Morley's Scouts worked in the Eastern Transvaal, and, as will be seen
from the following quotation, they had at least one very exciting
experience. Lord Kitchener in his despatch of 8th September 1901, para
13, dealing with operations in the Eastern Transvaal, said: "On 17th August
a force of the South African Constabulary and Morley's Scouts which had been
patrolling under Captain Wood, SAC, in front of the Constabulary posts to
the south of Bronkhorst Spruit Station, unexpectedly came upon and attacked
a greatly superior Boer force which was halted at Middelburg, 23 miles south
of the railway. The enemy, who were subsequently reported to have
numbered 800, were completely surprised by the sudden rush of our men.
Twenty-three Boers were killed, 11 were taken prisoners, a large number were
wounded, and all their horses stampeded. Our success, however, was
rather short-lived. Discovering that the force by which they had been
attacked was a small one, the enemy rallied, assumed the offensive, and
drove our men back after a hand-to-hand fight in the direction of Bronkhorst
Spruit. In the retirement the Boers were able to recover the 11
prisoners who had been taken from them and to capture 14 of our men,
including Captain Morley of Morley's Scouts, who was dangerously wounded.
Our other casualties were 1 man killed and 5 men wounded".
