’s to Muhanga. By the time they arrived the enemy had broken up into small parties and fled.

It was then decided to relieve all white troops and send them to Iringa, from where they were to be repatriated to South Africa. De Bloe sailed for the Union aboard the H.M.T. "Ingoma" where, on arrival in Durban on 16 February 1917 and having contracted the inevitable Malaria whilst in the tropics, he was discharged “Permanently Unfit for General War Service”. On the same day he was admitted to No. 3 General Hospital with a Fractured Arm - whether or not this was incurred whilst on the ship or in East Africa is unknown but it was to cause him significant discomfort. On 27 February he was transferred to No. 4 General Hospital at Roberts Heights from where he was granted 2 months leave pending discharge.

His arm was still troubling him on 17 July 1917 when he was again admitted for treatment - this time to a Covlescent Camp from which he was finally discharged on 9 October 1917. He was allowed to claim one year and 57 days service and his Military Character was regarded as Very Good. Having been paid up to date he returned to his farm in Adelaide which is where his medals were despatched to.

After a long and eventful life De Bloe passed away at his residence in Church Street, Adelaide on 29 September 1948 at the age of 75 years 8 months from Heart Failure caused by Diabetes. He was a Retired Blacksmith at the time of his death and was survived by his five children; his wife having predeceased him on 28 May 1925.

Thanks Rory..... Great research again..... I have a Bedford and Fort Beaufort Town Guards but no D.M.T.'s yet...…

Mike

Hello Rory,
That is a particularly pleasing QSA, the rank is nice to see and makes matters a little different to the norm, I would be absolutely delighted with that.
Both the second invasion and the rebellion are so often overlooked by collectors when it comes to the Colonies history during the war, yet both were very significant and on occasion really quite brutal.
Regards Frank