TOPIC:

Herbert Ralph Manning

Killed in Action at Treurfontein on 21 January 1902

Trooper, 51st Company, XIX Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry (Paget’s Horse)

- Queens South Africa Medal with clasps Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, South Africa 1901 & 1902 to 27238 Pte. H.R. Manning, 51st Coy, Imp. Yeo.

Herbert’s was a life of unfulfilled potential, cut down in its prime in a land far from home. Born in Staines, Surrey on 26 March 1882, he was the son of Herbert Lane Manning, a successful General Merchant, and his wife Alice Allenby Richardson. The couple had tied the knot in 1878 with sons William and Austin following in rather quick succession. Thus it was that Herbert didn’t lack playmates when he arrived home in his swaddling clothes.

At the time of the 1891 England census, Mr Manning was pursuing the career of a Finance Broker. The family had moved to 51 Perham Road in Fulham and the household was stretching at the seams with not only the mater and pater familias in residence, but also an abundance of children and servants in the forms of William Oke (who later became a famous designer of aircraft and seaplanes), Austin, a 9-year-old Herbert, Stacy (7) and the House Maid, Julia Gladwin and Cook, Harriet Howson.

Having finished his schooling, young Herbert entered the offices of Appleton, Machin & Smiles, Tea Merchants of Fenchurch Street, London. He was to spend 3 ½ years in their employ before, seized by the fit of patriotism spreading across the land, he walked into the Recruiting Offices of the Imperial Yeomanry in London to offer his services. What had occasioned this? Since October 1899 Britain and her Empire had been at war with the two Dutch-speaking Republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State in far-away South Africa. After suffering some initial reverses in fortune, the Imperial effort had started to turn the tide but there was still a pressing need for additional manpower, over and above the volunteers the Colonials supplied.



The call thus went out to the Gentlemen’s Clubs of London and, in almost no time at all the 1st draft of the Imperial Yeomanry was raised and dispatched to South Africa. The stamp of man in this draft, especially among the members of Paget’s Horse, was altogether a much better one than those that were to follow. Members of the aristocracy, the landed gentry and commissioned officers on half-pay, whiling away the hours at the Club, were among their number – some going across as ordinary Troopers.

Although Manning was too late to enlist with the first contingent, he was of similar ilk with a heritage to be proud of. On 18 February 1901, at the age of 19, he completed the attestation forms for service with Paget’s Horse. Physically he was 5 feet 7 inches in height, weighed 148 pounds and had a fair complexion, blue eyes and fair hair. Having been passed as Fit by Dr Hastings Stewart at Carlton Street he was assigned no. 27238 and the rank of Private.

After a short spell of 22 days in England, he sailed for the war and, on 12 March 1901 was deployed in the field from that day. He had scarcely been in the country for six months when word reached him that his father had passed away on 22 October 1901 at the age of 55 – he had become the Secretary of a Public Company, manufacturers of Electric Cables before his death.

Having traversed the expanse of the Orange Free State and some parts of the Cape Colony on the hunt for the elusive Boer, Manning was part of a contingent of Yeomanry that was operating in one of the many drives in the North West Transvaal, along with the Cape Mounted Rifles and men from the British South Africa Police. Unbeknown to him, his South African odyssey was about to come to a tragic end.

Details are scant and even the newspapers that covered the event were at pains to mention that the incident about to be referred to wasn’t covered in official dispatches. In point of fact the authorities were in a mix-up with the reporting of the actual number of casualties. But to what do I refer? Treurfontein (now called Coligny and Trenafontein by the British authorities), is a small settlement not far from Lichtenburg. It was here on the morning of the 21 January 1902 that Manning was to meet his Maker.

The following has been pieced together from various newspaper articles published at around the time of the incident - Amery’s official Times History of the War carries no mention of the incident at all. The Sheffield Evening Telegraph of 12 March 1902 carried an article which read thus: -

“My son, writing from Lichtenburg, 22 January, after the disaster at Trenafontein said: -

Among the Boers was a Manchester man – bad luck to him; he told one of our captured men that he came from “dirty Manchester” saying also, “It is not you Troopers we want, it is your General and we mean to have him.” He knew quite well, he said, where we were going next – to Klerksdorp. The charge of De la Rey on one flank and of Kemp on the other, at Trenafontein is described as most brilliant – worthy of the best British cavalry. The tactics at Trenafontein, Brakenlaagte and Tweebosch are identical – a brilliant dash at each Bank and at the rear.”

The Yorkshire Evening Post of 25 January 1902 carried the following (confusing) account in reference to Lord Kitchener’s recent dispatch: -

“There is nothing in the dispatch to show what was the nature of the engagement at Trenafontein on January 21st, in which seven were reported killed and about 22 wounded, unless this be the affair south-west of Lichtenburg. A reference to the maps, however, does not disclose any place named Trenafontein in that locality. Moreover, on this occasion, there does not appear to have been more than five wounded.”

The Shields Daily News of 27 January 1902 was more specific: -

“At Trenafontein on the 21st instant, there was some severe fighting, our losses being as follows: British South Africa Police, two men killed and five men wounded; 51st Company, Imperial Yeomanry, two men killed and four wounded; 73rd Company, Imperial Yeomanry, one man killed and three men wounded; 102nd Company, Imperial Yeomanry, one man killed and eight wounded; and the 43rd Company, Imperial Yeomanry, one man killed and five men wounded.”

That the incident was, indeed, a severe fight, cannot be doubted but was that the full story or was there an element of concealment by the military authorities? Several months after the incident a letter appeared in the 28 June 1902 edition of the Westminster Gazette. Addressed to the Editor and clearly written in response to an earlier correspondent, Mr. W. Brooks Ball wrote thus: -

“Sir – Apropos of the plaint of “C.M.R.”, it must be remembered that whilst the services of the Colonial troops in South Africa have been uniformly of a most excellent character, it is certain that there must be many splendid services which have escaped all recognition. Allow me to recount one such example.

A small body of forty B.S.A.P. were attached to about 160 items on a special convoy last January. The items formed the advanced screen, the main body and flanking parties of a small convoy of captured wagons. The forty B.S.A.P. formed the rear screen and supports. Boers opened fire suddenly on the advance party, and with one accord the 160 items charged back through the ranks of the forty, sweeping some of them away in their mad stampede. Eighteen of the police were left and these men, well knowing the hopelessness of their position, and left without orders by the responsible officer, deliberately set themselves to stop the Boer pursuit, or at least retard it.

They were successful for a time, but eighteen men, reduced by casualties to about a dozen, could not hope to withstand the charge of about 150 Boers. All were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner save one, who escaped uninjured in a miraculous manner to the main body, and tried to stop the items. He was unsuccessful but the police who had been swept away in the first mad rush of the items, sorted themselves out,
and this handful of gallant men, left without orders by the column commander, again deliberately set themselves to cover the retirement of the main body, and this time successfully.

There has been no reference, so far as I can learn, to this action (at Trenafontein)”



Was this then one of the much-rumoured and talked about flights to safety of an Imperial Yeomanry contingent who, when under fire, bolted away from danger? I can’t be sure but Brookes Ball, in his reference to “items”, can only have implied that it was the Yeomanry who fled.

Whatever the case was, Herbert Manning was one of the 51st Company men, Killed in Action, his blood spilled in the dusty red ground of Africa. All that is left to remind us of him is the inscription in the plaque of his family church and the Queens Medal, awarded to him posthumously which lies in a purpose-made case, monogrammed with his initial, H.R.M. and the dates 1901 – 1902.

Many thanks, Rory. Great detective work to sort our what was happening that day.