TOPIC:

Hi,

I am looking for assistance in the following:

One of my family members Izak (also written as Isaac) Barthlomeus Liebenberg was executed in prison at Aliwal North on the 11th of January 1902 (for killing a Lieutenant of the British forces) - see profile www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Liebenberg-949&public=1 .

I was searching for his grave and wondered if he would have received a "proper" burial? I have come across an entry for a JB Liebenberg on the memorial at Aliwal North (see www.eggsa.org/library/main.php?g2_itemId=707980 ) and wondered if this is the same person as I am not aware of other executions of Liebenbergs in Aliwal North, and that the initial J may be a mistake.

Who would be able to provide me with copies of documents that may provide more information on this person listed on the memorial?

Regards,

Wynand

Wynard,

Aliwal North was a centre for prosecutions at this stage in the war.





Does anyone know of records of these trials?

There is only one mention of Libenberg in The Times of 13 Jan 1902:



Lt Neumeyer served in the Orange River Colony Provincial Police. Dooner says of him "He was presumed killed on November 23rd, 1900, but his body was found the following day, near Aliwal North."

From Conan Doyle's The War in South Africa. Its Cause & Conduct

As the war dragged on, however, it took a more savage character upon the part of our enemy, and it says much for the discipline of the British troops that they have held their hands and refused to punish a whole nation for the cruelty and treachery of a few. The first absolute murder in the war was that of Lieutenant Neumeyer, which occurred at the end of November 1900. The facts, which have since been officially confirmed, were thus reported at the time from Aliwal:

Lieutenant Neumeyer, commanding the Orange River Police at Smithfield, was driving here, unarmed, in a cart yesterday, when he was " held up " by two Boers. He was taken prisoner, handcuffed, and treacherously shot in the back with a revolver and again through the head.

The murderers stripped off the leggings which Lieutenant Neumeyer was wearing, searched his clothes for money, and
afterwards dragged the body to a sluit, where later in the day it was discovered by the Cape Police and brought here. Two natives were eye-witnesses of the murder. Lieutenant Neumeyer had served with distinction in the Rhodesian campaign.


This book may also be useful: Du Plooy (F.J.) ALIWAL-NOORD EENHONDEERD JAAR, 198 pages, maps, photographs & other illustrations, brown cloth, Privately printed, Aliwal North, 1977. Three chapters (pp. 106-126) cover the Boer War. One chapter describes the Boer occupation of the town in late 1899, another the Boer concentration camp on the Kraai River (where a measles epidemic killed thousands in 1901) and a final chapter covers the Neumeyer incident. This chapter (not totally reliable) discusses the events of November 1900, when Captain Gideon Scheepers sent a patrol of 20 Boers to execute Lieutenant Neumeyer near Rouxville.

I don't think this adds to the information you already have.

Best wishes
David

Thank you for the responses so far. I have managed to get a bit of information on him and it is clear that the J on the monument should be an I (Izak).

However, I am still looking for more information. Does anyone know where the execution was recorded as I assume that the British commander at Aliwal North had to keep a log book of prisoners and executions? If this kind of book exists, where do I find it?

Regards,

Wynand

Hi there,

Just been researching the fate of Izak Bartholomeus Liebenberg, who was executed at Aliwal North pn Jan 11th 1902. I am looking for more info on him, as I have a copy of his last letter to his 'moeder en broertjies' in which he bids them farewell on 10th January. There is a note afterwards that he was hanged the next day. Got any other info on this? Would love to hear it.

Arne Schaefer

Hello Arne

We have documentation in "Afrikaans" of Izak Liebenberg at the War Museum so I suggest that you read the following:

www.geni.com/people/Izak-Liebenberg/6000000011633027819

samilitaryhistory.org/vol073vm.html

Regards
Elmarie