TOPIC:

I place a request for assistance on Introductions. This in regard to my latest book, I have sent off Helion in the UK my final draft for :THE ARMED FORCES OF SOUTHERN AFRICA FROM 1652. Inspired by the work of Major Geoffrey Tylden“THE ARMED FORCES OF SOUTH AFRICA”Gordon Angus Mackinlay".

This has been done to thank and ensure his memory, of a man who was so kind to me in my youth, and advised me well.

It is a massive tome of some800,00 words and 714 pages., six chapters from the Dutch settlement; South Africa and the adjacent states, South West Africa,, medals and awards, battle honours.

It is a incredibility complex subject, full of myths, fallacies and down outright lies. Vast amounts of written records destroyed, and many others weeded out. What I had achieved (?) is a balanced review as close to the truth as possible. Language a major problem, an example being :
"Kaffir Wars; since the 1970's successively have been renamed; Cape Wars, Cape Frontier Wars, Frontier Wars, Xshona Wars, Eastern Cape Frontier Wars, VOC Wars and British Wars, Wars of Dispossession. 2012 the ANC Government formally retitled them Wars of Land Dispossession, and the terms Boer and Voortrekker replaced by “Frontiersman”. Then Eastern Cape Wars of Dispossession 1779-1878. 2015 Wars of Resistance and Land Dispossession (or Dispossession and Resistance) in the Eastern Cape 1780-1894. 2017 South Africa's One Hundred Years War found favour as the latest Government term, many academics favour Khoikhoi Rebellion. 2021 Wars of Confederation the latest ANC change. So for a historical chain of continuity, Kaffir Wars, the only sensible approach" Others may think different.

Such as the Zulu it part of some 11 conflicts over 1877-79. Or the South African War 1899-1902, via ten titles and in SA today; In 2022, the Second Anglo-Frontiersman War, the official ANC Government title.

I did a book which wrote to the concept of what would I buy, And this the standard I attempted to achieve, quite a few entries are however only of one line!
This half the entry on the Bushveldt Carbineers " No 248 (was 81) BUSHVELD CARBINEERS (BVC), entitled Bushveld Rifles on raising, later retitled Pietersburg Light Horse, 1st December, 1901. NOTES :
4. In the 1980's the US Army in its officer and SNCO training of law in the field of battle, gave the Bushveld Carbineers case as one of the examples used in dealing with how such units lose control. A further case study, being their own My Lai Massacre in South Viet Nam 1968.
5. The writers paternal grandfather, then a sergeant in The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders had acted as one of the court orderlies, during the court-martial, he recovering from Enteric Fever received whilst on column. A very bright, intelligent and competent man who retiring as a Lt Col after the 1914-18 War (having commanded a battalion, and a Provost Marshal on a number of occasions), was Chief Constable of a number of minor police forces in the North West of Scotland, and then set up the Transport Police for the private rail systems in Scotland in the pre-1939-45 War period, and during it (he also sat on the Provost's Bench). He had extremely vivid memories of the court martial, and had at the time recorded his impressions and the evidence given during it. He considered that the trial was conducted correctly in accordance to the Regulations of the time, and that all the accused were given equally correct legal service. His personal opinion being that the correct decision was given by the court, with the correct sentence given. There was no need to detail men from The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders for the firing party, many volunteered.
The only problem that he had, was why had not the numerous other offences (for which there strong evidence) not been given as charges for the court-martial, a number of which were also capital offences, he having seen the files. He had asked the Judge Advocate General as to the reason why. The response being that charges laid and their evidence were strong, in time of war, the need to charge every offence in court would take too many, for far to long, away from their military duties, and the others concerned had previously pleaded guilty to charges.
6. The executions were carried out 27th February, 1902. They buried in a single grave, in the civilian section of Pretoria’s Church Street cemetery, 50m from the official War Graves section. The grave site was desecrated in the 1980's, and all human remains within it removed. The SAP carried out a comprehensive investigation, their result being that the remains of these executed men had been taken for use in Muti, as they even more potent than the bones of men killed by violence (see Note 4 to Albany Mounted Sharpshooters). It such a problem in the country, The Witchcraft Suppression Act 1957, created (and remains in 2021) with specific mention of this type of crime. In the 1990's the Australian Commonwealth Government paid for the site to have placed on it, grave markers and covering, it known that the site was empty! It falsely stated in a number of sources that the remains of Morant, were buried in the heart of Afrikanerdom, Hero's Acre, Pretoria!
7. The author of 'The Bushveldt Carbineers and the Pietersburg Light Horse', W.Woolmore (p.111) wrote, “Colonel Hall, who could have been a crucial witness for the defence, was transferred to India with indecent haste before the courts martial began. Additionally, Colonel Hall's presence at the court martial may have been an embarrassment to the prosecution's case as ex-Capt James Robertson, who had turned King's evidence, had left the army in disgrace only a few months earlier following a demand by Colonel Hall for his resignation.” Robertson left the Army due to a allegation that he had sexually molested a woman, during a investigation into it, his acts regarding to the BVC indiscipline came out, late July 1901. Due to this Hall had directed Capt W.Beddy CO of Beddy's Scouts (operating alongside the BVC) to investigate, his report was confirmation for the letter received.
Hall was not transferred with indecent haste, he a highly competent officer of artillery, with some eight years of experience as a instructor of artillery, and having responsibility for tactical development. He had been specifically sent to South Africa because of his ability, commanding the Royal Artillery at the Battle of Modder River, at Magersfontein in 1899, and Paardeburg February 1900. It had been arranged before the arrest of the BVC's, on the direction of Lord Roberts, that he to go to India and advise the artillery of the Field Army in modern artillery techniques. He had been awarded the Companion of The Order of the Bath, and three Mentioned in Despatches for South Africa, one from Lord Methuen for Magersfontein 'I again recognise the business-like manner in which Lieut.Col. Hall, commanding RA, carries out his duties in the field'.
8. Senator Nicola Roxon Liberal replaced Robert McClelland Labor, as Australian Attorney General 12th December, 2011, he had been vigorously supporting this case. 9th May, 2012, she informed that the Australian Government would not pursue the issue further with the UK, there was no doubt that the three men had committed the killings for which they were convicted, and the government's position was that pardons are appropriate only when an offender is both "morally and technically innocent" of the offence. She also noted the seriousness of the offences involved, explaining "I consider that seeking a pardon for these men could be rightly perceived as 'glossing over' very grave criminal acts.
TEXTS :
BLESZYNSKI Nick. Shoot Straight You Bastards! The truth behind the killing of 'Breaker Morant'. Random House, Sydney, Australia, 2002. Illustrated card cover, xliii, 386p., photographs, maps, index. A spirited defence of Morant, with its author having only used secondary sources for the defence with no attempt to research primary sources. None of the texts supporting the case for their innocence, used any form of primary official sources.
CARNEGIE Margaret and SHIELDS Frank. In Search of Breaker Morant, Balladist and Bushveldt Carbineer. Published by authors, Armidale, Australia, 1979. Hard cover with dustjacket,, 227p., photographs, map, index. The story seen through “rose tinted” glasses.
DAVEY Arthur, Editor. Breaker Morant and the Bushveld Carbineers. Van Reibeeck Society, Second Series No 18, Cape Town, 1987. Hard cover with dustjacket, lxv, 238pp., photographs, maps, index. A authoritative, well researched text, that lays the whole story out in a non-biased manner, using the records of the Cape Archives
DENTON Kit. The Breaker. Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1973. Hard cover, dustjacket, 268p. A historical novel based on the events, reprinted a number of times as “The Breaker”, and “Breaker Morant”. The 1982 film 'Breaker Morant' is “not” based on this novel, but on the 1978 Australian play “Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts”, written by Kenneth G.Ross who admitted he had used the novel as inspiration, the films director Bruce Beresford co-wrote the screenplay with him, he in subsequent years stated that he was ashamed to have depicted war criminals as heroes. Meeting Kit in Sydney, 1974, I took him to task over the novel, we had a productive relationship to his death in 1997. DENTON Kit. Closed File. The true story behind the execution of Breaker Morant and Peter Handcock. Rigby, Adelaide, Australia, 1983. Hard cover, dustjacket, 160p., photographs, maps, index. An attempt to clear up the confusion given in his The Breaker, for which he had employed a British woman as a researcher for the affair using The Public Records Office in London. She found little, informed that there a “closed file” held by the former War Office (retitled Ministry of Defence (Army)). In fact, this file, which was not closed, it gave reference to the complete records on the Court Martial, and events and investigations relating to it, held in the Cape Archives, Cape Town, as they Cape Colonial soldiers. Also linked to other War Office files, pertaining to the court martial, not its content.
LEACH Charles. The Legend of Breaker Morant is DEAD and Buried. A South African version of the Bushveld Carbineers in the Zoutpansberg May 1901-April 1902. Author, Louis Trichart, SA, 2012. Illustrated card cover, xxv, 220pp., photographs, maps, drawings, index. A competent, well researched and illustrated text, he using certain documents from the Cape Archives Cape Town, and Africana Museum Johannesburg records.
MEREDITH John, Editor. Breaker's Mate : Will Ogilvie in Australia. Kangaroo Press, Sydney, 1996. Illustrated card cover, 276p., photographs, index. Deals with a Scot, he a close friend of Morant in the colony of South Australia in the 1890's. Gives a good idea of the depravity of the man, and makes a very strong case for his involvement in murder and homosexual rape in South West Queensland in the immediate period before his departure for South Africa. In regard to his horsemanship, describes his brutal treatment of animals, one being he routinely wore Mexican spurs six roweled, sharpened and rotating. Ogilvie's very comprehensive papers, which relate to his experience of Morant in South Australia, and Bourke in New South Wales, held in Edinburgh, Scotland.
SCHOEMAN Chris. Brothers in Arms. Hollanders in the Anglo-Boer War. Zebra Press, Cape Town, 2011. Hard cover, dustjacket, xiii, 243pp., photographs, index. In part deals in a factual and cool manner with the murder and torture of citizens of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and native born Boers by Morant and his cohorts.
WEST Joe, ROPER Roger. Breaker Morant The Final Roundup. Horseman, Bush Balladeer, War Criminal. Amberley Books, London, 2016. Hard cover, dustjacket, 400p., photographs, map, index. Well researched, and presented in a well reasoned and clear narrative.
WITTON George Ramsdale. Scapegoats of the Empire. D. W. Paterson Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 1907. Reprinted Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1982. Hard cover, dust jacket, 247p., photographs. It claimed by the supporters of Morant that only seven copies of the original book survived in various Australian state libraries and in the possession of Witton's family. Although unsubstantiated, it has long been claimed that the book was suppressed by the Australian Commonwealth Government at the request of the Colonial Office in London and most copies were destroyed; another explanation given why so few, is that most of the copies were destroyed by an accidental fire at the publisher's warehouse. This writer had pre-1982 over the years purchased three copies of the original print, and physically seen a further 11 in private possession, and that a further 23 copies were known held in public access outside of Australia (using the Old War Office Library indexing), so at least 37 were extant pre-1982, with electronic technology since it found another seven held in public access within Australia! This reprinting was inspired by the success of Bruce Beresford's film. To enhance this, in 2016 this writer was loaned; by a unknown writer, a revised print, Melbourne: D.W. Paterson Co., Printers and Publishers: 1907. Second Edition. Decorated hard cover, 240pp., and two pages of press reviews of the first edition, photographs. In the reduction of seven pages, there can be seen significant changes in the text.
Cecily Adams identifying herself as the copyright owner, she Witton's cousin of Castlecrag, a Sydney suburb, for Scapegoats of the Empire 1st edition (following his death in 1942, she aware of additional documentation written by Witton, he had always refused to make public. She arranged in 1989 for a edition to be published by Adlib Books, Bath, UK, through an arrangement with Angus & Robertson, publishers of Sydney (no ISBN recorded). The writer has never seen this, nor has anyone else consulted, and no copies have ever come on the second hand market, with no copies held in public domain in Australia. The copyright well expired, minor publishers produced many copies.
WILCOX Craig. Australia's Boer War : The War in South Africa 1899-1902. Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 2002. Hard cover, xviii, 541p., photographs, drawings, maps, index. In it the author gives a good description of the whole sorry business. This is further amplified by him in his article “Breaker Morant : The Murderer as Martyr” pp.29-49, in STOCKINGS Craig A.J., editor. Zombie Myths of Australian History : The Ten Myths that will not Die. NewSouth, Sydney, 2010. Illustrated card, 288p. A good clear chapter on the events.
WOOLMORE William. The Bushveldt Carbineers and the Pietersburg Light Horse. Slouch Hat Publications, McCrae, Melbourne, Australia, 2002. Hard cover with dustjacket, 320p., photographs, drawings, maps, index. A nicely produced text with good photographs, unfortunately it follows the belief that Morant was unjustly executed, and that those with him were misunderstood, in having believed legal orders given! The rape, torture, killing of minors etc., the threats to kill those who would not conform, are not explained.
Robert Eales. 'Should Breaker Morant be Pardoned?' SAMHS, Military History Journal, Volume 15, No 2, December 2010. A very good article, discussing both sides in non-biased manner, coming to a conclusion not based on emotion.
Philip Stigger. The Disappearance of White Irregular Regiments, 'Breaker' Morant, and the demise of Recruiting for Rank. Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research,Vol. 74, No. 298 (Summer 1996), pp. 90-95.
Shirley Walker. 'A Man Never Knows His Luck in South Africa': Some Australian Literary Myths from the Boer War”. English in Africa, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Oct., 1985), pp. 1-20 (20p.). Rhodes University. Gives a good account of the BVC.
Yours,
G/.
Gordon Angus Mackinlay

My apologies, the software has compacted up my text transferred across!
Yours,
G/.

G/.
Your project looks to be most interesting and very worthy of publication, I must say. Good luck with it. Regarding the compacted transferred text attached to your post, the entry 248 concerning the BVC (and the sources regarding the myth of the Breaker) are even more interesting. And very welcome considering the recent agitation to resurrect the murderer Morant and his motley crew.
Congratulations on locating the US Army manual regarding Law on the Field of Battle and the example of the BVC. Not many know of that one!
Again, good luck with your ARMED FORCES OF SOUTH AFRICA FROM 1652. I will look forward to ordering a copy.
Best regards
IL.

Thank you Mr Linley.
As I wrote, the text has been prepared with intention of selling it to me. Running the historical background in 115p., then the main component the regiments and corps, South West Africa etc, and in all adding little titbits of information.

For instance for the more interesting or exotic corps if I had interesting medal group for it, that to my mind adds life to the corps. I wander off on little tangents, and discuss the minor unknown campaigns - unfortunately there only so much space, I do a entry on the fight against the Bushmen, which is a quite appalling one (which still goe on in black Africa today).
So I have tried to pack in (without going overboard) as much to enhance the entries. A couple of people have made comment that I have put in too much in the 1899-1902 period on the Town Guards, District Mounted Troops etc. But, they were the backbone that allowed the men on column to go out and keep the Commandos on the move.
I have to give a idea of the Commando's in the war, but, they change so much, it just about impossible to give a accurate description of them.
Probably a third of the text deals with the period from 1912 to 2022, finishing with the Xshona attempted destruction of the UDF/SADF (they did not succeed.
And the Border war from 1964 to 1988, and with the Townships violence to 1994, the ANC now call "The Thirty Years War", with those of the 18th/19th Centuries "The One Hundred Years War", it went on for more like a 130 years!

G/.
I have PM'd you.
Regards
IL.