Episode 140 - General Cronje demands a St Helena mounted guard & Peace Talks back on in Pretoria

Episode 140 - General Cronje demands a St Helena mounted guard & Peace Talks back on in Pretoria

The first large group of Boer prisoners were taken by the British at the battle of Elandslaagte on 21st October 1899. The army had failed to plan for prisoners because the idea was the Boers would be beaten in a few weeks so why spend money on POW camps? The first 188 Boers taken at Elandslaagte were temporarily housed with the naval guard in Simonstown on board the guard ship HMS Penelope. Several other ships were used as floating prisons until eventually permanent camps were established at Green Point, Cape Town, Bellevue and Simonstown. At the end of December 1900 more than 2500 Boers were placed on board the Kildonan Castle guardship where they remained for six weeks before they were removed to two other transports at Simonstown. The English army base at Ladysmith in Natal was used between December 1900 and January 1902 but was merely a staging area. Another staging area was established at Umbilo south of Durban in Natal where POWs would be placed on board ships and then routed to Cape Town. But it soon became clear that the Cape prisoner of war camps were targets for attacks and the British then shifted the burghers offshore. There were four main regions used to house Boer POWs, St Helena, Ceylon or modern day Sri Lanka, Bermuda and India. As you’ll hear in a moment, a few hundred were also taken to Portugal. During the war, the British captured around 56 000 Boer prisoners and eventually ran out of space in host countries. India was only used as a last resort after the other three main camps became overcrowded. Of course, the most feared of all these was the camp in St Helena, but by the end of the war disease was more rampant in the other regions – mainly because of the climate. St Helena has a fairly benign climate, its much cooler than Bermuda, Ceylon and India. One of the first contingents of Boers to arrive in St Helena included general Piet Cronje who was captured along with thousands of his men after the battle of Paardeberg in February 1900. Cronje and 514 his commando arrived on the island in the middle of the Atlantic after disembarking from the troopship Milwaukee on 27th February that year. Cronje had surrendered to Lord Roberts after being caught in the battle which shook the Free State Boers as Cronje was cornered with a powerful commando. Illustrating his arrival on the island of St Helena, Punch Magazine published a cartoon of the general saluting the ghost of Napoleon and saying “Same enemy, Same result..” Prior to the Boers arrival, the governor of St Helena RA Sterndale had published a proclamation which read : “.. His Excellency expresses the hope that the population will treat the prisoners of war with that courtesy and consideration which should be extended to all men who have fought bravely for what they considered the cause and their country” So as General Cronje prepared to make that winding march up the hill from the tiny port of Jamestown at St Helena, his men fully expected to be subjected to humiliation. Instead, there was silence, no jeering nor rude remarks, as the Boers passed the crowds of islanders on their way to Deadwood Camp inland. Being escorted along with Cronje was his wife, whom Lord Roberts had allowed to accompany her husband. The Boer general and his wife were accommodated at Kent Cottage, not in Deadwood Camp itself and were surrounded by a strong military guard which changed every day. Of course, Cronje was a general and for once, it was the Boers demanding special attention. Whereas the culture was supposedly based on a democratic principle of equality, Piet Cronje insisted that proper respect be shown to his rank and that a mounted guard should be provided.

Avsnitt(143)

Episode 135 - General de la Rey’s Mom turns 84 & the commandos run out of pap and vleis

Episode 135 - General de la Rey’s Mom turns 84 & the commandos run out of pap and vleis

While the Boer political and military leadership were huddled around a table in Lord Kitchener’s office, far off in the Northern Cape General Smuts and his commando had defeated the British at three s...

19 Apr 202018min

Episode 134 - Commandant Potgieter’s charge at the last battle of the Boer War, as Peace Talks begin

Episode 134 - Commandant Potgieter’s charge at the last battle of the Boer War, as Peace Talks begin

This is episode 134 and its April 1902. The Boer military and political leadership has been permitted by the British to travel to Pretoria by train and will meet with Lord Kitchener to talk peace. Al...

12 Apr 202019min

Episode 133 - Cecil John Rhodes dies and the Boers agree to Peace Talks

Episode 133 - Cecil John Rhodes dies and the Boers agree to Peace Talks

As we heard last week, the Netherlands government had decided by January 1902 that the South Africa war was no longer viable for the Boers. Even the latest successes in March where General De la Rey a...

5 Apr 202019min

Episode 132 -The Canadians last stand at Boschbult aka Harts River & the Hague suggests peace

Episode 132 -The Canadians last stand at Boschbult aka Harts River & the Hague suggests peace

There are a few more skirmishes and one more big battle after this period with its frustrations for the British and determination by the Boer die-hards or Bitter einders to continue their war against ...

29 Mars 202018min

Episode 131 -The Boers blow up a blockhouse & Lord Kitchener steams into Klerksdorp

Episode 131 -The Boers blow up a blockhouse & Lord Kitchener steams into Klerksdorp

General Jan Smuts and his commando have seized the small town of Springbok in the far northern Cape. As we heard last week, the town fell after a few hours of fighting and the surrender of the three ...

22 Mars 202019min

Episode 130 - Sniping and hand grenades in Springbok

Episode 130 - Sniping and hand grenades in Springbok

After the blood and guts we heard about last week, there is more of the same this time in the Northern Cape where General Smuts and his commando are sowing a certain degree of angst as he took control...

15 Mars 202023min

Episode 129 - Lord Methuen breaks a leg before Koos de la Rey executes soldiers

Episode 129 - Lord Methuen breaks a leg before Koos de la Rey executes soldiers

In this episode we will hear how General Koos de la Rey captures Lord Methuen in an act that will push Lord Kitchener over a psychological precipice. Remember when we ended last week I explained how ...

8 Mars 202025min

Episode 128 -The Leliefontein Massacre & de Wet runs into British trenches

Episode 128 -The Leliefontein Massacre & de Wet runs into British trenches

Episode 128 -The Leliefontein Massacre & de Wet runs into British trenches by Desmond Latham

1 Mars 202022min

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