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Johannes Frederick Wessels

Burgher, Johannesburg Politie and President Kruger’s Bodyguard – Anglo Boer War

- Anglo Boer War Medal to Burger J.F. Wessels

Johan Wessels was born in the Orange Free State in about 1865. It is not clear as to who his parents were as no public records are available to determine his antecedents. What is known, and this from his children’s baptismal records, is that the family lived in Frankfort in the eastern Orange Free State in the early to middle 1890’s.

The first reference we can find is the baptism of daughter, Maria Catherina, in the Dutch Reformed Church in Frankfort on 27 December 1891 (she had been born on 14 October of that year). Another daughter, Martha Louisa, was born on 22 July 1895 and baptised in the same town and church. Altogether the couple, (Wessels wife was Jacoba Elizabetha (born Du Plessis), had 9 children with the oldest, Anna Cathrina, born when Mrs Wessels was a mere 17 years old.

At some point after 1895 Wessels and his expanding family made the trek to the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek (the Transvaal) where he joined the ranks of the Johannesburg Politie (Police) under the command of the renowned Commandant Van Dam. The ZARP (Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek Politie) were organized under the law of 1895, under a Police Commissioner who was responsible directly to the Government. Under him were commandants, first and second lieutenants, chief inspectors and men. They were separated into 2 sections – one in Pretoria, the capital of the ZAR and the other in Johannesburg. Both had a Mounted Section and a White Foot-Police section). In Johannesburg the Mounted Police component numbered 3 officers and 200 men, including President Kruger’s Guard of Honour, of which body Wessels was a member.

The Politie had an enviable reputation and it became known in some circles that “The Johannesburg Politie and the Artillery are the only troops in the Transvaal which can be described as more or less disciplined” In times of peace the men wore a uniform consisting of a black tunic, cut after the English pattern, and black trousers. On their heads they wore a little hard black cap, with a button at the end, and for full dress a white peaked cap with a badge bearing the arms of the Transvaal. On the collars of their tunics were three brass letters: Z. A. R. (Zuid Africa Republic). “But during the campaign their uniform had disappeared, and they are not to be distinguished from the ordinary Burghers.”

The report stated further that “A certain discipline obtains among them, and they receive regular pay, which is reduced in time of war, as their families are then in receipt of indemnities in kind. These men are the only ones who can be relied on to hold a position they have been told to keep. The other Burghers will only fight if they choose, and if they can do so without much risk. The fighting strength of the Johannesburg Politie is about 800 men, with four lieutenants, under Commandant van Dam, an energetic and intelligent man.”

The rest of the Corps was divided over a number of small stations. The police districts were those of the Witwatersrand gold fields, eastern frontier, south western frontier and northern frontier. In April 1898, it was laid down that only Burghers could enter the police corps, and that applicants must be at least 21 years of age. The first enlistment was for three years and subsequent enlistments for one year, the oath of office being taken before a Justice of the Peace. The Government furnished pay, clothing, equipment, armament, and subsistence, with a Mounted Policeman earning £25- 265 per annum.

The Police Corps received military training. In places like Johannesburg, drill was given regularly according to the Dutch drill regulations. The entire command turned out once per week and the discipline was excellent.

Thus it was that, in October 1899, on the very eve of war between the Transvaal and the Orange Free State on the one hand and the might of Great Britain on the other, Wessels was a Kruger Bodyguard, tasked with keeping the ageing Oom Paul safe and out of harm’s way. Quite an onerous task given the fact that the old President was wont to sit on the street-facing verandah of his home and entertain passers-by as they went about their daily tasks.

With the outbreak of war came the urgent need to send as many men as possible to the front. If this war was to be won, then the very best and most disciplined of men would be required to stand alongside the Commando’s and ordinary Burghers who constituted the Transvaal’s fighting effort.

According to a Report on Military Operations in South Africa and China by the United States Adjutant General’s Office, “Towards the end of December 1899 the Police were ordered to proceed to Colesberg, where on the night of 12 February 1900, they took a kopje, in conjunction with the Pretoria police, near Slingerfontein. A few days later they participated in what should have been a combined attack at Arundel Station, forming the left column with two Krupps. At daybreak the police were in position, but the first shot in the centre fell at 11 a.m. and on the right at 3 p.m. and the affair was a failure.”

Davitt in Chapter XXVIII, describing the campaign around Colesberg from the Boer point of view, wrote that a far more detailed account: -
“Following the defeat of the Suffolks, Piet De Wet and Schoeman took the aggressive in a two days' series of detached engagements, and forced the enemy back again southward over the old ground in the direction of Rensburg. On the 9th of January General De la Rey arrived from Magersfontein as fighting general, and the presence of this splendid officer with his quiet, self-confident bearing and magnetic qualities infused greater confidence into the Federal forces. Commandant Van Dam with the remainder of the Johannesburg Police Corps arrived also as a reinforcement, and De la Rey lost no time in forcing the fighting.

French had likewise been reinforced, but by a much larger body of troops and guns; still the great prestige of De la Rey and his reputation for a series of triumphs gained without, as yet, a single defeat at the hands of the enemy, put the burghers and Cape Volunteers in the best fighting spirit, and soon the lines round Colesberg were held in greater confidence than before, with the English forced into the adoption of defensive tactics.

On the 15th of January a body of Australian troopers with some English cavalry surprised and took a hill called the Zwartsrand which had been held by a few burghers. The attacking force was 300 strong, and they easily gained and held the position for a time. What occurred in the incident I am about to relate will not be doubted by those of the enemy who may have fought during the war against the Rand Police.

Eight men of Van Dam's renowned Police Corps, believing that the Zwartsrand was occupied by no more than 20 or 30 of the enemy, rode at the position in a spur gallop, dismounted at the bottom of the hill, and deliberately charged the kopje; coolly mounting and firing into the ranks of the Colonials and British on the top. On discovering the extent of the force which was thus audaciously attacked, the eight " Zarps " beat a hasty retreat, leaving one killed and three of their number wounded; the other four succeeding in making good their escape; owing, in all human probability, let us hope, to the fact that the 300 Britishers were none too willing to fire further upon men capable of attempting so plucky an exploit.

A small body of burghers, numbering only thirty men, believing a position held by some New Zealanders was not in possession of more than fifty* of the enemy, charged it and fell into an ambush of Yorkshires and New Zealand troopers, 150 strong. Three-fourths of the burghers were killed or captured.

A few days following this Boer mishap, an almost identical encounter took place, with the fortunes of war reversed; a score of Australian horsemen finding themselves surrounded by superior forces and compelled to surrender to Piet De Wet's men.

On the 5th of February a detachment under De la Rey, who were hotly engaged with a body of British near a place called Polfontein resorted to a stratagem borrowed from the military tactics of the ancients. Being in greatly inferior numbers, and as the English held the stronger position, the burghers collected about 100 horses from spare mounts and neighboring farms, and, driving them into something like a line, whipped them straight across the open space between the opposing forces. The enemy fired on the galloping horses, but this in no way arrested their frantic career over the veldt. Behind the flying steeds the burghers charged safely over the ground and, taking advantage of the confusion caused by the horses, shot the enemy back upon French's main lines at Rasfontein.

De la Rey now pushed his lines southward towards Rensburg, adopting against the enemy's right a turning movement similar to that which the British had been attempting for a month towards the corresponding right of their opponents. General French, however, left the English lines round Colesberg early in February, for Cape Town, from whence he joined Lord Roberts for his great movement against Cronje at Magersfontein, leaving the British army at Rensburg in command of General Clements. A few days subsequently De la Rey caught up with the rear guard of the retiring enemy north of Rensburg Siding, and in a short but brilliant encounter forced over 150 of the Wiltshire Regiment to surrender, after some forty-nine of the British had been killed.

This action was followed in a few days by a desperate fight between Colesberg and Rensburg in which the honours were claimed on both sides. Some 500 of De la Rey's men made a night attack upon a regiment which held a hill at Slingfontein. It was an action similar to that in which Colonel Watson and the Suffolks suffered so severely in January. The burghers gained the enemy's position at midnight, and pushed their way, under the darkness, close to the Worcestershire men, some 700 strong, who were well sheltered by stone sangars. The first of the enemy's lines was carried, the Boers shooting with great accuracy even in the dark. As the morning light appeared, however, the comparative weakness of the attacking force was seen, and the defending British began to make it exceedingly warm for the midnight visitors.

Guns were brought into play on the British side from the nearest of the enemy's lines, and a large number of the burghers were shot down as they advanced. The men held their ground with great tenacity until De la Rey was enabled to send up reinforcements from the Rand Police. With these the burghers on the hill maintained the combat all the day. When night came on again, both sides resolved to abandon the hill, in the mutual belief that the other's hold upon it could not be shaken.

On the following morning the British were found to have evacuated the position and fallen back again upon Rensburg. The losses during this twelve hours' fighting were almost equal; about 100 men being killed and wounded on each side.”

From the action around Colesburg, Wessels and the Johannesburg Politie moved on to Abrahamskraal – the Report on Military Operations in South Africa and China by the United States Adjutant General’s Office picked up the flow of events: -

“Early in March, when General Roberts had forced General De Wet to evacuate his position at Poplar Grove, the Police were ordered up to assist in preventing the further advance of the enemy. They arrived at Abrahamskraal in the evening with 350 men. The Corps at once took position at Abrahamskraal, their right resting on the Modder River, and entrenched during the night. An attack by the enemy was repulsed with loss, with the assistance of one Krupp, one big Maxim, and 10 Burghers.

On the left of the Johannesburg Police, stood the Senekal Commando with two Krupps. And still further on the left the Pretoria Police, with one big Maxim. After the unsuccessful attack on the Johannesburg Police the enemy turned southward, but met with the most obstinate resistance from the Pretoria Police.

After Abrahamskraal the Johannesburg Police went to Kroonstad and was to go to Fourteen Streams and join the Commando of General Andries Cronje, whom they reached after a few skirmishes near Boshof; only half of the men were still mounted, the poor quality of the saddles being responsible for the condition.”

After the British troops entered Kroonstad the Police did scouting along the Vaal and were subsequently reunited by General Botha, near Eerste Fabrieken, having so far lost 16 killed and 92 wounded.

From that time on Wessels whereabouts became shrouded in mystery, with no mention of any further combat on the Vorm B he completed for the award of his Anglo Boere Oorlog medal in November 1921. He does make mention of being taken prisoner at Komatipoort which is an interesting twist to his war tale.

In his excellent publication “Viva Os Boers”, O.J.O. Ferreira provides detailed insight into the Boer Burghers who crossed over from the Transvaal at Komatipoort, into Mozambique and who were later transported to Portugal where they were interned.

Wessels was one such Burgher – the advantages of being transported to Portugal were manifold – firstly, the Portuguese authorities and people were overwhelmingly sympathetic to the Boer cause and treated them well and with deference. The Portuguese Government and their local representatives in Lourenco Marques had to walk a tight-rope in that they were, officially, one of Great Britain’s greatest and oldest allies and yet were, as mentioned, supportive of the Boer people.

The other advantage of being interned in, first Mozambique, and then Portugal was that Boer families were transported – not just the combatant himself. This was the situation in which Wessels found himself when crossing the border into Mozambique with his wife and children in about September 1900. Initially the Boer families were interned in railway carriages or in a tented village but the more affluent among them were allowed to rent beachfront cottages where they stayed with their families.

Each had to undertake not to return to the Transvaal and take up arms against the British – in return they were treated well and security was lax with free movement around the town being allowed. With so many Burghers having crossed into the country the pressure began to mount to transfer them to Portugal. The Boer internees protested vehemently against this but, having no say in the matter, were advised by their leaders to prepare for departure to Portugal in February 1901.

In total some 1443 Boers, consisted largely of refugee families including 173 children. as well as foreigners and 'Cape rebels' were shipped over to Portugal aboard three ships:

• The Benguela (arrived Lisbon March 27 1901 carrying 650 Boers)
• The Zaire (arrived Lisbon April 3 1901 carrying 56 women and 172 children)
• The Alfonso de Albuquerque (arrived Lisbon April 4 1901 carrying 10 Boers)

Immediately after their arrival in the port of Lisbon the Boer internees were transported to the 6 internment camps in Portugal:

• Order of Christ Monastery in Tomar
• Alcobaça (376 men in the monastery there)
• Caldas da Rainha (320 men, women and children at the thermal baths resort)
• Abrantes (possibly at a monastery)
• Oeiras (near Lisbon; possibly at the prison nearby at Caxias)
• Peniche (380 Boers were housed in an old fort)

where they were to sojourn for the duration of the war.


The Thermal Hospital at Caldas da Rainha where Wessels and his family were domiciled

The Boer internees had to adjust to sympathetic, but unfamiliar circumstances. They were themselves responsible for the tidiness of their living quarters and the preparation of food. The medical care of the Boers was entrusted by the Portuguese authorities to full-time medical officers.

Religious services were conducted regularly and three Boer schools were founded. Organized leisure time was not commonly practised among Boer internees. A number of concerts were, however, presented and they gladly participated in the Portuguese festivities. Since they were allowed considerable freedom of movement, long walks and excursions were popular. A few dexterous ones made curios.

The relationship between the Boer internees and the Portuguese authorities and people was particularly cordial. Under these circumstances it was only natural that close friendships were formed. But what of the Wessels family? They were among those selected to go Caldas da Rainha, a thermal baths resort where they enjoyed much more freedom of movement and were able to live together as a family – unlike their kin who had the misfortune to be interned in Bermuda or Ceylon. They boarded a number of trains in the harbour to make the 96-mile trip north of Lisbon and were given a hero’s welcome on arrival.

The conditions were so convivial that another child was added to the Wessels brood, Jan Harm Caldas Wessels saw the light of day for the first time on 10 February 1902. But there was tragedy as well – Pieter Jurgens Wessels, who had been born in the Transvaal on 12 February 1898, passed away at Caldas da Rainha on 17 May 1901 – just over a year from the time the family arrived in Portugal.

Shortly after the declaration of peace on 31 May 1902 the Portuguese government agreed to hand over the internees to the British government so that repatriation arrangements could be finalized. After the taking of the oath of allegiance to the British Crown had been concluded the internees boarded the Bavarian on 19 July and left for South Africa. By the end of September 1902 all internees had already been united with their next of kin – this was confirmed by Wessels who claimed to have returned to South Africa on 13 September.

Post-war Wessels took up residence in the Bertram’s Township suburb of Johannesburg. It was from here, in late 1902, that he completed a Form of Claims for War Losses wherein he confirmed that he was a 37-year-old Policeman of the old Z.A.R. living in Bertram’s Township, Farrar Road, near Johannesburg. What was he claiming? Well, there being no harm in asking, he was applying for “Salary due by the Boer Authorities for 24 months’ service from 1 June 1900 to the 31 May 1902 at the rate of £14 per month making a total of £350.

By way of those who could give evidence to support his claim he claimed that, “Books of late Government will prove my service as Policeman.”

Needless to say the British Authorities were not in the habit of paying money to those who had taken up arms against them and the claim was deemed “Inadmissible under Attorney General’s circular No. 43.”

Johan Wessels left the Police Force and became a General Labourer. He passed away in the Johannesburg Hospital on 4 January 1930 at the age of 64 from Acute Bacillary Dysentery. Wessels’ medal application, completed from 189 Railway Cottage, Newtown, Johannesburg, was signed by Commandant Van Dam along with several of his Police colleagues.

Thanks Rory...… Nice to read some research about The Other Side..... Proves that not only the Brits have interesting histories..... Mike

Hi Rory I sent you a private message regarding JF Wessels