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Stephens was a young officer, a very young officer - a Lieutenant in the Bushmanland Borderers at the age of 18.

Albert Hugh Keating Stephens

Corporal, Kitchener’s Horse
Trooper, Duke of Edinburgh’s Own Volunteer Rifles
Sergeant, Warren’s Mounted Infantry
Lieutenant, Bushmanland Borderers – Anglo Boer War

- Queens South Africa Medal with clasps Cape Colony, Paardeberg, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill and Wittebergen to 3239 Tpr. A.H.K. Stephens, Kitchener’s Horse.
- Kings South Africa Medal to Lieut. A.H.K. Stephens, Bshmnlnd. Bord.

Albert Stephens was born in Bristol, Gloucestershire on 11 March 1884 to an Irish immigrant and Master Tailor, Thomas William Keating Stephens and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Comer, born Cook.

The first sight we have of him comes courtesy of the 1891 England census at which point the family were resident at 129 Ashley Road, Bristol in what was known as “The District”. The family comprised the parents along with children Thomas William (12), Henry (10), Kate (9), Albert (7) and Mary (3). That Mr Stephens was reasonably prosperous can be determined by the presence of a servant, Ellen Pinkney (18) and a Boarder in the form of 14 year old Thomas Mallon, who was apprenticed to Mr Stephens.

At some point between the census and the last few years of the 19th century the Stephens family decided that a move to sunnier climes was on the cards – they, accordingly, set sail for South Africa, settling in Cape Town where Mr Stephens set up business as a Tailor, absorbing several of his sons into the business.

The peace and equilibrium experienced at the foot of the African continent was about to be shattered immeasurably. The war clouds which had long been gathering over the South African hinterland, between the two Dutch-speaking Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal and Great Britain, burst into open conflict on 11 October 1899 and the country woke up to find itself at war.

At first the action was confined to parts far north of Cape Town, with the Boers investing the towns of Ladysmith in Natal and Kimberley and Mafeking in the north of the Cape Colony. This situation soon changed as the war evolved and the Boers stretched their net ever wider in search of supplies and fresh recruits for their faltering war effort.

Like most young men of his age, Albert Stephens and his older brother Thomas, enlisted with one of the local regiments for duty as soon as the call for Colonial units to mobilise went out. Joining the ranks of Kitchener’s Horse on 1 February 1900, he was assigned no. 3239 and the rank of Trooper.

Kitchener's Horse was employed in the operations undertaken by Lord Roberts in February 1900 for the relief of Kimberley and in his advance to Bloemfontein. On 9th February the Mounted Infantry Division, under Colonel Hannay, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, left Orange River station. After some fighting, the Division reached Ramadam on the 12th, where Lord Roberts was concentrating his army; but the bulk of Kitchener's Horse had preceded the rest of the Mounted Infantry, and had joined General French before midnight on the 11th.

At Paardeberg Kitchener proceeded to order his infantry and mounted troops into a series of uncoordinated frontal assaults against the Boer laager. This was despite the fact that the cost of frontal assaults against entrenched Boers had been demonstrated time and again in the preceding months. It was to be no different this time. The British were shot down in droves. It is thought that not a single British soldier got within 200 yards of the Boer lines. By nightfall on 18 February, some 24 officers and 279 men were killed and 59 officers and 847 men wounded. Judged by British casualties it was the most severe reverse of the war and became known as Bloody Sunday.

Kelly-Kenny had warned Kitchener not to leave "Kitchener's Kopje" undefended. Possession of the kopje was essential to guard the south-east of the British position and prevent Cronjé's escape. But Kitchener, in his zeal for an all-out attack, had left the kopje defended by only a handful of "Kitchener's Horse". De Wet was therefore able to take the kopje with little resistance. The strategic picture had now changed dramatically. De Wet could now make the British position on the south east bank of the Modder untenable, and the Boers now commanded a swathe of front stretching from the north east right through to the south east. As darkness fell, Kitchener ordered his troops to dig in where they were. Few received these orders and fewer still obeyed them. Desperately thirsty and exhausted, the surviving British trickled back into camp. It was only after Cronje had been trapped and unable to move his forces that he surrendered on 27 February with 4000 men.

On 7th March Kitchener’s Horse were engaged at Poplar-Grove. Five officers and five non-commissioned officers and men gained mention in the despatch of 31st March for good work on the way to Bloemfontein. According to the official statement, the strength of the corps when it entered Bloemfontein on 13th March was 26 officers, 402 men, 270 horses, and 2 maxims.

About the beginning of March Kitchener's Horse had been, along with the 6th and 8th Regiments of Regular Mounted Infantry, the City Imperial Volunteers Mounted Infantry, Nesbitt's Horse, and the New South Wales Mounted Infantry, put into the 2nd Brigade of Mounted Infantry under Colonel P W J Le Gallais, 8th Hussars. The regiment fought with Le Gallais and General Tucker at the battle of Karee Siding on 29th March 1900, and they were attached to Ian Hamilton's force, which, towards the end of April, set out first to clear Thabanchu and thereafter take part in the northern advance, during which the regiment, along with the 2nd Mounted Infantry Regulars and Lovat's Scouts, was in the 6th corps under Colonel Legge.

Winston Churchill, in his 'Ian Hamilton's March' relates that on 26th April, Kitchener's Horse and a company of regular mounted infantry were told to hold a kopje near Thabanchu for the night, but about dusk they were ordered to retire. This the Boers tried to prevent, attacking the force with great determination: however, the attack was driven off, and the little body got into camp during the night.

In his telegram of 2nd May Lord Roberts remarked: "Kitchener's Horse is spoken of in terms of praise". On 4th May Ian Hamilton was again engaged, "and succeeded in preventing a junction of two Boer forces by a well-executed movement of some of the Household Cavalry, 12th Lancers, and Kitchener's Horse, who charged a body of the enemy and inflicted serious loss. They fled leaving their dead on the field, and their wounded to be attended by our doctors" The 'Standard' correspondent drew attention to the good work of the regiment at the crossing of the Zand River on 10th May.

The regiment was present at Ian Hamilton's other actions on the way to Pretoria and at Diamond Hill (11th and 12th June 1900). They started as a portion of Hunter's force designed to surround Prinsloo, but like Roberts' Horse were detached to pursue De Wet. On 24th July the regiment lost 9 men wounded at Stinkhoutboom, but about the same date they captured 5 of De Wet's waggons. When De Wet left the Reitzburg Hills Kitchener's Horse again crossed to the north of the Vaal and operated under Ridley, Hart, Clements, and other commanders in the district west of Johannesburg and Pretoria.

In the despatch of 10th October 1900 Lord Roberts mentioned that "De Lisle's corps of mounted infantry was withdrawn from Clements' column and moved by rail on 17th September to Rhenoster, where it was joined by 250 men of Kitchener's Horse from Kroonstad".

This portion of the regiment was with General Clements when he was attacked and met with disaster at Nooitgedacht in the Magaliesberg on 13th December 1900. It will be remembered that a high hill commanding the camp, and which was garrisoned by 4 companies of the 2nd Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers, was assaulted by the enemy in great force and was captured. Kitchener's Horse and the 2nd Battalion Mounted Infantry were on the west or left front of the camp; the enemy attacked upon this side in the most determined manner, and although some pickets were captured or wiped out entirely, the attack on the west was driven off, the enemy losing very heavily in his endeavour to push into the camp from that direction. When, however, it was seen that the high hill commanding the camp had been captured by the enemy, the General decided to retire.

With difficulty General Clements got away his guns and most of his ammunition, but the camp was left standing and some stores were lost. The losses of Kitchener's Horse were severe: Lieutenant Skene and 8 men were killed, and Captain Stevenson and about 12 men wounded and about 40 taken prisoners. Some of the latter were wounded. Several mentions were gained by the corps on this occasion, and those who were present praised very highly the conduct of Kitchener's Horse and their old comrades the 2nd Battalion Regular Mounted Infantry, also the 2nd Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.

It was shortly after this, on 19 December 1900 that Stephens took his discharge from the regiment. His Record of Service confirmed that his Character had been Very Good and that he was credited with 322 days service. His address after discharge was Lander Cottage, near Lower Toll, Newmarket Street, Cape Town. The reason for his discharge was given as “Retransfer to D.E.O.V.R.” – presupposing that he had been with that regiment prior to enlistment.

A few days later Stephens made his (re)appearance with the Dukes with no. 1659 and the rank of Trooper. In 1901, and until the close of the war, the regiment was chiefly employed in the west of Cape Colony, about Griquatown and Daniel's Kuil; and although very frequently engaged and suffering some losses, they always seem to have done well, often in difficult circumstances, as when they had to take convoys or to guard posts very far from the railway and the main force of the army. This is most likely where Stephens earned the Cape Colony clasp to his medal. Taking his discharge from the D.E.O.V.R. on 22 April 1901, five months service, he lost no time in joining Warren’s Mounted Infantry as a Transport Corporal.

What is insightful about the Attestation papers he completed with them on 23 April 1901, was that he claimed to be 21 – whereas we know him to have been 17 years old. Posted to B Squadron he confirmed with no. 70, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. His occupation as recorded as Tailor and his address as Lander Cottage. His next of kin was his brother, Henry Stephens.

Warren’s M.I., about 3 squadrons strong, had been raised in December 1900, and was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel F J Warren, who had already seen service in other Colonial regiments.

Warren's MI were in the western district of Cape Colony in April 1901 when Stephen’s enlisted, and the despatch of 8th July 1901 shows that in May and the following months 2 squadrons were attached to the column commanded by Colonel Henniker, afterwards by Colonel Doran, the principal work of which was to pursue scattered commandos. Sometimes a few prisoners were taken, but the corps do not seem to have been in any satisfactory stand-up fight, although there were some other slight casualties at different times. The whole of the war service of the corps was in the Cape Colony.

The war dragged on and the young and energetic Stephens sought a fresh challenge – this was soon to head his way. On 1 March 1902 he was commissioned as a Lieutenant into the little-known Bushmanland Borderers. They were, when first raised at Kenhardt in the Northern Cape in 1901, a small corps about 100 strong, nearly all half-castes or “Boesmans’, who proved themselves excellent scouts and plucky fighters. They were stationed at Tontelbosch Kolk, and were the main part of the garrison when that place was attacked in November and December 1901. The enemy was strong and vigorous, and pressed their attack hard because they wanted the arms and ammunition in the place, but the spirit of the defence was all that could be desired, and the post was held until reinforcements approached.

This was, of course, prior to Stephens joining them. By the time he was on board, the corps was raised to 600 strong. They made headlines post-war, when their composition was raised in the Houses of Parliament in 1903:

Bushmanland Borderers Regiment. HC Deb 02 March 1903 vol 118 c1104

MR. CORRIE GRANT (Warwickshire, Rugby): I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the statement made in the Cape Parliament on 31st October, 1902, by the Attorney General, Mr. Graham, that the Bushmanland Borderers Regiment was raised by the Imperial Government, and to the statement of Mr. Merriman on the same occasion, that the Bushmanland Borderers had committed outrages, and that two of them were in gaol at Malmesbury; and will he state what proportion of this corps were coloured men, and by whose orders they were enlisted and armed.

MR. BRODRICK: The Bushmanland Borderers was raised for local service in Cape Colony at the recommendation of the Premier of Cape Colony, their employment being specially restricted to the defence of their own locality and property in case of need, and they were consequently not enrolled for general service. I am not aware of the proportion of coloured men in its ranks. I must point out that the expression "coloured men" is commonly used in South Africa to mean half-castes, not natives, and many of such half-castes are on the electorate roll of Cape Colony.

Together with the coloured Border Scouts under Maj. J. Birbeck, they formed a huge force for the very sparsely-populated North-West and in all likelihood represented almost the total Gordonia population of young coloured men.

At the age of 18 Stephens was young indeed to command. He took his release from the Borderers on 30 June 1902 – a month after the cessation of hostilities. For his efforts he was awarded both the Queens and Kings Medals with the requisite clasps for the theatres and actions in which he had fought.

Back in civilian life Stephens took up the occupation of Clerk. There was now time for romance and, at Cape Town on 24 September 1913 he wed a 19 year old Afrikaans lady, Alida Jacoba Aletta Breetveld. He was 28 years old at the time and living in Sea Point. This marriage was to be cut tragically short with his bride of four years passing away on 14 April 1917 at the age of 23. The young couple were living at 56 Bay Road, Mouille Point, Cape Town at the time of her death. That she was heavily with child when they married was confirmed by the birth date of their only child, Mary Teresa, born on 30 November 1913.

After a suitable period of mourning, Stephens married again – on this occasion to 20 year old Hermima Henrietta Pleuss Fay. Now 35 Stephens was a Book Keeper living in Ottery Road, Cape Town. The nuptials took place at All Saints Church in Plumstead. This marriage lasted until, on Tuesday, 20 March 1945, a Divorce Case was heard in the Supreme Court in Cape Town between Stephens, the Appellant and his wife, the Defendant.

The Plaintiff’s Declaration showed that the couple were living apart- Stephens at Banksia Road in Rosebank and his wife in Struben’s Road, Mowbray. There were no minor children of the marriage and, on or about 23 February 1945 the Defendant “wrongfully, unlawfully and maliciously deserted the Plaintiff.

On the basis of the above a decree of divorce with forfeiture of all benefits was asked for. The Judge ordered that Mrs Stephens return to her husband, failing which the divorce was to be granted. The end result was that Stephens was again a “free man.”

He passed away on 10 April 1957 at the age of 73 years and 1 month whilst resident at Pentlands, Oak Avenue, Kenilworth. He was survived by Molly Rayfield, Lionel Albert Stephens, Doris Beryl Stephens and Kenneth Roy Stephens. He bequeathed his company, Asphalt Roads and Roofing Contractors (Pty.) Ltd. to Kenneth and to his daughter Beryl – “All my household furniture contained in the Flat in which I reside – No. 15, Fairmead Court, Rondebosch, my stamp collection and £500.”

Thank You Rory..... Some people have to grow up very fast and Albert was one of those men...… Mike

Another great story Rory-you keep finding some real gems, nice bars on the QSA and I must admit that in nearly 50 years of looking at Boer War medals I have never heard of the Bushmanland Borders-well done and original posting material as a bonus-even my spell checker couldn't cope with the unit name.

A both famous and very distinctive name in the SAMIF, the Bushmanland Boarderers were raised in Malmesbury as a special formation, on the 1st of May 1901, a portion had already actually seen prior service on the veldt with General Settle's force, they were disbanded in O'okiep upon the 30th of June 1902

Georgegt351 wrote: Another great story Rory-you keep finding some real gems, nice bars on the QSA and I must admit that in nearly 50 years of looking at Boer War medals I have never heard of the Bushmanland Borders-well done and original posting material as a bonus-even my spell checker couldn't cope with the unit name.

A very informative write-up about some rarely seen local units.

I agree absolutely, it is, for some reason, from my point of view, at least, interesting to note the frayed silk ribbon upon the KSA, sadly, an increasingly rare sight these days, people tend to throw it away and replace it with complete rubbish,
A most handsome pair.

djb wrote: A very informative write-up about some rarely seen local units.