TOPIC:

Here is a thread that I put in a while ago, 7 years, that may be of interest to you......

www.angloboerwar.com/forum/8-events/2652...-flag-incident#51109

Mike

Here is a ‘White Flag Incident’ that you may or may not know about. It occurred on Monday the 12th of February 1900, which will be recognised by many as the day that Major Eddy of the Victorian Mounted Rifles was killed at what has been referred to as both an action at Pink Hill and also as an action at Hobkirk’s Farm. Pink Hill is actually located on Hobkirk’s Farm, which is now holiday accommodation named Pink Hill Karoo. It is located eight miles northwest of Colesberg in the Northern Cape.

On this day a half of the Wiltshire’s E Company were holding an advanced position at Hobkirk’s Farm when a sentry reported a force of Boers advancing under a white flag. On reaching a decisive range the officer in charge, twenty-eight-year-old Lieutenant Walter Sydney Brown, stood up to check the white flag approaching and found himself facing a hail of bullets. He was hit in the arm and the groin. A bullet smashed his field glasses, and another went through his helmet.

2734 Serjeant James Mundy took command and remained with the wounded officer. He was later awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his actions - London Gazette 27 September 1901, page 6318. The Boers were repelled and could not get closer, so brought guns into action and tried to get into the Wiltshires trench under cover of this bombardment. A witness stated:

“By this time a Squadron of the Victorian Mounted Rifles had been rushed forward and it was at this moment that Major Eddy called out just before he was killed with a bullet through his brain “Australians get what’s left of the Wilts out of it on your horses”, and this they did. Some of the Wiltshire’s had never been on a horse in their lives before and they were coming in with their arms round their necks. Out of the forty-six Australians, twenty-six were bowled over, and most of these were killed as they had been subject to shell fire at a short range”.

The Australians behaved with great gallantry, refusing to retire until the Wiltshires were well away. In doing so they lost five men killed including their brave Major Eddy. Eleven were wounded and a further eleven were taken prisoner.

The Wiltshires lost three killed; Privates 1938 H. Singleton, 5308 F.J. Butler and 2501 G. Roberts. Nine men were wounded, including Lieutenant Brown. The others wounded were Privates 2298 F. Payne, 2525 F. Pontin, 2226 A.G. Noake, 2896 R. Nash, 2917 C.J. Lovett, 4368 E. Dash, 5185 E. Tandivin and 5306 R.A. Storey. They had formed the first line of a small group of men who were crouched near Lieutenant Brown. All had been part of E Company, covering the extreme left position. They too had been covered by the Australians and all fell at the same time as if cut down by a scythe, so accurate was the Boer shooting.

Some wounded Wiltshires remained out in the cold all night. However, 2564 Private William F Pearce remained with them and spent the night moving from one to another binding their wounds whilst under heavy fire, an act which saved many lives. He too was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his bravery - London Gazette 27 September 1901, page 6318. The wounded were later handed over to the British. Pearce eluded the enemy, stealing a horse and galloping off to re-join the Battalion which had been forced to retire.

In addition to the killed and wounded 1123 Colour Serjeant T. Bainbridge, Serjeants 1019 F. Eattell, 434 J. Wootton, 2547 F. Goodridge and Private 2832 J. Radmore were all taken prisoner. Colour Serjeant Bainbridge later escaped from the Boers whilst en-route to the Watervaal Prisoner of War Camp. By hiding by day and moving at night, he rejoined the Battalion at Bloemfontein on the 13th of March, quite hungry, weighing a stone lighter and wearing a full beard.

Walter Sydney Brown later served on the Courts Martial of Breaker Morant, became a Lieutenant-Colonel and was killed in action on the 5th of July 1916 at the Battle of the Somme whilst commanding the 1st Battalion Wiltshire Regiment. He is remembered on a brass plaque mounted on an outside wall of The Rifles Berkshire & Wiltshire Regiment Museum at Salisbury, Wiltshire.

The following originally appeared in pro-Boer William T. Stead's pamphlet "How Not to Make Peace", and includes the article by Hales posted by Dave above. Stead's piece was subsequently reproduced in H.J. Ogden's "The War Against the Dutch Republics", a volume published by the pro-Boer National Reform Union.



The White Flag.

(From "How Not to Make Peace", by Mr. Stead).

The question of the white flag and its alleged abuse occurs three times in Lord Roberts' telegrams. The first at Driefontein, March 11, 1900, the second near Kroonstad, on May 14, and the third quite recently, where three Boers convicted of abusing it were captured and tried.
Only in the first instance have we the reply of the Boers. Both accusations and reply are taken from Lord Roberts' own despatch.

DRIEFONTEIN, MARCH 11 (9-45 A.M.)
''The following telegram has been addressed by me to their Honours the State Presidents of the Orange Free State and South African Republic: –
"Another instance having occurred of the gross abuse of the white flag and of the signal of holding up the hands in token of surrender, it is my duty to inform your honours that if any such abuse occurs again, I shall be most reluctantly compelled to order my troops to disregard the white flag entirely.
''The instance occurred on the kopje east of Driefontein Farm yesterday evening, and was witnessed by several of my own staff officers, as well as by myself, and resulted in the wounding of several of my officers and men.
"A large quantity of explosive bullets of three different kinds was found in Cronje's laager, and after every engagement with your Honour’s troops.
"Such breaches of the recognised usages of War and of the Geneva Convention are a disgrace to any civilised Power. A copy of this telegram has been sent to my Government, with a request that it may be communicated to all neutral Powers".

BLOEMFONTEIN, MARCH 19 (8-25 P.M.)
"I have received the following reply to my telegram No. C 414, March 11, to the Presidents Orange Free States and South African Republic: –
''Your Excellency's telegram dispatched at 9-45 a.m. on the 11th reached me yesterday. I assure you that nothing would grieve me more than that my burghers should make themselves guilty of a deed such as that laid to their charge by you. I am, however, glad to say that you must have been mistaken.
''I have made personal inquiry of General Delarey, who was in command of our burghers at the place mentioned by you. (He) denies entirely that our burghers acted as stated by you, but says that on Saturday (date illegible) the British troops, when they were about fifty yards from our position, put up their hands as well as the white flag, whilst at the same time your cannon bombarded the said troops as well, with the result that Commandant De Beer was wounded.
"Yesterday morning at eight o'clock the head Commandant wrote in his account of the battle as follows: 'The soldiers hoisted the white flag, but were then fired at by the English cannon and compelled to charge'.
"Perhaps it is unknown to your Excellency that the same thing happened at Spion Kop, where, when a portion of the troops had hoisted the white flag and put up their hands, and whilst our burghers were busy disarming them, another portion of the troops fired on our burghers and on the troops who had surrendered, in consequence thereof not only our burghers but some of the British troops were killed. It has also been reported that at the last battle on the Tugela the English cannon fired on the troops who had surrendered.
"With reference to the explosive bullets found in General Cronje's laager and elsewhere, I can give your Excellency the assurance that such bullets were not purchased or allowed by the Government. I have, however, no reason to doubt your statement, as I know that many of the burghers of this State and of the South African Republic took a large number of Lee-Metford rifles and Dum-dum and other bullets from the British troops. May I request your Excellency, as the cable is closed to me, to make my reply known to your Government and to the neutral Powers by cable: – STATE PRESIDENT".


Writing in the Daily News, November 9, 1900, Mr. Hales says: –

"Few things have astonished me more during the progress of this war than the number of charges levelled against our foes in reference to the treacherous use of the white flag. Almost every newspaper that came my way contained some such account, yet, though constantly at the front for nine months, I cannot recall one solitary instance of such treachery which I could vouch for.
I have heard of dozens of cases, and have taken the trouble to investigate a good many, but never once managed to obtain sufficient proof to satisfy me that the charge was genuine. On one occasion I was following close on the heels of our advancing troops, and had for a comrade a rather excitable correspondent. When within about fourteen hundred yards of the kopjes we were advancing to attack, the Boers opened a heavy rifle fire; and though we could not see a solitary enemy, our fellows began to drop. It was very evident that the enemy were secreted in the rocks not far from a substantial farmhouse, from the roof of which floated a large white flag (it turned out later to be a tablecloth braced to a broom handle).
'' ‘There's another case of d -- white flag treachery’, shouted my companion. ‘I wonder the general don't turn the guns on that farm and blow it to Hades’.
'' ‘What for ?’ I asked.
" ‘What for! Why they are flying the white flag and shooting from the farmhouse. Isn't that enough?’
" ‘Quite enough, if true,’ I replied. ‘But how the devil do you know they are shooting from the farmhouse?’
'' ‘They must be shooting from the farmhouse,’ he yelled. ‘Why, I've been scouring all the rocks around with my glasses, and can't see a blessed Boer in any of 'em. No, sir, you can bet your soul they are skulking in that farm. They know we won't lose a shell on the white flag, the cowards!’
"I did not think it worthwhile to argue with a man of that stamp, but kept my glasses on that farm very closely during the fight that followed. Right up to the time when our men rushed the kopjes and surrounded the farmhouse I did not see a man enter or leave the house, and when I rode up I found that two women and three children were in possession. Furthermore, on examination I soon discovered that, as the doors and windows faced the wrong way, it would have been impossible for a Boer to do much shooting at our men, unless the walls at the gable end were loopholed, which they were not, I know, for I examined them minutely. Fortunately for the credit of the British army, most of our generals are cool-headed men who do not allow the irresponsible chatter of the army to influence them. Otherwise our guns would have been trained upon many a homestead on charges quite as flimsy and groundless as the one quoted above'.'


Dr. Conan Doyle in his book,"The Great Boer War", says: –

''They were rough in their ways and speech, but in spite of many calumnies and some few unpleasant truths, they might compare with most disciplined armies in their humanity and their desire to observe the usages of war".


To the members of the Pall Mall Club, soon after his return from the war, Dr Conan Doyle said: –

"The Boers had been the victims of a great deal of cheap slander in the press. That the white flag was hoisted by the Boers as a coldblooded device for luring our men into the open was an absolute calumny".





Today, many of W.T. Stead's observations would be considered reasonable and balanced. However, at the time he was deemed a thoroughly divisive individual, and was intensely disliked by the jingoistic majority. The cover below gives a flavour of how he was viewed by many. It is addressed to: "William Stead, The Pro Boer Traitor Agent and Skulking Slanderer of Britain".




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Ian - searched the British papers of 1900 for mentions of Pink Hill, Hobkirk's Farm & Major Eddy - found a lot of articles but only one (Wiltshire Times 17th March 1900) contained a mention of a white flag and then with a rather different spin to the one you give.



Also found a December 1900 article just over two columns long, so too long to post or transcribe, headed "THE WAR - A chat with Sergeant Patterson of the Victoria Mounted Rifles." He mentions the incident but no white flags. Happy to email if you are interested.

Regards, David.

Yes please do.

The information I gave comes mostly from the Regimental Digest, but also from a Sgt’s personal diary and a soldier’s letter home, so I would imagine that it is accurate.

Does the serjeant mention the Wiltshires officer or just Major Eddy?

Different perspectives provide different accounts as we know. I haven’t seen this particular article so thank you for posting it.

Strange how my source say that the forty-six were Australian yet the article written by another Wiltshire soldier implies that they are his comrades. The list of dead and wounded doesn’t tally. Oh how I love a good puzzle! How many in a Squadron of VMR?

In early 1901 a booklet was prepared and issued as guidance for Officers Commanding Columns and Posts in the O.R.C. This included a circular, dated 14 February 1900, regarding the misuse of the white flag.





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