TOPIC:

John Edmondston

Severely Wounded in Action – Hammonia, eastern Orange Free State – 28 May 1900

Corporal, 2nd Battalion, Brabant’s Horse
Corporal, French’s Scouts
Ranger, Corps of Cattle Rangers
Trooper, Nesbitt’s Horse – Anglo Boer War

- Queens South Africa Medal (CC/Wepener/Wittebergen/Belfast) to 638 CPL: J. EDMONSTON. BRABANT’S HORSE

John Edmonston was one of the many men who fought with a variety of Colonial outfits during the Anglo Boer War – typically, an attestation with one unit would be for either 3 or 6 months whereafter a man could elect to continue with his unit (if is still existed) or could attest with another for a similar duration. This is why, unlike with Regular Army men, the medal rolls to Colonial regiments are littered with examples of men who served in two, three or more different units.

Born in Old Machar, Aberdeen, Scotland on 25 August 1869 he was the son of John Edmonston and his wife Agnes (born Wilson). According to the 1871 Scotland census a 1 year old John was at home with his parents and siblings Dorothea (3) and baby Andrew (1 month old) in Old Machar where his father was a Wholesale Draper employing nine men and three boys in what, obviously, a prosperous business. As an interesting aside, despite being married, Mrs Edmonston preferred to go by her maiden name of “Mrs Wilson, the wife of John Edmonston.”

Ten years later, at the time of the 1881 Scotland census, Mr Edmonston had diversified and was now a Warehouseman employing eight men and two boys. The family were living at Monaltrie Villa in Deeside Road, Aberdeen. The house, according to the Aberdeen Press and Journal, was a large one with “six bedrooms, servants accommodation, bathroom with hot and cold water and all other conveniences.” It also had a large garden, a greenhouse and stables. Dorothea was now 13, Andrew 10 and John 11 years of age. As befitted the house of a man of means – there were servants in attendance – Sophia Milne (17) and Mary Paterson (15).


Affleck & Brown, Manchester

On 26 November 1890 Mr Edmonston passed away leaving an estate of £721. 18 shillings. His wife, a resourceful woman who bred and exhibited show birds, soldiered on with her children. John junior, the subject of this work, following in his father’s footsteps, had taken to the Drapery trade and was, according to the 1891 England census, one of many Draper’s Assistants in the employ of Affleck & Brown, premier drapers who had expansive premises and what must have been a very large Boarding establishment, between 59 and 69 Oldham Street in Manchester. All this under the watchful eye of the redoubtable Elizabeth Hellaby, the Housekeeper.

Deciding that his future lay elsewhere Edmondson set sail for Algoa Bay (Port Elizabeth) in South Africa aboard the Gaul on 27 November 1897. Having arrived he settled down to steady employment and, like most of his contemporaries, would have been blissfully unaware that, in a couple of years’ time, he would be in uniform fighting for Queen and Empire.

War between the belligerents – the Boer Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal on the one hand and the might of the British Empire on the other had been brewing for quite some time but spilled over into open conflict on 11 October 1899. It was supposed by some to be of such small import that it would “be over by Christmas” – this proved not to be the case and the small regular army presence the British had in her southernmost African colonies proved woefully inadequate to contain or even curb the Boer forces who streamed over her borders in the Cape Colony and Natal.

This led to a call for the raising of local colonial- staffed regiments to aid in the war effort. Brabant’s Horse was such a unit and it was to their ranks that Edmondson gravitated. On 7 December 1899 at Port Elizabeth he completed the Attestation forms for service with them, initially for a period of three months and “within the area for which the service of this Corps has been accepted”. Assigned No. 638 and the rank of Corporal he joined the 2nd Battalion, Brabant’s Horse.


Brabant’s Horse off saddled on patrol

But who were Brabant’s Horse? This corps was raised and took the field in the Queenstown-Dordrecht district of the Eastern Cape and was very soon after being assembled, sent to hold various posts, and when General Gatacre went out to attack Stormberg, on the night of 9th December, 160 of Brabant's were intended to join the attacking force from Penhoek.

On 22nd and 23rd December De Montmorency and his men (along with a contingent of Brabant’s Horse) had skirmishes near Dordrecht, in which they got the better of the enemy, who had the stronger force. On the 28th, with some of his own scouts and some of Brabant's Horse, he was out near Dordrecht, but little was to be seen of the enemy. On the 30th, however, there was quite a stiff little fight, in which a party of the Frontier Mounted Rifles was cut off and only rescued the following day. Captain Flanagan's company of Brabant's was said to have done very well. The corps did an immense amount of patrol work throughout January, and Captain Flanagan's company were the first troops in the Queenstown district to gain touch with the Vlth Division, then approaching the Stormberg country from Cape Town via Thebus.

Lord Roberts had in January 1900 announced the appointment of Brigadier General Brabant as Commander of the Colonial Division, which included the two regiments of this corps (a 2nd battalion had been formed in December 1899 and it was to this that Edmondson belonged), and under that general they did excellent work in the clearing of the north-east of Cape Colony. In the fighting about Dordrecht, in the second half of February 1900, the corps took a very prominent part and were several times very heavily engaged. In Lord Roberts' telegram of 18th February he mentioned that Brabant "had attacked Boer position on 16th. He gradually closed in on laager during the day. Fighting lasted from 9 am till dusk.”


Map of Siege of Wepener

The 2nd regiment Brabant’s was placed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel H M Grenfell, 1st Life Guards, and when Colonel Dalgety was besieged in Wepener, the first and a portion of the second regiment were with him, their strength being respectively 345 and 459. And it to the siege of Wepener that we turn as Edmondson was caught up in that affair.

Early in April 1900 a portion of the Colonial Division composed of the Cape Mounted Rifles, Driscoll’s Scouts, Kaffrarian Rifles and Brabant’s Horse under Colonel Dalgety crossed the Caledon Bridge at Jammersberg Drift and occupied the town of Wepener in the Orange Free State without opposition. No sooner had he done so when he was surrounded by Boers who made him aware that he must prepare to be besieged. The immediate surrender of the British forces was politely demanded in order to save any bloodshed. Wepener itself was evacuated, but a camp at Jammersberg, three miles away, was formed, entrenchments made and defences constructed. The position, resembling Ladysmith in many respects, was practically isolated but the lines were strong and meat was reported to be plentiful.

The 1st Brabant’s and some Kaffrarian Rifles were ordered to hold the front whilst Edmondson’s lot, the 2nd Brabant’s, were ordered to hold the right. The remainder of the Kaffrarian Rifles were to hold the rear. A stirring account of the day’s work on the 8th April by an officer who was present was published in the Globe:-

“As I write we have reached the fifth day of the noisy concert without any appreciable result, except that we have expended most of our ammunition. Not a gun has been dismounted not an inch of our ten mile defensive line has been breached or yielded to the enemy but we are still looking and longing to see the relief columns of Kitchener or Gatacre appear on the horizon…”

On the 8th a commando some 2000 strong laagered five miles out in the direction of Dewetsdorp, and on the 9th Wepener was occupied by the Boers who now numbered about 5000 in total – spread crescent wise around the British position. Their guns began to open fire on the camp. The Boers attacked the C.M.R. position in numbers but were somehow repulsed although with great loss. On Tuesday, 10th April the duelling continued, in the morning with artillery and in the afternoon with rifles. An officer with Brabant’s Horse was quoted as saying:

“We fought all day and all night. The big gun and rifle fire were almost deafening, and as we are entirely surrounded, it was pouring in on all sides, a continuous hail of shot and shell.”

The scarcity of ammunition became a factor as was the air, literally, that men were required to breath – it was contaminated by fumes from dead horses, cows and pigs whose carcases were strewed on the surrounding plains. The tents had been struck and lay on the ground battered by the pouring rain. The men huddled in their trenches unable to raise their heads above ground for fear of being shot. During the shelling we would sit or lie down under the bank, protected by the trenches. Some of the trenches had hundreds of shells fired into them during the day, and as long as the men kept well down, they got off comparatively lightly.


Wepener in 1900

On Thursday the 12th April – the fourth day of fierce fighting – the Boers kept up their aggression all day – that night the Boers launched another attack but volley after volley was poured into them with such ferocity that they were forced to retire by 4 a.m. The next three days were quiet as the Boers attended to their devotions. After that there was a brief foray against the Boer lines by the besieged force which came to nought but, it has to be said, from almost that moment on both sides spirits were beginning to dampen with the incessant rain and discomfiture that followed.

On the evening of the 23rd April there was some jubilation in the Jammersberg camp. General Brabant heliographed from 14 miles away that there had been a brief engagement with the enemy and that the enemy were retiring. The Boers besieging Wepener began to sneak away and the firing of shot and shell slackened considerably. On the morning of the 25th it was virtually all over – 1700 men, Edmondson among them, having for seventeen days and nights in the trenches defended seven miles of entrenchment without giving up a single position.

The officer quoted earlier wrote:-

“We were relieved today at last, and march tomorrow. We have gone through an awful time and some of the men look quite ghastly. They dragged their wasted forms from the trenches today at a crawl to the camp, which had been repitched.”

Wepener having been relieved Edmondson and his comrades continued on advancing northwards, and in the operations preparatory to the surrounding of Prinsloo, the corps was very frequently engaged. In the Hammonia district they had an immense amount of difficult scouting, and several times, in the latter half of May and in June, they had encounters with superior forces and rather heavy losses. It was at Hammonia on the 28th May 1900 that he was Severely Wounded in action.


Map showing Hammonia

The Sheffield Evening Telegraph of 31 May 1900 carried a short article which, under the heading “Colonials Ambushed by Boers” read: -

“Maseru, Wednesday – Information has been received here that a detachment of General Brabant’s Colonial Division was ambushed yesterday by Boers near Hammonia, and lost 4 men killed, 5 wounded and 3 taken prisoner.”

The Scotman of 1 June followed up with more news of the engagement: -

“Lord Roberts in one of his dispatches, published yesterday, mentions another awkward affair of an ambuscade. The victims in this case were two patrols of Brabant’s Horse which, while operating in the vicinity of Ficksburg, on the Basutoland border, where the country is very mountainous were ambuscaded on Tuesday.

General Brabant’s message to Lord Roberts states that two officers and 40 men were cut off and captured. An independent telegram from Maseru, the Basutoland capital, speaks of an ambuscade by Boers near Hammonia, which is probably the sale affair, though our losses are represented as 4 men killed , 5 wounded and 3 prisoners. General Rundle himself reports having engaged the Boer force that was known to be hovering in his front near Senekal.”

The Western Mail of 4 June 1900, as more accurate reports filtered through recounted, under “Brabant’s Warning”,: -

“Hammonia, 29th May – Yesterday a patrol of 25 men of the Border Horse was surrounded by the Boers. Three men were killed, three wounded, and sixteen taken prisoner. Another patrol of Brabant’s Horse, numbering 20 men, was taken, two of the men being wounded. A small party who were buying supplies were taken within six miles of the camp. General Brabant has issued a final notice that unless guerilla war ceases all stock in the district will be swept off.”

The final word on the skirmish came courtesy of The Citizen of 4 June 1900 – the relevant portion reading thus: -

“Maseru, Friday – A patrol of 20 men of Brabant’s Horse, under Lieutenant Bundle, went to search a farmhouse in the Ficksburg district. While they were there a man, acting as a sentry, was surprised by the Boers, who surrounded the house and took the patrol prisoners. Two were wounded.”

It was not known how long or to what extent, Edmondson was incapacitated by his wound. Sadly almost no medical records of those wounded in the field in the Boer War have survived or existed in the first instance.


Alternate map of Hammonia

Soldiering on, Edmondson and Brabant’s Horse were in an action in which the enemy had to be driven across the Zand River. On the 6th to 8th July at the capture of Bethlehem, on the 16th near Witnek, and on the 23rd, 24th at Slabbert's Nek, Brabant's Horse were in the forefront and gained distinction, but, as a matter of course, had to pay the price. 'The Times' historian points out that it was some "adventurous scouts" of Brabant's Horse who, by discovering on the night of the 23rd a commanding summit to be unoccupied, enabled Clements to seize the ridge at daybreak—the corps being entrusted with this task.

The 2nd Regiment was ordered to the eastern Transvaal in August, to take part under General Button in the movement from Belfast to the Portuguese border, crossing some of the most difficult country in South Africa. On 15 October 1900 Edmondson took his discharge, Time Expired, from the regiment.

His war far from over, he next attested for service with French’s Scouts on 20 November 1900 and was assigned no. 20708 and the rank of Corporal. His Record of Service with this body confirmed that he was a Commercial Traveller by occupation, was 31 years of age and had previous service with 2nd Brabant’s Horse. His next of kin was his mother, Mrs Agnes Edmondson of 36 St. Swithin’s Street, Aberdeen, Scotland. Having operated for a time in the central district, they took part in the great sweeping movement in the first quarter of 1901 to the eastern border of the Transvaal. During all these months of constant fighting their losses had been wonderfully few when the extremely dangerous nature of their tasks is borne in mind.

Taking his discharge from the Scouts’ at Port Elizabeth on 4 June 1901, and still in that city, he moved on to the Corps of Cattle Rangers attesting for service on 12 June and being assigned no. 47 and the rank of Ranger. The Engagement Form he completed on that occasion was headed “Corps of Cattle Rangers for Protection and Safe Conduct of Captured Stock.” His address was provided as York House, Campbell Street, Port Elizabeth and his physical description informed us that he was 5 feet 10 inches in height, had a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair.

The Macleay Chronicle of 29 August 1901 contained a letter from one Leslie McMaugh of the Cattle Rangers who wrote home to Upper Macleay, New South Wales. It provides a glimpse into the working of this strange, and at times disreputable, outfit. A glance at the nominal rolls shows that a large number of the 512 men were discharged for Misconduct (38). Fortunately Edmondson was one of the 358 discharged on the disbandment of the unit on 2 December 1901: -

"Our corps is called the Cattle Rangers. We are not supposed to attack, only defend and capture the stock, and get six shillings per day and seven and a half per cent, in stock."

"We are clearing the stock off the farms near Harrismith. Last Sunday we were ordered out with a detachment of Yeomanry, and while trying to take some cattle the Boers came down on us, and we were soon in a very warm corner. The Boers had three positions and kept up an incessant fire for about three-quarters of an hour. We were then ordered to retire. My mare was tied to a barb-wire fence and had the reins fast, and when I came up behind her she kicked me on the knee. It took me ten minutes to get her loose and all the time the bullets were whistling round me. One bullet hit the wire against me, I don't know how I escaped being shot.

Next day I applied for some more men and went again. The Boers were on the watch and when we got the stock together, opened fire in great style. It is marvellous how the bullets kicked up the dust around us and never killed a man. Then most of the men I had made themselves scarce, but the Kaffirs and an Afrikander stuck to me, and I got the stock, some hundreds of sheep, goats and cattle. It is a new experience, indeed, driving cattle under fire. It was quite dark when we reached the town and we passed the lines without knowing it."

Imbued with a restless spirit and the energy to match Edmondson set his sights on Nesbitt’s Horse as his next port of call. After a break for Christmas, he attested with them for service at Grahamstown on 15 January 1902 and was assigned the rank of Trooper with no. 1656. Nesbitt’s Horse, as the war wound down to an end, were primarily engaged in the central part of the Cape Colony. Edmondson took his leave from them, it can be assumed, on the day the war ended on 31 May 1902.

What happened to him after this is a matter of conjecture. There is a John Edmondson who died in 1951 in Cape Town – an inmate of Conradie Hospital in Pinelands – but this worthy was purportedly born in the Cape Colony and thus doesn’t fit the bill. Where do his mortal remains then lie? This is one of life’s many unsolved mysteries.

Acknowledgements, where not in the body of the work above: -
- Berenice (Anglo Boer War Forum) for her work on the Cattle Rangers
- David Biggins for the various attestation/engagement papers
- Ancestry for medal rolls, census data etc.
- Anglo Boer War Forum for map of Hammonia
- El Ne Watson for map of Hammonia

A fascinating read (as always), Rory. Many thanks.

It is interesting to see that the machine that impressed his medal must not have been centred as his name is higher than we normally see. The naming has a consistent spacing and is correct.

A very nice medal.

Glad to see you could do him justice

Regards