TOPIC:

This little box, with removable insert to take two medals, is unlike any Boer POW carving I have come across before. The lid is deeply inscribed "PTE. C. BRYAN / MAKER / J. VIVIERS / P.O.W. / SEPT. 21 . 1901", and on the base is a very indistinct green ink stamp. The latter reminded me of the censors' stamps found on some of the carvings that came out of Belle Vue Camp, Simonstown, so I at first imagined it had been made for a British soldier serving in South Africa.

However, comparing the mark with ones on other carvings, it soon became clear that it was not of Belle Vue origin.







Although the words "CENSOR'S" at 10 o'clock, and "BOER CAMP" in the centre were just about legible, the remainder of the stamp proved more challenging. After a lot of staring, the word “OFFICE” eventually became apparent in the upper right quadrant, leaving the most important part, the name of the camp, still indecipherable. The only real clue was that it was a long word, so perhaps Ahmednagar or Trichinopoly. After a bit of tinkering about in Photoshop, it eventually became clear that the only name that matched the small vestiges of surviving green ink was indeed “TRICHINOPOLY”.







Now that I had the name of the camp, a quick Google confirmed that I had deciphered the words correctly.





Turning to the Museum of the Boer Republics database, it was now possible to identify the maker of the box as POW No. 16423 John Pieter Willem Viviers, who was captured at Dewetsdorp on 15 December 1900. A 25-year-old from Hebron, he was amongst the first batch of 500 prisoners to be sent to Trichinopoly, arriving there on 4 June 1901. For more on the prisoners' arrival, see the newspaper reports below.




The soldier the box had been made for was one of the prison guards, 4213 Private C. Bryan, 1st Bn. Lincolnshire Regiment. The insert, with the two different sized recesses, had been constructed to house his Queen's Sudan and Khedive's Medals (the latter with clasps for The Atbara & Khartoum). The fitted “tray” was designed to lift out, revealing a space beneath it for the two medal ribbons.

Although the box no longer contains Bryan’s medals, I have been able to source a similar pair to one of his compatriots and fellow-guards, 4278 Private T. Clark. The photographs below show this group in the medal box.



















Lincolnshire Echo, 18th May 1901

LINCOLNS TO GUARD BOER PRISONERS.

Five companies of the 1st Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment have been selected to guard Boer prisoners of war at Trichinopoly.


Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore), 12th June 1901

THE TRICHINOPOLY BOERS.

A correspondent writes in the “Madras Mail”: – The Boer prisoners have arrived and are now safely cribbed, cabined and confined in His Majesty's keeping. When the train pulled up, I was prepared to hear the Boer Anthem and cheers for Oom Paul given by the prisoners, in imitation of those who were landed at Bombay; but on this occasion there was not the slightest demonstration of any sort. Before starting for the Camp, the Lincoln officers gave early tea to the Boer officers, most of whom looked very gentlemanly, intelligent, well-groomed men, speaking English fluently, frankly conversing and expressing their interest in getting a peep at India. A large crowd of natives had assembled to witness their arrival, and many Europeans were also present. I had a good view of both batches, about 500 in all, of the prisoners as they marched to Camp. There was among them a sprinkling of young boys and grey beards. It is said that the majority of them are South Transvaalers. They presented a striking picture and suggested to me a lot of sunburnt Piedmontese miners, or weather-beaten small farmers and agricultural labourers. They bore themselves with dignity, patience, and self-restraint. They neither looked very cheerful nor particularly despondent, but strode along with rather a heavy slouching manner, making it difficult to understand how De Wet and Viljoen could galvanise such men into the activity displayed in getting out of tight corners. In the matter of garments, they looked somewhat out at elbow, but the new solar topees, with red puggarees, were a redeeming feature. I believe that for every 14 prisoners one bar of common yellow soap is allowed for a week. I think that this allowance might be used up on the first day of their imprisonment with very great advantage to themselves. Judging from the result of somewhat close proximity to the prisoners I am of opinion that tubbing is not popular with them.

On the 5th the correspondent writes: – I hear two of the Boer prisoners, who only arrived yesterday, have died. It is said that there were two or three cases of heat-apoplexy after the men arrived at the Camp which is three miles from the station. One proved fatal in the evening, and I am informed that another man died this morning. The Boer who succumbed yesterday is stated to have been a Transvaaler, about middle age. He was imprudent enough to wear his cap on the march instead of the solar topee given to him. He was buried this morning at the Wesleyan Cemetery. His son, other relations and about a dozen big burly Boers were at the funeral. Some of them seemed much affected. They looked a very decent set of men, above the average in physique and cleanliness of the 500 prisoners. They were much more suitably dressed for the climate than when they arrived. They now wear, in addition to the solar topee, cotton clothes and shirt, the jacket being of loose make, of bright blue colour, resembling the typical blouse of the French peasant and workman. The body was conveyed from the Camp to the Cemetery (about four miles distant) on a gun carriage drawn by bullocks, and the funeral party of Lincolns fired three volleys over the grave. As the Lincolns and Boers combined lowered the coffin into the grave, I thought how good it would be if the hatchet could be buried at the same time. But the Union Jack was on the coffin, and the Boer mourners may have felt some bitterness at their comrade going to his last rest covered by the flag which the Boers had hauled down from buildings now and again with such exultation. An English officer was present, but no Boer officer.


Madras Weekly Mail, 11th July 1901

The Boers at Trichinopoly.

LIFE IN THE PRISONERS’ CAMP.

The Camp is situated some five or six miles from the town of Trichinopoly on a plateau surrounded by well wooded hills. The position is regarded as one of the healthiest in the district, and is utilised by the military authorities for a cholera camp when the necessity arises for sending up troops from the station. The enclosure is 1,500 feet long and 650 feet wide. Outside is a plain wire fence, and then comes the most formidable obstacle to any Boer attempting to escape, in the shape of a double barbed wire fence eight feet high, interlaced and partly filled in with prickly pear. Inside is another plain wire fence beyond which the prisoners are not allowed to go, unless they deem themselves impervious to the effect of a rifle bullet from one of the sentries stationed at intervals around the enclosure. Half a regiment of the Lincolns under Captain Pim constitute the escort at present, and the Camp Commandant is Major Sharpe of the Middlesex Regiment. Altogether there are 500 prisoners including nine officers. The officers have a bungalow with a room for each couple, and the men are located in ten huts, and a Captain, elected by the inmates of each hut, is responsible for their good conduct. Together with the Officers these Captains are admitted to parole and allowed the liberty of going in and out of the enclosure, but not beyond the Camp limits. The huts, made of thatch and straw matting, are fitted with punkhas and electric lamps. The Guard live in huts similar to those of the Boers just outside the enclosure, the Officers and Non-commissioned Officers having their quarters at either end of the enclosure. For prisoners who may fall sick, a hospital to accommodate 50 or 60 men has been erected, and the Boers are themselves building a reception room.

A very complete electric light installation has been erected in the Camp by the Oriental Telephone and Electric Co., Ltd., of 5, Mangoe Lane, Calcutta, the pioneers of the telephone throughout India, Burma, China, Japan and Egypt, and who may also be considered among the pioneers of electric lighting in India. The installation was started on the date upon which the Boers arrived, and has continued to work every night without a hitch. All the Officers and Officials connected with the Camp express themselves as satisfied with the manner in which the installation has been erected, and the extremely creditable manner in which it has worked to date.

When the prisoners first arrived after their sea voyage and long train journey they certainly presented a very “wild and woolly western” appearance, but next day when they had been supplied with their new blue pyjama-like suits, had enjoyed the luxury of a bath and effectively wielded the scissors and razor on superfluous hair and whiskers, the improvement was most marked, and a finer set of men it would not be easy to find in many a day’s march. While a large number speak only Dutch, the Officers and several of the prisoners are able freely to converse in English with the Guards and a few occasional visitors to the Camp. Ordinary sightseers apparently are not welcomed and the sale of curios, carved models of maxim guns, puzzle match boxes, etc., in the making of which some of the prisoners are quite expert, is conducted through the orderly room. Roll call is sounded at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., and lights out at 9:30 p.m. Twice a week, every Tuesday and Friday morning, the prisoners are taken out for a five miles route march. A Detachment of the Lincolns march in front and another at the rear, a single file 100 yards apart being on either side, while in the intervening space the prisoners are free to stroll along in a “go as you please” fashion. Football and cricket are very popular, and most exciting games are played nearly every morning and evening, Thomas Atkins frequently joining in the sport. A variety of indoor games are also provided. The prisoners readily engage in any work that requires to be done by the military for which they, of course, are paid. A number are now busy building a recreation room and others assisted in completing the electric installation and in different ways showed their willingness to earn an honest anna.

Some of the prisoners were possessed of money on arrival at camp, but it was not considered expedient that they should retain it and Major Sharpe constituted himself banker. A system of paper currency has been established, no coins of a higher value than a four-anna piece being allowed in the enclosure. Those prisoners having funds are not permitted to become extravagant, their expenditure on luxuries, etc., being limited to 8 Rupees per month. For the benefit of such prisoners as have no money at all, the Government contribute 150 Rupees a month, which is divided among them. Amounts earned by the men are paid in to the Commandant and credited against such sums as may be expended by them in the paper money current in the Camp.

So far as can be gathered, the prisoners are perfectly satisfied with the Camp and the treatment they are receiving and have no complaints to make. They are possessed by the firm conviction that the war will last for at least another two years and have resigned themselves to a compulsory stay in India for that period. For the Government and British nation they profess to entertain no feelings of bitterness, but words fail them in which to adequately express their fierce denunciation of “the plotting capitalists and lying newspapers” on whom they place the entire blame for the war. They have a warm admiration for Tommy Atkins, his tenacity, pluck and soldierlike qualities being generously admitted, but they insinuate that he has apparently been educated in a loose school of morality so far as the rights of property are concerned. De Villiers is among the prisoners and a number of Cronje’s Force taken at Paardeberg. The Boers continue to display their fondness for psalm singing, and hymns may be heard vigorously sung in the huts both early in the morning and late at night. Evening services are held regularly, but it would seem that the prisoners are not such strict Sabbatarians as might be expected, football being a favourite Sunday recreation.

Englishman.


Methodist Times, 25th July 1901

THE BOER PRISONERS AT TRICHINOPOLY.

BY REV. ALFRED SMITH.

When first we heard that 500 Boer prisoners were to be sent to Trichinopoly we doubted if it could be true. Not that we did not think Trichy a suitable place, for we did. But we thought the Government would be sure to send them to some hill station, and in the hardness of our hearts we half resented having our beautiful, quiet, and all too few holiday resorts disturbed by the advent of 500 prisoners of war and about as many British soldiers to guard them. We said, “Why not have them on the plains where it is hot and dry and where the people live and can see them?” “Besides,” we said, “Trichy has two good blocks of barracks – remnants of the days when the British soldiers were quartered here – which will suit both the prisoners and the troops admirably.” But though the authorities ultimately thought as we did about the suitability of Trichinopoly they thought otherwise about the suitability of the old barracks, for we soon heard that a large new camp was to be constructed about five miles out of the town.

Shortly after this, materials began to arrive at the station – beds, tables, boxes, benches, punkahs, and various kinds of machinery. Coolies and servants began to flock to the place and readily found work. We could scarcely obtain a coolie or a servant or a skilled workman in the town at any price. All day and all night the two roads which lead from the town to the camp were blocked by bullock-carts carrying up furniture, building materials, stores, etc. Very soon that lovely spot on the bare plain began to assume the appearance of a huge workyard where many crafts were industriously plied. Here were engineers, carpenters, blacksmiths, builders and coolies by the hundred. So the work went on, and in an incredibly short time an extensive village sprang up.

Taking the side allotted to the Boers, we find ten big sheds built in two long lines. The soldiers call their sheds, which are exactly like those of the Boers, bungalows. Each shed accommodates fifty men. Down the centre are tables and benches; on each side are twenty-five cots; at the head of each cot is a strong teak-wood box with lock for the prisoner’s property, clothes, etc., and the place is fitted with punkahs and electric light. The roof is thatched with kânal grass and the sides are made of bamboo mats. A more comfortable, airy, roomy structure it would be scarcely possible to devise. Attached to each shed are the necessary outhouses for cooking and bathing. The officers have roomy quarters apart from the men and a common mess-room. There is also a large recreation room, used on Sundays as a church, and a hospital. The enclosure is a very large one, containing abundant space for games and outdoor exercise. It is surrounded by wire fencing. The inner fence is about four feet high. It is made of plain, smooth telegraph wire fastened to stout posts. Beyond this fence the prisoners are not supposed to go. Four feet from this is the chief fence. It consists of barbed wire fastened to two rows of posts eight feet high. The rows are four feet apart, and the wire is carried from one row to the other and crossed and netted in a very ingenious manner, while the ground between them is covered with prickly pear. It would certainly need a very determined man to get through even if there were no sentries on guard. The camp is supplied with plenty of good water from our town waterworks in the bed of the Canvery.

The prisoners arrived here on June 4. They left Madras in the afternoon of the previous day, and were brought down by two special trains. There was great excitement here among the natives, and long before the hour when they were timed to arrive the road from the town to the camp was crowded with men, women, and children waiting to see them pass. I do not remember to have seen so many people on any single occasion in India – not even at the largest festivals. The prisoners were detrained at a level-crossing on the road leading straight to the camp and about 3 miles from it. The 4th Pioneer Regiment was drawn up on each side of the road for a considerable distance, and beyond them the police were stationed in units to keep the road clear. A quarter of an hour before the first special was due, a company of the Lincolns marched briskly up from the camp and swung into position on each side of the railway where the prisoners were to detrain. Punctual to the minute the first special came in sight. As it pulled up at the crossing one quite expected to hear the Boer Anthem and cheers for Oom Paul, in imitation of those who were landed at Bombay some time ago; but there was not the slightest demonstration of any sort. Railway servants quickly unlocked the carriage doors; five Boer officers got out of a first-class carriage and went to the rear with the captain of the Lincolns, who gave them some early tea and cigars. Then the prisoners got out quietly and took up their position between two lines of British soldiers, who stood facing each other with bayonets fixed. It took but a few minutes to empty the train, which then steamed away. Then came the order to turn and march, and the first batch was on its way to the camp with a quarter of a company of British soldiers in front, a quarter of a company on each side of the column in single file, and the other quarter bringing up the rear, all with bayonets fixed. Following the main body came the five Boer officers with one British officer, smoking and chatting as pleasantly as could be. How did the crowd receive them? Did we cheer them? No. We remembered that they were almost exclusively Africanders and Cape rebels, with a few Transvaalers. They were captured at Modder River, Paardeberg, Thabanchu, Norvalspont, Krugersdorp, Lydenburg, and Potchefstroom. Did we hiss them, then? No, nothing approaching a hiss was heard among all the thousands assembled to see them. The natives, as they ever do, took their cue from the Europeans and stood mute and impassive. The British heart is ever ready to forgive – may it never become less so – and I have no doubt that many who were there felt sorry for the prisoners. As they marched past us from one and another Englishman present I heard the ejaculation “Poor beggars!”

In appearance they were not very prepossessing. They looked like a lot of hard, rough, weather-beaten, sunburnt, agricultural labourers, unwashed, unshaven, and many of them ragged. The only respectable article of clothing most of them had was the new khaki sun topee with bright red puggaree supplied them by the Government. There were many old men amongst them, grey and wrinkled with age. There were also many youths, and some mere boys of fifteen or sixteen years. But the majority were men in the prime of life, big, strong, muscular fellows who looked capable of enduring any hardship that might be required of them. They bore themselves with dignity, patience, and self-restraint. They neither looked very cheerful nor particularly despondent, but strode along in a heavy slouching manner, many of them in their shirt sleeves, smoking big black pipes, conversing among themselves and oblivious of spectators. They presented a very striking contrast to our smart, sturdy, well-dressed, well-trained Lincolns who escorted them to the camp. One could not help wondering how such rough, clumsy men had withstood the thousands of troops for so long a time.

As soon as they were well on the way the second special train came in, and the rest were detrained and marched off in precisely the same manner. By a quarter past eight they were all on the way to the camp. That same evening when I returned to the mission house after eight o’clock I found an English officer waiting for me. He had come to ask me to bury one of the prisoners. It seems that many of them would not believe that the sun is more dangerous here than it is in South Africa, and so, on the way to the camp, had discarded their topees for caps and other light headdresses. As a result two or three of them had got sunstroke, and one had paid for his folly with his life. He was brought to our little cemetery early the following morning, and I buried him with military honours. Prisoners or no prisoners, I could not help feeling sorry for that little company of mourning Boers who stood around the grave of their comrade who had so suddenly and so strangely been taken from them. Strong men though they were, they could not restrain their tears, and the dead man's son, who was but a youth, was very deeply affected. I expressed my sympathy with him as well as I could, and two days later I received a letter from him written in very good English, asking me to put up a wooden slab at the head of his father's grave with the following inscription upon it: –


I need hardly say his request will be attended to. I am not able to say, as an old Irish pensioner said to me the other day when speaking about the death of this Boer, “I can sympathise with him, for I know what it is to die in a foreign country”; but it did not need that knowledge to make one feel very sorry for the man's son.

Perhaps it may interest your readers to hear one or two things that the Boer officers have said about the war. A representative of The Ceylon Times had an interview with them at Colombo, and his letter was published in extenso in The Madras Mail. The following are extracts from it: –

And, first, they are loud in praise of the treatment they have received ever since they became prisoners. “The British have done all that they could for our comfort. Wherever we have met the British soldier, officer or man, we have found them perfect gentlemen in their conduct towards us.” Speaking of the way the British have fought they said, “The British have fought against difficulties which people in Europe will never understand and never can be made to understand. They are men, and you can take it from us that is the opinion of every man of us that has fought against them.” Sir Redvers Buller is their hero among British generals. “He fought us and did what was set for him to do. When he met us, we were an unbeaten army, flushed with success, and he had the hardest of all possible tasks before him. But he did what we never thought he would do, what we never believed he could do.” They also speak very highly of Generals French and Plumer. They say the Boers have confidence in the British nation, but fear the capitalists and those who influence public opinion.


Englishman's Overland Mail, 20th June 1901

THE PRISONERS AT TRICHINOPOLY.

INCREASE OF GUARDS.

Bangalore, June 13.
It is understood here that the three companies of the Lincolns, which went from Secunderabad to Trichinopoly to guard the Boer prisoners, have been found inadequate in numbers to carry out their duties, the prisoners proving somewhat troublesome. Consequently 150 more from the Lincolns leave Secunderabad shortly for Trichinopoly to strengthen the guards.

BOER PRISONERS’ POCKET MONEY.

Simla, June 13.
An allowance of 3 Rupees per mensem each has been granted by Government to all indigent Boer prisoners at Bellary and Trichinopoly to enable them to purchase small luxuries.


Lincolnshire Chronicle, 21st June 1901

LINCOLNS GUARDING BOER PRISONERS IN INDIA.

Of the Boer prisoners of war, numbering about 20,000 at this date, upwards of 3,000 are comfortably housed in Ceylon and in the three rock forts of India, Ahmednagar, Bellary, and Trichinopoly. The last has just received its instalment of five hundred men from the “City of Cambridge”, which sailed from Durban and disembarked several prisoners at Colombo before reaching Madras. The Trichinopoly Boers are guarded by 300 men of the Lincolnshire Regiment, who were moved from Secunderabad for the purpose. Trichinopoly, for a city on the plains of India, is no less healthy than the other Madras fort, Bellary, and the Bombay Ahmednagar. The fort is rectangular, measuring a mile by half a mile. From its centre the famous rock, associated with the early career of Clive, rises to a height of 273 feet above the level of the street, and is a scene of periodical pilgrimage. The Nawab’s palace to the South is now restored to accommodate the public officers. The municipality several years ago gave health to the place by removing the old ramparts, filling up the moat, laying it out in boulevards, and making other sanitary improvements. The cigars and gold jewellery of Trichinopoly are well-known. Certainly the three or four thousand Boers interned in the tropical East cannot and do not complain of even discomfort.


Grantham Journal, 17th August 1901

THE BOER CAMP AT TRICHINOPOLY.

So many garbled, if not false, accounts, have lately been published in the home papers respecting the treatment of the Boer prisoners in this country, that, perhaps, the following, from one on the spot, may be of interest to your readers. Five hundred Boer prisoners, with eight officers and Mr Thorne, censor and interpreter, landed at Madras per S.S. “City of Cambridge”, after a hot and uncomfortable sea voyage, and arrived here on the 4th of June, and have since occupied quarters on an open plane four miles South of the town of Trichinopoly, not far from the historical and famous “Gulden Rock” of bygone days. The so-called camp was put up in a great hurry by the Public Works Department, some two thousand to three thousand Coolies being employed daily, and although most of the material was ready to hand, not a stick was allowed up until the Cape Government notified that the Boers were ready to start. It is divided into two portions, the enclosure, since christened “The Birdcage”, and the “Outside”, for use of the escort – and consists of a succession of long buildings made of bamboo frame roped with grass, mattered side walls, and cemented floors. The “Birdcage” is some 1,600 yards round, enclosed with a double row of barbed wire fence, filled up between with prickly-pear bush, and about twenty feet high, while on both sides of this another “moral wire” is fixed twenty yards off, inside of which only the sentries are allowed. The buildings for the escort are exactly similar, only more extended, with officers’ quarters, messes, institutions, and hospital round about. The whole lies high on an open sandy plain, devoid of trees, and on the horizon to the north the distant blue hills, about eighty miles off, can generally be seen. The camp is under the command of Major Sharpe, Middlesex Regiment, and the escort, consisting of nearly six hundred men of the Lincolnshire Regiment from Bangalore, under Captain Pim, with Lieutenant Greatwood acting Adjutant. This, at first sight, large number is not really required to guard five hundred unarmed men, but is arranged to allow a sufficient number of “nights in bed” and to carry on the ordinary regimental routine as well. One officer and fifty-one men mount guard daily, while another officer and armed picquet of fifty men are always ready to re-inforce if required. The Boers are of all ages and all sorts and conditions of men, a large number of boys, and some old men of 70 years. They are chiefly agricultural men, from, I believe, the Lydenburg district, and speak little or no English. They are handy chaps, too, and may be seen daily making various toys or working at matting, etc, for the Public Work Department, for which they receive pay from the Government. Always civil and obliging, they give no trouble whatever, and state they are well treated; in fact, it speaks well for all concerned that last week, when General Sir Hector MacDonald carefully inspected the whole camp, not a single complaint, or even suggestion, was brought forward. On arrival, the prisoners were deprived of all their money and clothes, and each man was furnished with a good sun hat, and a suit of blue hospital clothing, with ammunition boots. The value of their money, or as much as they required, was then returned to them in paper vouchers, to spend as they please, through the coffee shop or the escort. This is limited in most cases to 8 Rupees per month, and largely consumed in tobacco, jams, and other luxuries. Any man found absolutely impecunious is given free by government 3 Rupees per month for a similar purpose. The daily ration is the same as that of the escort, but coffee substituted for tea, and jam in addition free. No liquor of any sort is permitted. The camp is entirely self-supporting; bread and butter made, meat killed, cows milked, electric light and mineral waters manufactured, more or less regimentally, in which work some of the Boers give a hand. Ice is the only imported article. The climate is certainly hot and trying at times, no rain to speak of at present, cooled somewhat by the strong west monsoon winds, but often accompanied by endless clouds of blinding dust. The health all round has been excellent, one unfortunate Boer died on the day of arrival from sunstroke. This was the cause of great commotion in official circles, and many telegrams and reports were called for, while the death of Private Beehoe, of the escort, from a somewhat similar reason a few days afterwards, apparently created no flutter in any official bosom! Both were interred in Trichinopoly. Twice a week, Brer Boer is taken for a walk about four or five miles, some of the escort in front and some in rear and on both flanks. Meanwhile the prisoners slouch along in any “go as you please” fashion: marching is not one of their strong points. This is often varied by a halt in a small stream, not far from camp – when the younger men romp about, and the older ones sit in the hot mud and rub each other’s back with soap. The Boer officers are en parole, and, with certain restrictions, can do as they please. They have quarters and a separate mess of their own. They include amongst them – Landrost Munnik (from Pretoria), his son P. Munnik (formally Transvaal State Mining Engineer, and who, by the way, completed his professional studies some years ago, at Messrs Hornsby’s in your town), Commander Marais, Adjutant Wolfe, Messrs Villiers, Moeller, and Krause (a barrister). Cricket, rounders, hockey and football, in which the Boers take part, help to pass the monotonous days away. A most exciting tug of war was decided last week, between the escort and the Boers. The latter, who put a magnificent team in the field, had almost won; when inch by inch the escort gained ground, and hauled over, amidst indescribable excitement and yells in English, Dutch, Hindustani, and Zamil. When the magic word, peace, is at last proclaimed, few people will welcome it more heartily then the nearly “time-expired man” in Trichy Camp, who, deprived of all chance of the glories of war, spends most of his time looking into the barbed-wire fence, while mournful figures in blue gaze sadly out.

ON GUARD.


Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore), 16th September 1901

SHAM FIGHT WITH DERVISHES.

For the 2nd September, the third anniversary of the battle of Omdurman, the Lincolns at the Boer camp invited all Trichinopoly to a Gymkhana, and a most successful one it was. As is well known, the gallant Lincolns went with Kitchener to Khartoum, and took a prominent part in the famous fight. The programme closed with the piece de resistance, the “Dervish display”. On the bare plain – very suggestive of the desert – was a zebra, guarded by the British soldier khaki-clad and fully panoplied – not “absent-minded” now, but evidently quite on the alert, to prevent surprise. Presently from the far end of the plain, and from such cover as there was, came sweeping into view bodies of savage-looking dusky, jibbah-clad Dervishes. The zebra was manifestly their objective point, and on they rushed headlong towards it, vociferating their weird war cry, and excitedly brandishing their long spears. A sham fight ensued resulting, of course, in the complete discomfiture of the fiery fanatics. It was a picturesque and dramatic display, very creditable to the performers and highly appreciated by the big crowd of spectators.


Madras Weekly Mail, 10th April 1902

THE FRACAS AT TRICHINOPOLY BOER CAMP.

Further information concerning the serious fracas in the Boer prisoners’ camp at Trichinopoly shows that throughout Thursday the 3rd, there had been considerable agitation and turbulence among the prisoners. One of them in the morning had been obstreperous, had manifested a disposition to resist authority and had abused the Camp Police. An attempt to take him into custody resulted in the interference of his comrades, who surrounded him in one of the huts and refused to give him up. The Police sent for help, and a Captain and Guard of the Lincolns with fixed bayonets appeared on the scene and arrested the offender. This intensified the excitement, which continued during the day. Boer national airs were wildly sung, and a good deal of abuse and jeering and flouting went on.

It seems that well on into the night the Boers were tramping about the Camp, very noisy and very disorderly and insulting the Police and the sentries. One of the latter, a man of the Lincolns, to whom they were offensive, warned them to be quiet, and seems to have threatened to fire if they did not desist. The story goes, that a Boer then called out “Fire, and be damned,” and about a dozen prisoners made a rush for the Camp gate. One aggressor threw a large stone at the sentry and was immediately laid low by a bullet. The unfortunate and ill-advised assailant is said to be a man named Botha, related to the famous Transvaal General. He lingered during the night but succumbed towards morning. The disorder and riot must have been very marked, for as soon as the first shot was heard one of the Sepoy sentries followed suit, and fired twice into the crowd, wounding three more Boers, one of whom expired on Saturday. It is hazardous firing in a thickly peopled Camp, and one of the individuals hit is stated to have been an unoffending small boy lying on his bed, taking no part in the tumult. The prisoners, it appears, refused the offer of a military funeral and for the coffin to be covered with a flag, so the interments were of the simplest description.

Some hundreds of the most peaceable and best behaved of these prisoners were lately sent to the Nilgiris, and apparently among the remaining 700 or so, there are a good many “irreconcilables”, vindictively hostile to their captors. It is hoped that the ringleaders and the worst of them will be weeded out, and subjected to greater restraint and rigour, in more confined quarters than they now enjoy, as such scenes of violence and bloodshed are truly lamentable, and will afford more texts for the rabid pro-Boers in Europe to preach from. No doubt the affair will be very fully enquired into. In the meantime, the prisoners are not allowed to play games and manufacture toys, while other privileges have – for the time being at any rate – been also withdrawn.


Liverpool Daily Post, 1st May 1902

THE BOER PRISONERS IN INDIA.

AN EMEUTE AT TRICHINOPOLY.

PRISONERS FIRED ON AND KILLED.

In March last those of the Boer prisoners at Trichinopoly who gave an undertaking not to attempt to escape were removed to the Nilgiri Hills for the summer months, leaving behind some 700 irreconcilables, who declined to make any promise as to their conduct. The latter have been giving considerable trouble, and the “Madras Mail” reports that the undisciplined behaviour of one of the men on April 3 necessitated his being taken into custody. He was, however, surrounded by a number of his comrades, who prevented the police from apprehending him. It was not until the commandant of the camp and a guard of the Lincoln Regiment, carrying fixed bayonets, appeared on the scene that the offender was arrested. Thereupon the excitement increased, Boer national airs were wildly sung, and opprobrious epithets were used to the sentries and the police. The demeanour of the throng became so threatening that one of the European sentries had to give warning that he must shoot. A dozen prisoners made a rush at the camp gate, and one of them threw a large stone at the sentry, who thereupon fired. His assailant fell wounded and died from his injuries the following day. His name was Botha, and he is said to have been related to the Boer general. A native sentry also fired twice into the crowd, wounding three other prisoners, one of whom died from his injuries a day or two later. Order was eventually restored and the matter is being investigated by the military authorities. Meanwhile several of the privileges hitherto enjoyed by the prisoners have been withdrawn.









SEE ALSO: Trichinopoly Boer POW Camp, India


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