TOPIC:

Arthur Chapman

(PoW at Roodewal 7.6.1900)

Sergeant, Army Post Office Corps (A.P.O.C.) – Anglo Boer War

- Queens South Africa Medal with clasps Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal to 268 SGT. A. CHAPMAN, A.P.O. CORPS

Arthur Chapman was to play an important part in the now famous “Roodewal Incident” on 7 June 1900, where the Boers raided a railway station containing mail bags. As an eye-witness to the event, he was quoted extensively in official correspondence as well as providing his family, details of the incident in a long letter home.

Born in Falmouth, Cornwall in 1874, Arthur was the son of George Chapman, a Railway Guard by occupation, and his wife Mary (born Courts). The last of a long line of children, Arthur, at the age of 7, “slotted in” after siblings Mary Ann (20), Emily Jane (16). George Henry (14), and Ellen (11); at the time of the 1881 England census. A scholar at the nearby school, Arthur and his family were resident at 8 Railway Cottages, Falmouth.

Ten years later, when the 1891 England rolled round, the Chapman family were still at the same address. Older brother, George Henry (24), was a Ship Broker’s Clerk, Ellen (21) was a School Mistress and Arthur, now 17, was employed as a Merchant’s Clerk. Despite his ostensibly humble beginnings, Mr. Chapman had done well by his children, all of whom appear to have received a decent education and all having found decent, paying careers in a Victorian England where the working class found it difficult to better themselves.

At some point in time Arthur spread his wings and moved to London where he joined the employ of the British Post Office. It was whilst he was based here that the Anglo Boer War erupted onto the world stage on 11 October 1899. Long simmering tensions between the two Boer Republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State on the one hand and the might of Great Britain on the other, had finally led to war. The British behemoth took some time before it got into its stride and it took the serious military reverses of what became known as “Black Week” before the powers-that-be in Westminster realised the enormity of the threat the Boer forces posed to their colonial aspirations in Africa and, more directly, to the colonies of Natal and the Cape and, pushing the panic button, began to mobilise troops at home and abroad on a massive scale, with which to flood the southern tip of the African continent.

Quite apart from the front-line Infantry and Cavalry men, needed for the fighting were the “corps” – the engineers, artillery and the thousands of others who operated either in tandem with the advancing army, or in the rear, busying themselves with the myriad things that accompany and drive an army on the move. The Army Post Office Corps were such – to them fell the necessary but unenviable task of delivering to “their doorstep” the tens of thousands of parcels and letters that the families “back home” sent to their relatives in the war. It is difficult enough to keep track of a stationary target but, as the war progressed, the men to whom the post was to be delivered, moved about and it was a monumental task finding out where “Tommy Atkins of the Devonshire Regiment” was at any given time – a fact not necessarily understood by the public in England who had no conception of what the conditions out in “Darkest Africa” were like.

At the beginning of the campaign the strength of the A.P.O.C. was three officers, eighty-nine other ranks, composing one company of the 24th Middlesex (Post Office) Volunteers. These men, like all the 24th Middlesex, were drawn from the London Post Offices, and were those who had been specially enlisted for a period of six years in the Army Reserve to render them available for foreign service. It is suspected that Chapman, now a London-based man, was one of these. This original force, which proceeded to the seat of war in October, 1899, soon became totally inadequate to the growing needs of the Army.

Reinforcing drafts followed rapidly, drawn at first from the 24th Middlesex, but later from the postal services of all the provinces of Great Britain, and even to a small extent from those of Canada, Australia, Cape Colony and India. The greatest strength attained at the height of the campaign was ten officers, a warrant officer, and 396 other ranks, with, in addition, twenty civilian clerks and 100 soldiers attached for orderly duties.

The system was founded upon a Base Office at Cape Town. From this radiated a number of forwarding offices, which served for intermediate despatch of mail matter, and for the reception and forwarding of cross-post letters. Next, the fixed camp and station post offices, seventy-one in number, dealt directly with the receipt and delivery of mail to the troops at and around normal centres of operation. Finally, there was a system of travelling post offices, which, traversing the railways in box trucks and sorting carriages specially fitted up by the Imperial Military Railways, delivered and received mail matter, cashed and sold postal orders at any spot upon the lines where their services were required.

The bulk of the work which fell to the Army Post Office Corps was naturally that of the distribution of the inward mails and the exporting of the mails for oversea. The former presented extra- ordinary difficulties. The railway service, being completely beyond the control of the Post Office Department, could not be relied on for automatic delivery of the mails. Trains were apt to be delayed for military purposes, or by the enemy who frequently destroyed them. In the latter case the Post Office men on the train would be called upon to take rifle in hand and defend their charge.

Another complication was that units and individuals were in incessant movement and flux. Forces were broken up or transported rapidly from one end of the theatre of war to the other, or were perhaps unapproachable, or even not to be traced at the required moment. Individual officers and men constantly, and several times in a short period, left their units for duty in other parts, for hospital, for leave of absence, or for home. Their letters and parcels were frequently insufficiently addressed. " Private Smith, Field Force, S. Africa," was an actual conundrum which regularly confronted the Post Office officials. Many correspondents, too, instead of quoting the corps of the intended receiver of their missive, would merely inscribe his last address, possibly that of a place at which he had only halted for a few hours or minutes.

Of incidents there were many with the Boers regarding isolated and poorly guarded post office “forward depots” as soft targets, easy pickings for a Boer Commando or patrol and a major disruptor for the British forces who regarded the receiving and despatch of their mail as an inalienable right. The affair which concerns us and which was to be Chapman’s 15 minutes of fame, was the Roodewal Incident which took place in the Orange Free State on 7 June 1900. Roodewal is 33 miles north of Kroonstad on the main railway line.



On that fateful day the 4th Derbyshires were overwhelmed by the Boers under the distinguished General Christiaan De Wet who so frequently proved to be a thorn in the side of the British. It will be remembered, historically, that in March 1900, after the fall of Bloemfontein, the British sought to advance north following the railway line, towards Pretoria. According to Amery’s “The Times History of the War in South Africa” the railway which was of great importance to the British was, conversely, a main target of the Boers. Any disruption of the train service would delay the inevitable British march to victory.

On this occasion Major Haigh had moved up to a railhead a few miles further north leaving some 30 men to guard stores at Vredefort Road. “Seven companies of the Derby Militia and some Colonial Scouts were at Rhenoster River Bridge and at Roodewal, three miles further south, one company of that battalion, with a company of the Railway Pioneer Regiment amounting altogether to about 150 men, were guarding a large consignment of stores left on the side of the railway”. It can be assumed that this included the 10 to 17 men of the APOC, under Lieutenant Preece.

The story of the incident is best told by statements taken from those who were there at the time and we are indeed fortunate that the official reports on the matter were released into the public domain. It is on these that we rely, together with a letter home that Arthur Chapman penned on 27 June 1900. Both serve to provide the context to what happened on that day and in the aftermath of the event. An item contained in the report was a “most interesting and very full statement by Sergeant Chapman of the APOC written at Kroonstad on 12th July. The Sergeant was obviously of some education and responsibility and his report is worthy of attention”. It read as follows: -

“The following is an account of the affair at Roodewal as nearly as I can remember the circumstances and I write it believing it to be the truth.

Information having been received that De Wet, with his Commando, was in the neighbourhood and likely to attack us, steps were taken to fortify the Station with the materials at our disposal. These consisted largely of mail bags (which I estimate at from 1800 and 2000) bales of warm clothing, boxes of preserved meat and biscuits etc. With these we filled all open spaces, the mails forming two rings at the northern end, a barricade being formed which proved excellent shelter from rifle fire, but of little use against heavy ordnance. Wires had been sent in both directions for assistance but none came, the Derby’s passing through to Rhenoster Spruit on the 6th of June, the day before the attack. A company of the Militia, however, was sent back at sundown to help defend the Station. A company of the Railway Pioneer Regiment arrived late at night bringing our total up to about 190 men.

Early the next morning, having stood to arms for some time, we saw, just as the day broke a considerable force forming up to the eastward, that being the most advantageous position for the attack, as the sun shone full on the Station giving them an excellent target and at the same time shining in the eyes of the defenders. A Boer rode in bearing a white flag and requested the surrender of the garrison and on this demand being refused he galloped back, the attack commencing before he had covered half the distance. The first shell was responsible for two casualties. From this time a stubborn fight ensued, shells bursting in rapid succession and rifle bullets coming like hail to which our handful of men replied with great spirit, without, I am afraid, doing much execution. Heavy firing could be heard all this time down by the river, but at last it ceased and we afterwards found that the Derby’s, after considerable loss, had surrendered. The big guns which the Boers had used against them were now brought up and trained on the western side of the Station, placing us between two fires.

It was now that the critical time had arrived. Not a yard of the whole Station area was safe and after enduring it for some time longer, no assistance arriving, the officers decided to surrender and the white flag was accordingly hoisted. Two or three shells were fired after the flag went up, then they ceased firing and all rode into the Station. This was at noon. We had fought them for six hours, everyone contributing in some way in the defence. I beg here Sir, to bring under your notice the gallant conduct of Privates Carroll and Spollon. These two youngsters were busily employed during the whole of the fight in rendering first aid to the wounded, poor Gobel being their first patient. They were all over the Station relieving the suffering men with first aid bandages, a little water and some brandy and how ever they both escaped unhurt is a miracle. After it was all over a member of the New South Wales Medical Staff Corps made his appearance with a complete hospital companion but where he was during the fight no one seems to know.

The Boers on their arrival soon began to loot. Everything of value or use was taken, the mail bags giving them excellent opportunities of augmenting their kits. They turned the whole of them out, which appeared to give them unlimited satisfaction as they procured innumerable articles that before had doubtless been out of their reach. They also provided themselves liberally with the warm clothing etc. originally intended for the troops at the front. During this time, I made an attempt to save the loose cash in my till but had only secured the gold (£13) when I was interrupted by a Boer coming into the room. I made a pretence of looking for some papers and then closed the box, taking an envelope containing stamps away in my hand, intending to return for the remainder when opportunity should offer itself. This, however, did not occur. A grave had to be dug for poor Tuffin and the last sad rites performed over our late comrade. Mr Preece read the burial service and before the grave was covered in the order was given to get our kits together and fall in. We were immediately marched off to the Boer laager. The work of destruction on the Station then commenced. Although we were about 3 miles away we could distinctly see huge columns of flame and smoke arising, followed by terrific explosions as the large 280 lb shells (scores of which were on the Station) went off. This continued far into the night and resumed the next day.



The Station Master was apparently in league with the enemy or at least on very friendly terms with them, as they allowed him to take all his furniture, etc. to a place of safety on the veldt before starting to blow up the place. All railway work had been taken out of his hands for some days previously and performed by 3 of our men, as the Commandant was suspicious of him, and, as subsequent events proved, they were justified.

On the following day we marched off past Rhenoster (the scene of the Derby’s disaster) to a position on De Wet’s farm, a distance of about 9 miles. I was in a very weak condition all this time. I had given my kit to a Boer who seemed a pretty decent sort of fellow, to carry on his spare horse, but instead of coming with us as one of our guard, he must have been ordered off with the Commando and I never saw him again, thus losing all my kit. We stayed in this place that night and the following day the 9th. Mr Preece was suddenly taken ill this day and was removed to the Yeomanry Hospital. I had hopes of being taken also but no opportunity occurred (there being no transport) so I had to trudge on with the others for about 8 miles the next day.

On the following day, the 11th, I was unable to go any further, so I went to the Boer Adjutant, and told him it was impossible for me to march any more. He told me to go to a cart house belonging to a Boer farmer, where I was left with three others, the Boers saying they would send for us; they never did, however, and after staying there 12 days the Boer farmer took us to Rhenoster Camp. The evening before we left someone rode up to the farm, stayed a while and then galloped away again. It was too dark to distinguish who the visitor was and whether the farmer had orders to take us into camp and spy around is an open question. The camp was attacked, however, within a week from that time but without success. I stayed at the camp 4 days and nights, the line to Kroonstad being cut, but eventually left on the 25th June (2 days before the attack) and arrived here, Kroonstad. The same evening.

I must give another instance of the generous character of Carroll and Spollon. When they heard I was to be left at the farm, knowing I was entirely without kit of any sort, one gladly gave me his greatcoat and waterproof sheet and the other a warm coat and one blanket, articles they could ill dispense with, but willingly gave to protect me from the bitterly cold nights. I assure you Sir, I shall ever remember their kindness with gratitude.”

Before we move on to Chapman’s letter home, it is worthwhile mentioning that, through bringing their unselfishness to the attention of his superiors, both Carroll and Spollon were promoted to the rank of Corporal. As an aside, something which Chapman neglected to mention, possibly because he wasn’t witness to it, was additionally contained in the report. The commission commenting that: -

“It has transpired that in addition to the destruction of the mails themselves the disaster at Roodewal resulted in a considerable loss of supplies, including postal orders and postage stamps which were being sent up to the Field Post Offices at the front. From the reports of the Sergeants who were in charge of these supplies it would seem that some of the men, when the hopelessness of their situation became apparent, succeeded in destroying a portion of the Post Office stock. Some of the Postal Orders lost at Roodewal have been presented for payment; and it would seem that the Boers, when looting the mails, invited their prisoners to participate in the spoil. I have no reason to believe that any men of the Post Office Corps availed themselves of the offer.”

De Wet, in his memoirs, “Three Years War” devoted an entire chapter to the Roodewal incident, and it is instructive to learn how things were viewed from the Boer perspective. I have borrowed relevant sections from this work, paraphrased below. Much of what he says dovetails with Chapman’ account to the commission, but poetic licence is also liberally used to embellish his (De Wet’s) version:

“On the evening of the 6th June I started on my road to Roodewal. At Walfontein I divided my troops into three parties. The third party I commanded myself. It consisted of Commandant Fourie and 80 burghers, with one Krupp; and with this force I pushed on to Roodewal Station. I was informed that there were only one hundred of the English at Roodewal, but that these hundred were very securely entrenched. My information was at fault, for I discovered much later on that there were at least double that number. I arrived at Roodewal very early in the morning of the 7th June. I bought my men up to within 800 paces of the Station and ordered them to place the Krupp in position. As soon as it was light I sent a message to the enemy demanding their surrender. The answer came back, “We refuse to surrender.” I instantly opened a hot fire upon them, bringing the Krupp as well as the Mausers into action. But the reply of the enemy was no less severe.

We had no cover. There was only a shallow pan – so shallow that is scarcely afforded protection to the horses hoofs! Thus it was that the burghers were compelled to lie down in order to afford as little mark as possible to the enemy. When the enemy had been under fire from 3 guns and 80 Mausers for an hour, they thought it best to raise the white flag. We accordingly ceased fire and I rode out towards the station. Before I had reached it, I was met by two of the officers. They told me that they were willing to surrender, on condition they were allowed to retain their private property and the mail bags. I told them they could retain their property but that the letters were a different matter. There was nothing left for the officers to do, for had they hesitated for a moment, I should certainly have stormed the station.

On our arrival at the station we were all filled with wonder at the splendid entrenchments the English had constructed from bales of cotton, blankets and post bags. I had expected that our booty would be large, and my expectations were more than realised. To begin with there were the bales of clothing the English had used as entrenchments. Then there were hundreds of cases of necessaries of every description. I was very sorry that I could not carry away with me the blankets and boots we found in large quantities, but there was no time for this. I was obliged to consign this to the flames but before I did this I gave the burghers permission to open the post bags, and to take what they liked of them. For in these bags were more useful articles of every description such as underclothing, stockings, cigars and cigarettes.



While my men were thus pleasantly occupied, two prisoners asked me if I would not allow them also to open the post bags and investigate their contents. I told them to take just what they fancied, for everything that was left would be burned. It was a very amusing sight to see the soldiers thus robbing their own mail!” De Wet goes on to tell how they then set fire to what remained of the stores, post and ammunition, before marching off “heavily burdened” with loot – both burghers and, amusingly to him. soldiers as well.

Chapman’s letter to his parents was published in the July 28th, 1900 edition of Lake's Falmouth Packet and Cornwall Advertiser and, of necessity, was written in a less formal although quite graphic vein. Under the banner “Local War Letters - A Falmouthian’s Experience - Taken Prisoner” the article read thus: -

“Sergeant Arthur Chapman of the Postal Corps, connected to Lord Robert’s forces in South Africa, writing to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Chapman, of Arwyn Villas, Falmouth, on June 27th says:

“No doubt you have been very anxious about me for some time, so I will tell you all about my adventures. On June 4th some natives came into Roodewal station and gave us information that De Wet’s commando was only about three miles away. We wired up and down the line for assistance, but none came. In the evening the officers came to the conclusion that the station ought to be barricaded, so the details left in charge of the baggage, started on one end and side of the station making two rings of breastwork. They all worked hard for about seven hours, and turned in about midnight. We had to stand to arms about an hour before daylight next morning (that is the usual hour of the Boer attack), but no one came to disturb us.

On June 7th the alarm went about 5 a.m., when a few Boers rode close to the station and were fired on. We were about 150 strong and only about two-thirds had rifles; we had no big guns of any sort. A Boer bearing a white flag rode in about daylight and requested us to surrender. We refused and on the man galloping back, the enemy opened the ball at once. The first shell killed two men and wounded another. It was at the inside of the outer ring of mail bags. And as the shell went clean through the barricade, we had to seek better shelter, but it was of no use. We hadn’t a barricade that could resist shell fire.

The Boers were about 1000 strong, and had two big guns attacking us on one side of the station. The second shell went right through the telegraph office and took the shoulder of our Post Office man off. We could hear firing down the river, but at last it died away, and we found that after a stiff fight the whole of the Militia battalion of the Derby regiment had to surrender, after losing about 120 killed and wounded. The big guns the Boers had been using there were then brought up on the other side of the station and trained on us so we were between two fires. All this time we were fighting away, but the range was too long for us to hope to do much execution, the Boers depending more on their big guns to subdue us, although the bullets were falling all the time like a shower of rain, but with not much effect as the barricades were sufficient to resist rifle fire. We had now about seven guns playing on us, and men were falling on every side, but we stuck to it like Britons until noon, five hours hard fighting.

Then it was (as it was so utterly suicidal to continue fighting) that our officers held a hasty council and decided to surrender. We hoisted the white flag, and then the Boers all came riding in. Nearly all had two or more horses, so it is no wonder they can get about the country so quickly. After it was all over we found another Post Office man shot right through the lower part of the left side of his body by a shell, taking most of his inside away, and leaving his left leg dangling by his trousers. Poor fellow, it was a horrible sight. We had about 2000 bags of mail on the station. The Boers opened the whole lot and looted them, taking everything of value. We then had to bury our dead. It was a sad affair, having to bury a poor fellow of ours whom we had been chatting to only a few hours before. The body was first sewn in a blanket and then lowered down, a young officer reading the burial service. I can assure you we felt very down in the mouth. I manufactured a rough cross, put his name and corps on it, and stuck it in the grave.

No sooner was this sad rite over than we had orders to get our kit together, and in a few minutes they marched us off to the laager, about three miles distant. The next day we marched about nine miles, all the men having to struggle along carrying their kits, the Boers on horseback hurrying on the men who lagged behind. I was in an awful state having been quite ill for days with a touch of sun. I gave my kit to one of the Boers to put on his spare horse, but instead of coming with us as one of the guard, he must have been ordered off with one of the commando, so I lost the whole of my kit. I did not have a great coat of blanket, only what I stood up in, so I had to sleep between two of our men for warmth. It is bitterly cold at night; if you leave any water about, you will find ice a half an inch thick in the morning.

We are nearly starved; we get fresh mutton, but have had only one biscuit in three days, no tea or coffee, only water to drink. On June 11th we ordered to move again, but I was absolutely done. I went to the Boer adjutant who was a decent sort of fellow, and had graduated at Cambridge. He left me at a farm with three other men, saying he would send for us. The old farmer turned out to be very good, and fed us as well as he was able.”

Sergeant Chapman then relates his experience for several days at the farm, having to stay in a cart shed with a bitter cold wind blowing. He further states: “On June 23rd someone rode up to the farm late last night. This morning the farmer told us we could leave whenever we liked, so we got him to drive us to Rhenoster. What a change to be back in an English camp again!
This camp is well fortified now. Our officer wired up from Bloemfontein for me to go down there, stating they would take care of me. Two of our men did excellent ambulance work during the fight. I should also have been in a bad way if it had not been for the same two fellows. When I left at the farm one gave me his overcoat and waterproof sheet, and the other a warm coat and blanket.

When I came down from Rhenoster, we stopped where Roodewal station was. The place now looks as if someone has taken a big knife and cut the whole place clean off to the ground. There is not a stone standing, and everything has been blown clean away. Just where the camp was situated we found a few fragments of burnt letters, all that is left from about 2000 bags, except six bags of remnants which were collected by the first troops in.”

The South African Field Force Casualty Roll mistakenly avers that Chapman was taken prisoner at Kopjes (near Roodewal) on 25 June – we know from the official as well as his own account that he was taken on 7 June and that he re-joined at Kroonstad on 25 June. On the same day the London Daily Telegraph informed its readers that: -

“It has only just become known that the Boers on the Zand River recently captured a train containing 2000 mail bags (inaccurate reporting at its best), conveying an accumulation of three weeks’ letter for the troops with Lord Roberts. Two members of the Post Office Corps were killed and two wounded, whilst the rolling stock was as far as possible destroyed. There were £4000 worth of stamps captured with the mail bags. These were English, and specially for the use of our troops, so that they will be useless to the Boers.”

Back in the swing of things, Chapman was, perhaps surprisingly, not deemed worthy of a Mention in Dispatches for his efforts.

It is not known when he was repatriated to England but he certainly didn’t see out the war in South Africa. His Queens Medal, so well earned, was awarded off the roll dated at Cape Town on 9 July 1901.

Back on home ground, Chapman resumed his employment with the Post Office. He married Beatrice Maud Treloar at St. Paul’s in Islington on 4 October 1902. He was 28 and his bride 23 – both resided at 71 Oxford Road, Islington.

By the time of the 1911 England census, the couple had two children, Alisa Dorothy Chapman (7) and Doris Mary Chapman (1). The family lived at 107 Woodlands Road in Ilford and Arthur was a Sorter with the London Postal Service.

What stories he would be able to share with his grandchildren!

Hi Rory, interesting read and thank you for taking the time to document Sgt Chapman's life and service in the APOC. Certainly gave me a little more appreciation for what they went through.

An excellent account, Rory. Many thanks.

Thank You Rory...... You have shed a light on a very little known and often not appreciated unit..... I remember the best time of the day when I was overseas was mail call..... I had a relation in WW2 who was Canadian Postal Corps who served in England, N. Africa, Italy, France and Germany..... The last few months of the war he was packaging effects of those KIA to send home.....

Mike

Many thanks for your comments gentlemen. Chapman initially proved difficult to identify in the absence of a personnel file. Luck was again on my side when I found his letter home which provided his first name and the details of his parents - as they say, it was a hop, skip and a jump from there.

Regards

Rory