According to the Army List of December 1900 the companies of the Ordnance
Department in South Africa were the 1st to the 6th and the 9th to the 11th.
In his final despatch Lord Roberts said: "This department has had an immense
amount of work during the campaign, and under the capable direction of
Colonel R Noel Clarke has carried it out in a very satisfactory manner.
The military operations covered a vast area, and only two single lines of
railway were available, and these were so congested with troops, horses, and
material of all sorts, that to get stores to the front in good time was
always a matter of uncertainty. That they were able to cope with these
difficulties and keep the army supplied with all the various stores that are
dealt with by the department, reflects great credit not only on Colonel
Clarke, but also on the officers, warrant officers, non-commissioned
officers, and men under him". Lord Roberts gives some figures showing
the stores passing through the department up to the time his lordship left
South Africa. Two little items are 122 million rounds of small-arm
ammunition; 2 million pairs of horse and mule shoes.
