TOPIC:

Served: Smithfield.

Family origins and early life

Petrus Jacobus Strydom was born in 1867 at Kroonstad, the second child of Jan Frederik Strydom and Catharina Petronella Dorothea Greyling, who had married in Smithfield in 1862.

Although his birth occurred in the northern Free State, his upbringing was firmly rooted in the Smithfield district, where the Strydom and Greyling families formed part of the long‑established farming community of the southern Orange Free State.

He grew up among six siblings, learning the horsemanship, marksmanship, and self‑reliance that defined rural Free State life.

On 20 November 1895, he married Anna Maria Sebastiana Williamson at Zastron, linking him to another prominent local family.

By 1899 he was a 32‑year‑old farmer at Vaalspruit, Smithfield, a husband and father, and part of the very demographic that formed the backbone of the commando system.

Enlistment and rank

When war broke out on 10 October 1899, Strydom reported for duty with the Smithfield Commando under Kommandant Krog.

His Vorm B confirms he served as a Korporal, a junior leader responsible for a small group of burghers. His recorded service dates—10 October 1899 to 2 June 1902—show that he served throughout the entire war, from the first mobilisation to the final surrender.

The Smithfield Commando at Stormberg

In December 1899, the southern Free State commandos, including the Smithfield men, occupied the high ridges around Stormberg Junction, a key railway node in the north‑eastern Cape. Their task was to block British attempts to retake the line and to maintain pressure on the colony.

On the night of 9–10 December, British commander Sir William Gatacre attempted a surprise attack, marching his troops through the darkness toward the Boer positions. The column became lost, exhausted, and disorganised. At dawn they stumbled into the Boer pickets positioned along the ridges.

The Smithfield Commando, holding part of this high ground, joined the opening fire that halted the British ascent. From elevated positions they delivered controlled volleys that broke the attack and contributed to the rapid collapse of Gatacre’s force.

Over 600 British soldiers were captured in the retreat, while Boer casualties were minimal. For Strydom, then a Korporal, Stormberg was his first major action—an early victory that shaped the confidence of the southern Free State burghers.

Later service under De Wet

After Stormberg, Strydom fought in the major southern Free State actions listed on his Vorm B:

Cape Colony operations
Sprinkaansnek
Bloemfontein and the Waterworks during the British advance
Muisfontein and other guerrilla engagements

These movements align with the known operations of General Christiaan de Wet, under whom Strydom is recorded as having served. He avoided capture throughout the war, remaining active until the final disarmament following the Treaty of Vereeniging.

Post‑war life

After the war, Strydom returned to civilian life and later settled in Louis Trichardt, where he lived on President Street. He applied for his Anglo‑Boere‑Oorlog Medal on 9 August 1941, and it was issued in 1942, as confirmed by Defence Headquarters correspondence.

He died on 11 June 1948 at the Louis Trichardt Hospital, aged 81.