This corps, strength 100, was raised by Captain the Honourable
R De
Montmorency, VC, 21st Lancers, in December 1899. Their work during
the next three months was constantly referred to in terms of praise by Major
Pollock and other writers on the operations in Central Cape Colony. In
the last fortnight of December and in January they did particularly well.
The corps lost their gallant leader in a skirmish near Stormberg on 23rd
February 1900. It is said that he fired eleven shots after being mortally
wounded. On the same occasion
Lieutenant Colonel Hoskier,
a Middlesex artillery volunteer officer, was killed, and several men were
killed and wounded. Captain M'Neill, of the Seaforth Highlanders, who
had been aide-de-camp to General Gatacre, succeeded to the command of the
scouts on Montmorency's death. After the British had crossed the
Orange River in March, Captain Turner along with Captain Hennessy of the
Police carried out a most gallant and fruitful piece of work (see
Cape Police).
When the Boers had been driven from the neighbourhood of the Orange, the
corps took part in the operations for the relief of Wepener. They were
in the advance to the Transvaal, and were among the first troops to gallop
into Pretoria. After Pretoria was occupied, Montmorency's Scouts were split
up. In July a detachment served in the column of Lieutenant General
Ian Hamilton, which did much hard work marching and fighting, both east and
west of Pretoria, during July, August, and September 1900.
The Mentions gained were:—
LORD ROBERTS' DESPATCH: 2nd April 1901.—Captains A M'Neill,
H G Turner, Corporal C Roberts, Scout J
Murray.
