TOPIC:

Thomas Dow , M.I.D.; D.C.M.

Trooper, South African Light Horse – Anglo Boer War
Sergeant, 2nd Imperial Light Horse - WWI

- Distinguished Conduct Medal (Ed VII) to PTE T. DOW. S.A. LT. HORSE.
- Queens South Africa Medal (C.C./TH/OFS/RoL/LN/BELFAST/SA 1901) to 398 TPR. T. DOW. S.A.L.H. (Renamed)

Tom Dow was born in Teesdale in the State of Victoria, Australia in 1869 the son of Peter Dow, a Scottish-born Stone Mason, and his wife Janet, born Brock. How he occupied his time in his youth is unknown with our first exposure to him coming courtesy of the Australian Police Gazette of 21 June 1893. Under the dubious heading “Deserters of Wives and Children”, page 64 carried the entry: -

“Thomas Dow is charged, on warrant, of deserting his illegitimate child by Charlotte Warne, general servant, Immigrant’s Home, St. Kilda at Wedderburn, on the 27th ult. Description: - Blacksmith, about 21 years of age, 5 feet 8 inches high, stout build, dark complexion and hair, small dark moustache only; generally wears dark clothes. Supposed to have gone to Ararat or Moyston. O.1590. 16 June 1893.”


Police Gazette entry

The reason for this desertion could possibly be that he got married! The Victoria State Government records contain a marriage certificate wherein Thomas Dow married Ellenor Hyatt Crump from South Melbourne, Victoria at the United Methodist Free Church in Richmond on the 8th June 1892. That this marriage was, very likely, a hastily arranged affair was confirmed by the birth, on 3 January 1893, of a son Thomas Guthrie Dow – not quite seven months after the marital knot was tied.

It would thus appear, based on the above, that Dow’s start to adult life was a controversial and a promiscuous one – he was cavorting with a young immigrant girl whilst wooing his wife-to-be. Perhaps it was his domestic problems which decided him or, perhaps, the fact that he was a wanted fugitive from justice; whatever the case may be, he decided to set sail for South Africa, no doubt in an effort to put his past (and the pursuing officers of the law) behind him. He was aboard the “Damascus” which sailed from Victoria in Australia for “London via ports” in September 1894. The ships manifest has him as being 25 years of age.


Marriage Certificate

The advent of the Anglo Boer War on 11 October 1899 found him already settled in South Africa. This war, between the two Dutch-speaking Republics of the Orange Free State and her neighbour, the Transvaal, and the might of Imperial Britain had been long in the making. With the number of Regular Army men on the ground in Natal and the Cape Colony proving woefully inadequate to counter the Boer insurgency, local units were called into being. One of these was the South African Light Horse and it was with this body of men that Dow decided to throw in his lot.

Joining B Squadron of this illustrious regiment, he completed the attestation papers on 10 November 1899 and was taken on as a Trooper with no. 398. Confirming that his next of kin was his father, Peter Dow of Teesdale Victoria, he stated that he was a 29 year old Australian and a Mason by trade.

The SALH was raised in the Cape Colony in November 1899 with the command given to Major (local Lieutenant Colonel) the Honourable J H G Byng (10th Hussars). Eight complete squadrons were raised by an early date in December. A portion was employed for a short time on the De Aar line, but three squadrons of the regiment were, on formation, taken round to Natal and, with other mounted troops, were employed under Lord Dundonald on the right flank at Colenso on 15th December 1899. Dow was one of these men.

In the orders issued by General Buller on 14th December, the eve of the battle of Colenso, it was stated that: "The Officer Commanding mounted brigade will move at 4 am with a force of 1000 men and one battery of No 1 Brigade Division in the direction of Hlangwane Hill; he will cover the right flank of the general movement, and will endeavour to take up a position on Hlangwane Hill, whence he will enfilade the kopje north of the iron bridge.” Lord Dundonald and the mounted irregulars did attack Hlangwane and made good progress towards its capture. Sadly things didn’t go according to plan, thanks in the main to the lack of any infantry support from Buller to aid this objective. Nevertheless, Buller was fulsome in his praise of the efforts of the mounted Volunteers.

When the move to turn the Boer right on the Tugela was commenced, four squadrons of the regiment accompanied Lord Dundonald, marching on the 11th January via Springfield and Potgieter's, but a portion remained at Chieveley with General Barton to watch the Boer position at Colenso. In order to keep the enemy engaged there, frequent reconnaissance’s and demonstrations were made in which the detachment several times had sharp casualties.


SALH in the field

On the 11th Lord Dundonald seized the bridge at Springfield over the Little Tugela, and pushing on had, before dusk, secured heights on the right bank of the main river which commanded Potgieter's Drift. For five days the mounted troops did reconnoitring and outpost work. On the 16th they were ordered to march that night to Trichardt's Drift. On the 17th they and Warren's troops crossed the river, and on the 18th Lord Dundonald was sent off to the left flank. The Composite Regiment, 1 squadron Imperial Light Horse, 1 company of Mounted Infantry, regulars, and 1 squadron Natal Carbineers, managed to cut off about 40 Boers near Acton Homes, and before dusk these surrendered after the SALH had come up in support.

On the 20th Lord Dundonald ordered Colonel Byng to seize Bastion Hill. Two squadrons of the regiment were dismounted and ascended the steep ascent, the two others supporting. The Boers fled from the crest, and it was taken with little loss, but the hill, like Spion Kop, was exposed to the enemy's fire, and Major Childe was killed by a shell fragment after the crest had been occupied, and 4 men were wounded. At nightfall 2 companies of the Queen's relieved the regiment. During the following days, until the evacuation of Spion Kop, the regiment held posts on the British line. Between the 19th and 27th the regiment had about 60 casualties.

During the Vaal Krantz combat, 5th to 8th February, the mounted troops were mainly on the flanks; but in the earlier part of the fighting which took place between 13th and 27th February, the mounted irregulars, including the SALH, which had been strengthened by further squadrons from Cape Colony, the whole brigade being under Lord Dun¬donald, took a most important share of the work. The regular cavalry had now been put into a separate brigade under Colonel Burn-Murdoch, and were left in the Springfield neighbourhood to secure General Buller's left rear.

Between 9th and 11th February the army marched back to Chieveley, Lord Dundonald covering the left flank. On the 12th, with the South African Light Horse, the Composite Regiment, Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry, and the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, he thoroughly reconnoitred and examined Hussar Hill with the view to its being used as a stepping-stone in an attack on the Boer left. The force was ordered to retire in the afternoon, and had a few casualties in the retirement. On the 14th General Buller decided to occupy Hussar Hill, and the regiment, being the advanced screen, successfully seized the Hill with but slight loss.

On the 15th and 16th the fighting was chiefly confined to the artillery. On the 17th the attack on Mount Cingolo was developed. Dundonald's Brigade struck away to the east, through very broken and wooded country, and ascending an almost precipitous face seized the summit, the 2nd Infantry Brigade assisting on their inner flank. The work of the SALH was specially commended by some of the correspondents present.

The casualties were not serious considering the formidable nature of the task. On the 18th the 2nd Infantry Brigade attacked the summit of Monte Cristo, making a fine advance along the Nek between that mountain and Cingolo. Dundonald's men were again out on the right, and worried the enemy by a flanking fire at long ranges. On the same day the Fusilier Brigade carried another hill. On the 19th heavy guns were got into position on Monte Cristo, and on the 20th it was found that the enemy had left all their posi¬tions on the south side of the Tugela.

From the 21st to the 27th, when the very strongly fortified positions on Pieter's Hill, Railway Hill, and Terrace Hill were, carried, the fighting was mainly done by the infantry and guns. On the 28th Lord Dundonald's Brigade had the honour of being chosen for the direct advance on Ladysmith, and in the evening he galloped into the town with a squadron of the Imperial Light Horse, and one of the Natal Carbineers, and some representatives of his other irregulars.

That Dow was part and parcel of, if not all, then most of these actions, is borne out by the clasps to his Queens Medal – those for Tugela Heights and the Relief of Ladysmith are included in the actions above.

After the relief of Ladysmith on 28 February 1900, the Natal Field Force had a comparatively easy time until General Buller started on his next great movement with the object of clearing Natal. On the 2nd of May Buller received Lord Roberts' instructions to occupy the enemy's attention on the Biggarsberg. On the 7th he set out first towards Elandslaagte to deceive the enemy as to his real direction. General Buller then swept away to the south-east. Lord Dundonald's Brigade, now called the 3rd Mounted Brigade, was chosen to accompany the turning force. On the 13th General Buller arrived at the Helpmekaar road at a point near Uithoek on the left flank of the enemy's position. Here he joined hands with Colonel Bethune, who had been occupying Greytown. The mounted men seized the hill commanding the Pass, and the enemy retired.

From this point to Newcastle it was an almost ceaseless pursuit in which the mounted irregulars did splendid work. The Boers lit grass fires, but Dundonald's men dashed through the smoke, and at times over the burning vegetation, and unweariedly drove the enemy before them. On the 15th the whole force was at Dundee, on the 18th at Newcastle, and the enemy had been driven from his carefully entrenched position on the Biggarsberg at a cost of 7 wounded.

The railway having been repaired and supplies got up, General Buller prepared to turn Laing's Nek, and on the 6th June the SALH and other troops seized and occupied Van Wyk Mountain. On the 7th an advance was made on Yellowboom. On the 8th the regiment occupied another hill, Spitz Kop, near Botha's Pass. On the same day the Pass was carried. "The SALH got up the Berg to the left of Botha's Pass and pursued for some miles, though they were not able to come up with, a party of the enemy who retired to the westward". On the 10th the advance continued. The regiment was in front and "cleared the enemy off a mountain without difficulty". They found the enemy moving in strength from east to north, and the regiment pushed forward two miles to some kopjes. Three squadrons were closely engaged with the enemy until dusk. On the 11th the enemy made a stand in a very strong position at Alleman's Nek, but after severe fighting was driven out by the 2nd and 10th Infantry Brigades, Lord Dundonald's men ably assisting against the enemy's left flank.

During the remainder of June and the month of July the Natal Army was employed in occupying and fortifying posts on the Pretoria-Natal railway and the south-east portion of the Transvaal. In his telegram of 13th July, Lord Roberts mentions that on the night of the 11th the SALH by good scouting had pre-vented the Boers from destroying the railway near Vlaklaagte, and that Lord Dundonald had captured a Boer camp. On 7th August General Buller commenced his advance from the railway to meet Lord Roberts' army near Belfast. On several occasions there was sharp fighting, in which the SALH had a most prominent share.

On the 27th General Buller attacked the immensely strong position held by the Boers stretching across the Delagoa Railway. Bergendal was the point selected for the chief attack, and the 2nd Rifle Brigade deservedly earned the highest praise for their advance and final assault under a very heavy fire. The enemy was thoroughly defeated. 0(The Belfast clasp was awarded for this action) On the 29th the SALH drove the enemy out of Waterval Boven and captured five waggons. Buller's force now moved north of the railway and after some fighting occupied Lydenburg. In October 1900 the SALH were taken to Pretoria, and on the 15th were there inspected and complimented by Lord Roberts.

In the second phase (guerilla phase) of the war the regiment was mainly employed in the Orange River Colony and it was here, and in the Cape Colony, that Dow was to come into his own – redeeming himself, by virtue of his actions, from any taint attached to his name by events in Australia.

In his despatch of 8th March 1901, Lord Kitchener said that in the beginning of December 1900 Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry and the SALH were railed from Standerton and Volksrust respectively to Bloemfontein, and were sent to occupy a line of posts between Thaba Nchu and Ladybrand, east of the capital. De Wet was then trying to get into the Cape Colony, but was headed by Charles Knox and driven north again. The bulk of the Boers broke through the line above-mentioned and got away to the Senekal district, but in his telegram of 15th December Lord Kitchener was able to say that the SALH and Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry captured one 15-pounder taken at Dewetsdorp, one pom-pom, several waggons of ammunition, 22 prisoners, and some horses and mules.

Map of operations in the Cape Colony


Soon after this the SALH and Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry were, with other troops, railed to Cape Colony to operate against Kritzinger and other leaders. Both regiments took part in many a memorable pursuit. In January 1901 the SALH was constantly in touch with the enemy, and on the 16th, in the Murraysburg district of Cape Colony, a detachment acting as advance guard became engaged with a strong force of the enemy.

In February De Wet himself with a con¬siderable force got into Cape Colony, but being hotly and constantly pressed by numerous columns, including Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry and the SALH, he was driven out again on the 28th February minus 200 prisoners, all his guns, waggons, and ammunition. Dow was named in the Dispatch published in the London Gazette of 8 February 1901 as one of the SALH men who “During the 12 months work, have performed special acts of bravery, or have been selected for, and successfully carried out, arduous reconnaissance’s or dangerous duties.”

The SALH remained in Cape Colony during March and April and did much hard work. Dow had already been Mentioned in Dispatches (L.G. 16 April 1901 page 2612) but it was here, at Winterskraal, almost on the border with the Cape Colony, that he was to make his mark, being awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, together with Corporal J.W. Kendall, for a singular act of bravery. The citation in the London Gazette of 20 August 1901 (page 5492) refers: -

“At Winterskraal, Cape Colony, on 22 April 1901, under heavy fire at 600 yards, went back to assist a wounded man, and brought him out of action.”

The Geelong Advertiser of Tuesday, 10 December 1901 carried a more detailed account of the action:

“Another native of Teesdale, Tom Dow, who was in South Africa some time on the outbreak of hostilities, also joined the South African Light Horse, and served his country with no small distinction. He has received a Distinguished Conduct Medal and has been recommended by his superior officers for the Victoria Cross for a gallant and daring act in rescuing, under a rain of bullets, one of his comrades whose horse threw him, and who had got into such a nervous state of excitement that he had to be pulled by Dow bodily onto his own horse, and thus both of them escaped scatheless. Dow’s horse was shot in the leg but managed to bring them into camp. Trooper Dow’s health was drunk with great gusto.”


Map of where Winterskraal is situated

The SALH was brought back to the Orange River Colony, and in May four squadrons of the Light Horse, under Major Gogarty, captured 31 armed burghers with their horses at Luckhoff. In his despatch of 8th October Lord Kitchener said that the column of Colonel Byng was brought from the south to the north of the Orange River Colony, and in the Vredefort Road, Reitzburg district, his column and that of Colonel Dawkins captured 81 prisoners in the last fortnight of September 1901.

After three days' rest Colonel Byng and his men left Kroonstad on 6th October, and in the next three weeks took other 50 prisoners on the west of the railway. He then moved to the Heilbron district to take part in the great combined movements and drives in the north-east of the Orange River Colony, and until the close of the war the SALH and their leader were constantly at the very hardest of work, often trekking for thirty-six hours with scarcely a break.

On 14th November 1901 Byng and Wilson were nearing Heilbron when they were suddenly attacked. The despatch of 8th December says: "The attack, delivered in a resolute manner, was, after two hours' hard fighting, successfully repulsed on all sides by Lieutenant Colonel Byng's rear-guard. The enemy retired, leaving 8 dead on the field".

Possibly around this time, Dow parted company with the SALH and took no further part in the war. For his efforts he was awarded the Queens Medal with the relevant clasps, along with the D.C.M. as mentioned previously.

Now a free agent he decided to remain in South Africa (it is doubtful that he ever returned to Australia). He made his way to Durban in Natal where, on 26 September 1911, he wed Janet Mary Cole, a 26 year old spinster, at St. Paul’s Church. He was a 40 year old Foreman Mason at the time. The couple began to prosper although there serendipity was rudely interrupted by the outbreak of the Great War on 4 August 1914.


Marriage Certificate 1911

Dow was soon back in uniform – on this occasion not the khaki of the SALH with hat plumed with the feather of the sakabula bird but with the drab dress of a Private in “K” Squadron of the 2nd Imperial Light Horse (Kimberley Regiment). His WWI service card (no file exists for him) confirms that he enlisted with no. 239 on 25 October 1914 and that his next of kin was Janet Mary Dow of Terraces, Finsbury Avenue, Auckland Park, Johannesburg. Before entering German South West Africa, his unit was required to assist with the quashing of the internal Rebellion that followed South Africa’s entry on the side of Great Britain.

In the Kuruman area of the Northern Cape the ILH (and others) found themselves in action against General Kemp when they were sent to intercept the rebels at Rooidam. (Page 61 of Urgent Imperial Service by Gerald L’ange). Once the rebellion had been put down the South African forces were able to enter the theatre of war. The ILH embarked for Luderitzbucht on 9 December 1914 aboard the S.S. Glenorchy. He served until 30 June 1915 and was promoted to Sergeant before being repatriated to South Africa. The whereabouts of his trio of WWI medals, issued in 1921/1922 are unknown.

On 19 May 1930 Dow and his wife sailed to England aboard the Armadale Castle. The purpose of the trip is undisclosed but he was described as a 59 year old Builder. Their address was c/o the National Bank of South Africa, London Wall, E.C.

Thomas Dow, Master Builder, passed away at Addington Hospital in Durban on 13 November 1951 at the age of 81 from Pericarditis. He was survived by his wife, there being no children of the marriage. We know that he was able to reproduce – the illegitimate child born in Australia in 1893 comes to mind as does his son Thomas Guthrie Dow, who served in WWI with the Australian forces at Gallipoli and died in a motor cycle accident in Victoria in 1925.

Dow was certainly a very brave man but was he a bigamist? Very likely as no record of a divorce has been found and he remarried in 1911 claiming to be a bachelor. Having made contact with his Australian relatives, I can say that the family story was that Tom went to fight in the Boer War and never came back. Not that he was killed, but that he settled in Africa. This we know to be true. It also seems that he never had any contact with either of his children – both illegitimate and legitimate.

Acknowledgements:
- Stirling’s The Colonial’s in South Africa, 1899-1902 for SALH detail
- Gerald L’ang – Urgent Imperial Service for ILH in German South West Africa
- Victoria State Archives for Dow’s Marriage Certificate
- London Gazette – for DCM citation and MID mention and Australian Police Gazette
- Ancestry for shipping manifest/medal rolls etc.
- Elna Watson, Neville Constantine and others for maps iro Winterskraal.
- Dow family, Australia