TOPIC:

Frederick Williams

Wounded in Action – Tugela Heights – 18 February 1900

Corporal, 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers – Anglo Boer War

- Queens South Africa Medal (2) Tugela Heights, Relief of Ladysmith to 3124 CORL F. WILLIAMS, 2: R. SCOTS FUS:

Fred Williams was born in the Parish of St. Patrick’s in Manchester, Lancashire in about 1872. He was the son of John Williams, a Coachman by occupation, and his wife Hannah. Our first glimpse of a young Fred came courtesy of the 1891 England census when, already 9 years old, he was at home in 204 Stockport Road, Manchester along with his parents and, being the youngest in the family, his many older siblings – these were Lizzie (25 and an unemployed Machinist), Annie (21 and a General Servant), David (19 and a Chemist), Henry (17 and a Carter), James (15 and a Boot Maker), George (13) and Emily (11). As can be seen, Mrs Williams churned out an average of one child every two years.

By the time the 1891 England census called round Fred was a lad of 19 and a Carman by occupation. He family still resided in Stockport Road but had moved to no. 283. Mr Williams was a Furniture Remover by occupation. At Bury on 24 October of the previous year, an 18 year and 7 month old Fred had completed Attestation papers for enlistment with the Royal Scots Fusiliers (7 years with the Colours and 5 years with the Reserve.)

Claiming to be a Hatter (a Labourer on his medical sheet) by occupation, Williams was already serving in the 3rd Lancashire Fusiliers, a Militia unit. A small man at 5 feet 4 inches in height, he weighed a slender 114 lbs and had a dark complexion, brown eyes and dark brown hair. A Roman Catholic by religious denomination, he sported an interesting tattoo of “a woman on a pedestal” on his right forearm. Quite who the woman was to this young buck is not revealed.

Having been declared as fit by the Doctor (there was an initial concern about his being underweight), Williams was assigned no. 3124 and the rank of Private. Assigned to the Depot, he was transferred to the 1st Battalion and promoted to Lance Corporal on the same day – 23 March 1892.

Promotion to Corporal followed on 11 April 1894, two days before he qualified for promotion to the rank. Transferred back to the Depot he was soon in a spot of bother – arrested on 23 May 1898, he was tried by Court Martial for “ Conduct to the prejudice of good order” on 30 May. He was sentenced to be reduced to the ranks and returned to the Depot as a Private the following day.

On 31 October 1898, all having been forgiven, he was appointed a Lance Corporal and posted to the 2nd Battalion, R.S.F. where he was mustered as a Gymnastics Instructor at Aldershot in Hampshire.

After 9 years of home service Williams sailed with his 2nd Battalion aboard the Pavonia on about 22nd October 1899, arrived at the Cape about 18th November, and was immediately sent round to Durban. Along with the 2nd Royal Fusiliers, 1st Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and 2nd Royal Irish Fusiliers, they formed the 6th or Fusilier Brigade under Major General Barton.


Detailed map sketching the main features of the Tugela Heights actions

Britain was at war with the two Boer Republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State with effect from 11 October 1899 and, with a woefully inadequate number of regular army troops on the ground in South Africa to stem the Boer tide, it was all hands on deck with men being sent out from the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the Empire as soon as logistics allowed it.

Having joined Buller’s Natal army camped at Frere (Chievely) their first action was at Colenso on the 15th December, when the brigade were on the right of the infantry. The Royal Scots Fusiliers had only four companies present in the firing line, the remainder of the battalion having been ordered to detail a guard for the baggage. In his account of Colenso Bennet Burleigh says: "The Queen's and others of the 2nd Brigade with a few of Barton's, chiefly the Scots Fusiliers, were quite near the iron bridge and the river. Regardless of the wildest fusilade ever heard from an enemy our men tried to bore in farther" and again, speaking of the men lost as prisoners, he says: "The Scots Fusiliers in that connection had very bad luck, for they got left in an untenable position and were surrounded". The battalion had 12 men killed, 20 wounded; 6 officers and 39 men taken prisoners.

Fortunately Williams wasn’t among the numbers referred to above but it certainly was very hard on the battalion and on the 2nd Devons that the somewhat unnecessarily precipitate abandonment of the attack should have left those stranded and helpless who had pushed in with most magnificent courage.

On 23rd January 1900 the battalion was taken to Spearman's Farm as corps troops, and about 1st February was moved to a camp between Mount Alice and Doornkloof, finding picquets for Swartz Kop prior to and during the action of Vaal Krantz. The Scots Fusiliers also assisted in "the formation of a road to the top of a very precipitous hill and the occupation of its summit by guns". The General said, "I must bear witness to the admirable way in which the Naval Brigade, the Royal Artillery, the Royal Engineers, and the Royal Scots Fusiliers worked at this arduous duty". In reference to this a correspondent - 'Linesman' - says, "Along the terraces and in the dense woods of Swartz Kop men were straining and hauling all night at steel hawsers, until with almost superhuman labour heavy ordnance was actually perched on the flat summit, a sight almost as wonderful to behold as the terrible work they did next day".

In the fighting between 13th and 27th February the battalion took a full share of the task in hand.

On 18th February the battalion was first line in the attack on Green Hill, which was "well carried by the Royal Scots Fusiliers". In his telegram of 20th February the Commander-in-Chief mentioned three infantry regiments as doing especially noticeable work, one of these being the Royal Scots Fusiliers.


Segment from service papers showing actual date of wounding

It was in this skirmish that Williams was Wounded in Action – there is confusion surrounding the casualties in the Tugela Height battles – those from 14 to 27 February 1900. The casualty lists state that Williams was wounded at Hussar Hill on 16 February 1900. His service record, clearly states that the date of his wounding was actually on the 18th February. A newspaper report (the source from which most casualty rolls were compiled) provides a possible cause of the confusion. The Glasgow Herald of 23 February 1900 (for example), carried an article listing the casualties in the following terms: - The following are particulars regarding 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers killed and wounded at Hussar Hill and Monte Christo, February 15th to 18th.


Newspaper segment to illustrate the confusion

A more detailed description of the events that transpired in these frenetic few days is described in Maurice’s official history. Writing from the time Buller attempt to relieve Ladysmith had reached a crucial phase, he stated, from: -

Page 437

February 14th - The infantry divisions, preceded by the 2nd mounted brigade, marched from their bivouacs, and brushed away the Boer skirmishers, who were based on a deep wooded donga at the foot of Hlangwane. Three guns opened upon the British. One, a 94-pr., posted at Fort Wylie, was speedily silenced by the heavy artillery at Gun Hill, near Chieveley. A second was concealed behind the reverse slope of Hlangwane, while a third was placed some little distance to the north of Green Hill.

About 9 a.m. Hussar Hill was reoccupied almost without loss, and at first it appeared that the Boers had completely retired from the south of the Gomba, but a skirmish on the right of the line between the 4th brigade and a party of the enemy at Moord Kraal Hill proved that this was not the case. The artillery was brought up to Hussar Hill. Part of the Field batteries, and four Naval 12-prs. moved to its northern and north-eastern slopes, whence they shelled the centre of the enemy's line between Hlangwane and Green Hill. The three brigades of the Vth division bivouacked on the line extending from Hussar Hill on the east to the Colenso road on the west. The 2nd division lay with the 2nd brigade on the south-eastern slopes of Hussar Hill, and the 4th brigade somewhat to the north-east.

The Headquarters of the General Officer Commanding were established, early in the day, at Hussar Hill. The troops were undisturbed during the night, save by a sudden cannonade from Gun Hill, where, by order of Major General Hart, the Naval 4.7-in. guns fired in the direction of a laager reported to be concealed on the slopes of the far side of Hlangwhane.


Troops scaling a hill in Tugela Heights

Feb. 15th - On the 15th the artillery continued their bombardment of the trenches between Hlangwane and Green Hill, searched with shrapnel the plateau behind these heights, and engaged the Boer ordnance. The Boer guns behind Hlangwane and Green Hill were in the same places as on the 14th, and remained there till the 18th ; the 94-pr. had disappeared from Fort Wylie, while a field gun and a 4.7-in. Howitzer came into action from the kopje south of the Onderbrook. The artillery was on this day strengthened by the arrival of the remaining two 5-in. guns of the 16th company, Southern Division, R.G.A., from Port Elizabeth, but these two guns did not open fire till February 18th.

While the gunners thus occupied the attention of the Boers, the eastward extension against the extreme Movement eft of the enemy's line began slowly to develop. On the right the 2nd division occupied Moord Kraal Hill and some rising ground to its north-west. Warren connected the right of his own division (the Vth) with Lyttelton (2nd division), by despatching the 6th brigade (Barton) to seize a wooded spur which lies about a mile east of Hussar Hill. No further advance was made that day. It is a curious instance of the " fog of war " that, while the British generals hesitated to attack the Boer positions on account of their strength, Fourie, who commanded on the extreme left of the enemy's line, was thoroughly aware of his own weakness. Ever since the British force first moved into the valley of the Blaauwkrantz, he had frequently reported the danger of his situation,

Page 440

The artillery, on the 16th, kept up a very slow but steady fire upon the targets of the previous days, and the approaches to Cingolo were reconnoitred in force by the 2nd division, while the Composite regiment, one of Dundonald's mounted infantry corps, lapped round the south-eastern base, and worked up the lower slopes. At 5.15 a.m., the Queen's (2nd brigade) and the Scottish Rifles (4th brigade) descended into the valley of the Gomba, with half of each battalion extended in first line, followed by the remaining half-battalions in reserve. In an hour they had crossed the river-bed, and gradually forced their way through the rugged and scrub-covered country to within a mile and a half of the foot of Cingolo, the south-eastern crest of which was now temporarily held by Captain R. N. Smyth, 21st Lancers who, with a patrol from the troop of regular cavalry attached to Lyttelton's division, had climbed the hill from the south-west. He came under fire from " snipers " hidden in the bush, but saw no sign of trenches or sangars.

When the infantry was ordered to fall back, the Boer sharpshooters became active, but with little result. The rest of Lyttelton's troops did not cross the Gomba, and at 9 a.m. all were ordered to return to their bivouacs. At nightfall the disposition of the British force was as follows : On the extreme right the Composite regiment protected the outer flank of the 2nd division, which bivouacked opposite Cingolo Mountain. In the centre were the 6th (Barton) and the 10th (Coke) brigades of the Vth division. On the left Warren's remaining brigade, the 9th (Wynne), held Hussar Hill, and connected with the 5th brigade at Chieveley and Gun Hill. The latter brigade (Hart) was charged with the double duty of protecting the valuable accumulation of stores at rail- head, and of assuring the safety of such of the Naval pieces as were placed in battery upon Gun Hill.


Boer positions

Page 450 – the day Williams was wounded

It will be remembered that Barton had been recalled to the south bank of the Gomba at nightfall on the 17th ; and was ordered to act as the chief support to Lyttelton's division in the operations of the next day. The directions he received were to follow in echelon with the 2nd Division, marching on Green Hill. He was not to attack it until the 2nd brigade had crowned Monte Cristo. On the morning of the 18th, after moving about a mile through thick bush towards Green Hill, Barton established contact with the left battalion of the 2nd Division, and remained halted with it for several hours until he could see the 2nd brigade (Hildyard) righting on Monte Cristo. At about 1.30 p.m., he ascertained that the progress of the 4th brigade was hindered by burghers in sangars on a low ridge running from Green Hill towards Cingolo Nek. Seeing that by occupying Green Hill he would be able to enfilade this ridge, and thus help on the advance of the 4th brigade, he wrote to General Warren to report his intention, and then sent the Royal Scots Fusiliers against its eastern, the Royal Irish Fusiliers against its western spur. The defenders, shaken by the bombardment of the 73rd Field battery from Hussar Hill, and by the Field batteries on Cingolo, shells from which began to fall among them about mid-day, and finding their line of retreat compromised by Hildyard's presence on Monte Cristo, retired after a very faint resistance. The infantry carry Green occupied the hill, on which the scrub was so thick that the Royal Scots Fusiliers, as they forced their way up the steep slope, fixed bayonets, in order that the glint of steel might show the artillery where they were. From the top of the kopje, the Royal Scots Fusiliers saw, about five hundred yards to their front, a line of works upon which men were employed. Beyond these trenches was a laager. The battalion rushed forward, driving the enemy before them, and captured both the works and the laager. Barton then began rapidly to organise his brigade (6th) for pursuit ; but before he could lead it on he received explicit orders to stand fast. Late in the afternoon, Boer guns from the left bank near the Falls shelled Green Hill and the plateau to its front, but without result.”

Williams, incapacitated by his wounds, was to miss out on the actual relief of Ladysmith which came 12 days later. The battalion's losses in the fourteen days' fighting were approximately, 4 officers and 26 men killed, 9 officers and 72 men wounded.

Having sailed for home on 1 May 1900 he was attached temporarily, on 29 May 1900, to the 4th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment and discharged as medically unfit for further service on 30 September 1900. His Proceedings on Discharge forms, completed at Colchester, rated his Military Character and Conduct as Very Good. His destination address was his father’s house at 50 Nelson Street, Rochester Road, Manchester.

Williams never donned a uniform again. The 1911 England census revealed that he was still single and living at home. He had followed his father into the business and was a Furniture Remover at the age of 39 living at 8 Lister Street, Manchester. He passed away in South Manchester in 1933 at the age of 61.