Castor & Pollux – the Great Twin Brethren

Though the centre of Ladysmith is not what it used to be, it is still worth a visit to see the Town Hall and Siege Museum. The pair of squat and tubby guns which stand guard in front of the Town Hall – and which look as though they belong at the Siege of Constantinople, rather than the Siege of Ladysmith – are the twin howitzers, ‘Castor’ and ‘Pollux’[i]. The pair were also known as ‘The Great Twin Brethren’, and even, perhaps disconcertingly, as ‘The Puffing Pals’.

Rather fortuitously, this pair of obsolete 6.3-inch muzzle loading howitzers were ‘found’ in Cape Colony, and rushed up to Ladysmith just before the Siege. Some sources say they had been in Port Elizabeth, while others say they were in King William’s Town. Either way, the thoroughly antiquated guns – with around 800 rounds of (somewhat suspect) ammunition – made it just in time, and played a small, though significant, part in thwarting the invaders’ dreams of capturing the town.

The RML 6.3-inch (16 cm) howitzer was a rifled muzzle-loading ‘siege’ or ‘position’ howitzer first conceived in 1874, and introduced for service in 1878. With a barrel just 3’9” long, it was a short-range weapon, though lobbed an impressive 70-lb projectile. These were produced in a variety of types, including common shell for use against fortification and earthworks, or shrapnel shell for use against ‘soft’ targets – ie. personnel in the open. Additionally, case shot – which essentially turned the howitzer into a fearsomely massive shotgun – could be used against soft targets at less than 400 yds. The howitzer used black powder propellant in silk bags, which were ignited by friction tube.

By 1880, however, the RML 6.3-in had already been superseded by a longer and bigger 6.6-in (17 cm) howitzer, with a higher muzzle velocity.

During the Siege of Ladysmith, ‘Castor’ and ‘Pollux’ comprised a hastily-formed detachment commanded by Captain Christie, RFA, from 5th Div. Ammunition Column, who was assisted by Captain Gordon, RA, of the Indian Ordnance. Crews were furnished for the guns by men seconded from the 10^th (Mountain) Battery RGA – after most of that battery’s screw guns were lost when their mules stampeded in the opening moves of the Battle of Lombard’s Kop.

Totally out-classed by the modern European field pieces deployed by the invading Boers, the outdated howitzers only had a range of about 3500 yards, meaning they had to be placed in the front line. They would be moved into position before dawn, and withdrawn to another emplacement during the night. This was all well and good, but the moment they opened fire, the fact that they used black powder made these attempts at deception rather academic.

For all their obsolesce, however, the howitzers were skillfully and bravely handled, and silenced much more powerful Boer guns on several occasions, as well as helping to break-up the Boer attempt to assault the town on 9^th November[ii]. During the Siege, the howitzers fired off 776 rounds between them, and their final exchange on the 15^th of February, 1900, illustrates the sort of ‘noble’ enemy they were up against:

‘[Castor and Pollux] fired their last shots at the 6-inch gun on Telegraph Hill. The close of this lengthened artillery duel was characteristic of the Boer methods. ‘Castor’ had made an exceedingly good shot, his shell appearing to burst right in the Boer emplacement, when a Boer was seen to run forward on to the front slope of the emplacement and violently wave a white flag. Capt. Christie thereupon debated whether he should order ‘Pollux’ (who was ready) to fire. While doing so the Boer gun fired off his last round, probably in the hopes of finding the detachments out of their emplacements and breaking off in response to the white flag. ‘Pollux’ then spoke. That the Boers actually suffered casualties appeared probable by the movements of an ambulance behind their gun emplacement’.

As one contemporary witnessed observed, upon seeing them in action, ‘there is life in the old dog yet’.

NOTES:

[i] As the Victorians were keen students of the Classics, it is perhaps unsurprising that the howitzers were given nicknames inspired by a rather bizarre set of ‘half-twins’ from Greek mythology. Hatched from eggs laid when the Queen of Sparta (who was, apparently, a swan at the time) was seduced by Zeus, Pollux was a demi-God, whereas Castor was (somehow) the son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta – thus making him a mere mortal. To further complicate matters, there were two others eggs in the clutch, and these produced Helen of Troy (another demi-God) and Clytemnestra (another mortal). All in all, a rather complex family. The myth goes that, when Castor was killed in battle, Pollux was so distraught that he pleaded with Zeus to grant his dead brother (retrospective) immortality, offering to give up some of his own immortality to make this happen – thus Zeus turned the brothers into the constellation of Gemini. Surreal stuff, but, to be fair, none of this is any more far-fetched than some of the Apartheid-era myths about the Boer War

[ii] A completely failed assault which barely gets a mention in most modern histories of the war – purely because the Boers lost. For more on this studiously-overlooked thumping defeat, please read Chapter 6 of ‘Kruger’s War’