TOPIC:

BIRTH: Circa 1855
Belfast, Ireland

DEATH: 2nd March 1901 (approx. 45 years old)
Rietvlei, Western Transvaal, South Africa

Next of Kin

Sister: Annie Cairns, 48 Fitzwilliam Square (Street?), Dublin Ireland

Before the War - Uitlander

Prior to the outbreak of the Anglo Boer War Alexander Cairns was working in the Transvaal as a “Compositor”; once the war broke out in October 1899 Alexander left the Transvaal and found himself in the Cape Colony.

According to his Attestation Papers he weighed 160lbs, blue eyes with a fresh complexion with greyish brown hair and was 5ft 9½“tall.
 
Border Horse

The Border Horse was raised in the Eastern portion of Cape Colony in February 1900; Alexander joined the Border Horse on the 17th February 1900 at East London as a Lance Corporal was given the regimental number of 22971.

Their commander being Colonel Crewe, and when General Brabant was driving the Boers from about Dordrecht, 200 of the corps joined Major Maxwell at Labuschagne's Nek on 5th March. On the 4th Maxwell's Colonials had established themselves on a mountain 1500 feet high on the east of the Nek, but the troops in front of the position had been held up, and indeed withdrawn.

'The Times' History, vol iii p 491, mentions that the two squadrons of the Border Horse, when they arrived on the 5th, "proceeded to storm the Boer schanzes. By noon the whole Boer force was in full retreat towards Aliwal North", to which place Brabant and Maxwell followed.

On the 5th the Border Horse lost 2 killed and several wounded. Their casualties were not so severe as the Cape Mounted Rifles or Frontier Mounted Rifles.

The Border Horse were stationed at Aliwal North in April 1900, and were reviewed there by General Brabant, under whom they were to act in the operations for the relief of Wepener (see Cape Mounted Rifles).

In the advance to Wepener they were in the forefront, and several times had sharp fighting with casualties. Their work was highly spoken of by those who witnessed it.

After Wepener was relieved the Border Horse was a component part of the Colonial Division under General Brabant (see Cape Mounted Rifles), and in the advance to the Brand water Basin the whole of the Division often had fighting.

The scouting and patrol work was constant, hard, and, from the nature of the country, very dangerous, and casualties were frequent. Of the work and the losses the Border Horse had their full share, but they had the satisfaction of helping to hem in Prinsloo and his 4000 men.

Lieutenant L G Longmore was severely wounded near Hammonia towards the end of May, and on same occasion 3 men were killed and several wounded.

At Doornhoek, on 26th August 1900, the corps was heavily engaged, and had Major M W Robertson severely wounded and about 20 other casualties.

Alexander was discharged from the Border Horse on 31st October 1900 (own request) and enlisted with the 1st Regiment of the Imperial Light Horse.

1st Imperial Light Horse

Alexander enlisted in Pietermaritzburg on the 21st November 1900, given the rank of Trooper, and regimental number 1464.

In December 1900 and January 1901 the 1st Regiment was operating south of the Megaliesberg under Babington.

On 31st December Lieutenant D Magwell and 1 trooper were wounded at Haartebeest, and on 6th January there was severe fighting at Naauwpoort in which the regiment lost Captain T Yockney and Lieutenant A Ormond and 20 non-commissioned officers and men killed, and Captain and Adjutant B M Glossop (5th Dragoon Guards) and 27 men wounded.

On 7th January 1901 Major C J Briggs, King's Dragoon Guards, assumed command of the 1st Regiment – a command which he retained until the close of hostilities.

Throughout January and February the regiment was constantly in touch with the enemy, and frequently suffered some losses.

In March there was some very heavy fighting and it was at Rietvlei where Alexander was unfortunately Killed in Action.

There is a possibility that Alexander was killed in this location, the same where BJ de Lange would be wounded 6 months later in August 1901.
www.angloboerwar.com/forum/surname-d/135...nge-b-j-burger#95774

Nice medal Sturgy - would that not be Compositor as opposed to Composition?

Thank you Rory; yes you are correct & it makes sense now; I'll fix it up in the original post.

Thanks again.