When it comes to the Boer War, the lengths that some people will go to so as to blame everything on the wicked, scheming British is always amusing. I recently read the following (completely unreferenced) passage in an otherwise authoritative and...
Though obviously much more associated with the Second World War, the young Winston Churchill also played an active and adventurous role in the early phases of the Boer War. After active service on the Frontier and in the Sudan, and having proven...
With England soon to face South Africa in the Rugby World Cup final, this meme has been doing the rounds on WhatsApp. All very funny and everything, but astonishing to see the way that ‘the Boers’ are equated with ‘South...
In the early hours of the 22nd of June 1941, the German Ambassador to the USSR, Friedrich-Werner von der Schulenberg, explained ‘with the deepest regret’ that his nation had been left with no choice but to invade the Soviet Union in response to...
Well worth reading by anyone with an open mind: https://nas.org/blogs/dicta/was-it-good-fortune-of-being-enslaved-by-the-british-empire
Though a proud Afrikaner himself, Former Leader of the Pretoria Bar, Advocate J. W. Wessels made a speech in 1900 in which he described a rather unpleasant trait found in many of his kinsmen, and one which had played a large part in the Boer...
I have just finished reading ‘Fiasco – The American Military Adventure in Iraq’, by Thomas E. Ricks. It is an eye-opening read, and brilliantly written. Having worked in Iraq for several years, I found it fascinating reading and would recommend...
A few years ago, I enjoyed a trip on Rovos Rail from Pretoria to Durban. As one might expect, the journey included several stops / excursions along the way, one of which was to the Nambiti Game Reserve, near Ladysmith. The young game guide should...
The rantings of True Believers entertain me in many ways, but one that gives me the most laughs is the way that their take on the Boer War is in no way linked to historical reality. This means that any chance of rational discussion with them is...
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” There are some weird and wonderful characters on Quora, but one of the more entertaining...
If you only read two books on South African History this year, then make sure they are Dr Damian O’Connor’s two volumes of ‘A Short History of South Africa’ (Obviously, if you read three, then I suggest the third should be ‘Kruger’s War’…...
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