‘Safes had been blown to pieces with dynamite; the lamps and furniture had been smashed to atoms; the papers, tickets and books had been torn to pieces and lay strewn over the floors. The farmhouses had also suffered in a like manner, valued...
It was on this day in 1899 that the Transvaal mobilised her forces. Calling out the Commandos was an enormous step for the republic, given that virtually every burgher was obliged to turn out for Commando service. By mobilising, Kruger made it...
A couple of days ago, I stumbled across a review of KK&K penned by self-declared ‘aspiring historian’ John Boje – not a fellow I have ever heard of, I must confess. Alas, it would seem that Mr Boje either did not fully read the book...
Continuing the ‘methods of Bar-Boer-ism’ theme, here are some diary extracts from the Rev. Gerard Bailey, Anglican Vicar of Dundee, written after his parish was over-run, annexed and thoroughly looted by the ‘noble’ Boers...
The National-Party-approved narrative of the Boer War frantically tried to portray the Boers as innocent, noble warriors, heroically standing up to vile, rapacious, cowardly British Tommies after the British Empire launched an unprovoked attack...
Following on from the article on the 27th of August, here are some photos taken at Bergendal.
General Hunter’s crushing victory at the Brandwater Basin (see blog posting in July 2018 for details) had a knock-on effect further afield. By destroying the Boer forces in the NE of the Orange Free State, Hunter removed any lingering concerns...
When conversation turns to the Boer War, I have lost count of the times I have been assured – usually by a drunk in some pub in some little South African dorp – that ‘the Boers won every battle in the war’. This, or the equally nonsensical claim...
“All our forces are here in the mountains now, and we can hold out for years. There are only two passes; they are strongly held, and the enemy will never get through them”[i] Back in 2013 I helped organize an off-roading competition in the...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5972809/Why-Rudyard-Kiplings-classic-poem-rightly-revered-Serena-Williams.html
One of the most remarkable regiments of the Boer War was the Imperial Light Horse. Raised just prior to the Boer invasions, the ILH was formed largely from the ex-Johannesburg uitlanders – the (mainly) English-speaking men who had built...
‘A heavily built man of irrepressible ebullience with a smart Imperial beard’ Though their intentions had been obvious for months, the Boer invasion of Natal in October 1899 nevertheless caught the British off-balance and...
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