TOPIC:

Thomas Boyd Varty

Trooper, Murray’s Horse – Anglo Boer War

- Queens South Africa Medal with clasp Natal to Tpr. B. Varty, Murray’s Horse


TB Varty with wife and children circa 1910 - the boy, Ian, sadly passed away aged 6 from gastric enteritis

Murray’s Horse, were you to ask anyone remotely associated with the Colonial Forces in the Anglo Boer War, were an almost mythical body of men. Brought into the world out of necessity they were to form the front-line against any Boer incursion in Natal because, simply put, there was no-one else around to do so in the very early stages of the war that “would be over by Christmas”. Whilst the Natal Government prevaricated as to whether or not to mobilise the various home-grown units at their disposal and whilst the Imperial authorities dithered as to what it would take to safeguard Natal this body of men, never more than 150 strong, were mustered.

Another reason why this unit is so highly prized is the fact that it was only in existence, effectively, for a fortnight – two short weeks that could and most likely did make all the difference. Once the Boers got wind of the fact that they couldn’t penetrate into the rural regions of Natal with impunity and that there was every chance that they would be met with resistance in out of the way, “off the beaten track” areas of the Colony, they might well have thought twice about any incursion thereby buying valuable time for the Imperial and regular Colonial forces.

The War started on 11 October, and by the end of that month the Boers had effectively occupied Natal north of the Tugela River, with the besieged town of Ladysmith all that remained under direct British control. Most of the Imperial and Colonial forces were then concentrated in the immediate vicinity of Estcourt. Largely unprotected and potentially vulnerable to Boer incursions at that time was the countryside west of Estcourt and Mooi River towards the Drakensberg, which formed the border with the Orange Free State.

The Honourable Thomas Keir Murray CMG was a prominent resident of the Colony of Natal and one who possessed an intimate knowledge of the Natal landscape, farm by farm – knowledge that he had gained as a member of the Crown Lands Commission, and as an arbitrator of defective surveys. This knowledge was immediately placed at the disposal of General Buller when he came to realise that the northern reaches of the Colony were inadequately mapped. This was due to be the chief scene of operations and it was thus imperative that the situation be addressed.

Murray was on both General Clery’s staff as well as Buller’s as the Chief intelligence Officer and it was in this capacity, frustrated by the Government’s reluctance to call upon the District Rifle Associations to help in the growing conflict that decided him to band together a fine young body of farmers who were familiar with the natives and their language and who could act as scouts and guides to the forces at the disposal of the British.

On 31 October 1899, Brigadier-General J Wolfe Murray, the Officer Commanding the Colonial element of the military forces in Natal, asked Murray to assemble his men at Mooi River. On 2 November, the first 80 men of Murray’s Horse arrived in the town. This number was to rise to 147 of the targeted 150 men. They were to receive no pay, and were to provide for all their own needs, except for arms and ammunition. Soon after arriving in Mooi River, they were out on patrol west of the town, where many of the farmers had abandoned their farms and sought the safety of towns.

Murray’s Horse was out on patrol for only 13 days and evidently encountered no Boers. The men then returned to Pietermaritzburg, where they dispersed. Unlike those in the regular Colonial units most of the men returned to their farms and their normal way of life

Thomas Boyd Varty was such a man. The Varty family had come out from England in the early 1850’s and had settled, after paying the princely sum of £250, on a 3000 acre farm in the Rietvlei area of the Natal Midlands. This farm, still in the family to this day, is sandwiched between the towns of Mooi River and Greytown, the very are from which Murray sourced his recruits. The Varty men were exactly what fitted the profile, hard young farmers who were at home in the saddle, could communicate in Zulu and Dutch effectively and who knew every inch of the land around them.

The patriarch, also Thomas Boyd Varty fathered 12 children in all and three of them were to see service with Murray’s Horse Henry Foster Varty, Herbert Augustus Varty and Thomas Boyd Varty, better known as Boyd Varty. Boyd had been born at Rietvlei on 4 September 1871 and was thus a strapping man of 28 when he answered Murray’s call. Having received a rudimentary education he joined his siblings and his father in the running of the various farms owned by the family in the area.

By 1903, according to an entry in the Natal Directory, Boyd was farming on his own account at Bellevue, a sub-division of Rietvlei. Farming was, and still is, a lonely life and it was small wonder that Boyd, at the age of 34 took the inevitable plunge into marriage. This happy day dawned on 10 August 1905 when he wed 29 year old Una Ethel Agathee, Maud Turnbull at St. Peter’s Church in Pietermaritzburg. The union was blessed with a child in the form of Phyllis Agathee born on 14 July 1906.

Thomas Boyd Varty senior passed away in England on 10 April 1910 leaving, in terms of his will, “to my fourth and fifth sons Thomas Boyd Varty and Charles Varty jointly in equal shares my farms “Bellevue”, “Aloedale” and Lot B of the farm “Craigieburn” and the other half of my portion of “Scheepersdal” and also my sub-division of the farm “Goudini”. Boyd Varty was also bequeathed the use of the family home on “Bellevue”. This arrangement, although making Boyd Varty a wealthy man, was also to become a source of strife in years to come.

It is important to note that, as is so often the case with Colonial families, the Boyd Varty became the surname Boyd-Varty. On 24 June 1912 he wrote to the Chief of the Sheep Division, Department of Agriculture, Pretoria as follows,

“Dear Sir

I hereby beg to apply for the position of Sheep Inspector for the Upper Umvoti Division lately resigned by Mr Edward Varty of Rietvlei (one of his brothers’s although this is not mentioned)

I may state I am a farmer’s son, and lived practically the whole of my life (40 years) on a farm, and well acquainted with the management of stock in all its branches, been very successful in combating most of the stock diseases including Rinderpest and East Coast Fever.

I am in a position to offer the whole of my time to Sheep Inspecting, having a brother partner living on the same undivided farm, who could take entire management, should I be successful in obtaining the position.”

On 27 June 1912 Varty received a reply from the Acting Chief, Division of Sheep, Department of Agriculture which read as follows,

“Application for appointment as Sheep Inspector, Umvoti (Greytown) Division.

Sir,

With reference to your letter of the 24th instant on the above subject, I have to inform you that it is not intended to replace ex-Sheep Inspector Varty (his older brother Edward) as arrangements have been made to so divide the Umvoti County that a new appointment will not be necessary. If you will, however, fill in the attached form and submit it to Senior Sheep Inspector Emmett, Gobeni, Vryheid, he will make arrangements to examine you and report upon your qualifications and if these are satisfactory your name will be placed on record for consideration at some future date should a vacancy occur.” The matter must have rested there as there is no indication that Varty pursued this course.

On 12 October 1921, when he would have been 50 years old Varty wrote to the Master of the Supreme Court in Pietermaritzburg from “Bellevue, Rietvlei as follows,

“Dear Sir

I hereby wish to appeal to you for guidance in making application to have my brother Mr. H.F. Varty, removed from the executorship of my late father’s Trust Estate. Since my father’s death in April 1910 I have had all the work to do, my co-executor signs a few cheques only and in fact never attended to any of the Estate business since his appointment. I would like my brother Mr A.E. Varty of the Deeds Office, to act in his place.

Thanking you in anticipation for your help and guidance, etc. etc”

In what had all the makings of a fast developing family feud (alluded to earlier) another letter was penned to the Master of the Supreme Court. This was a year after the first and was dated 24 October 1922 – it was also written by Charles E. Varty and read as follows,

“Dear Sir

My brother Boyd and myself have been farming together on the farm Bellevue. I could not get on with him and demanded the farm be divided as I was left half of the farm and it was decided by arbitration by two of my brothers E. Varty and E.A Varty and I find I have no water right, although I have a water sluit running passed (sic) my house I find I have no claim to it.

My lawyer is Mr R. Tomlinson he knows everything all I ask for is a water right, my brother Boyd has a river running at the foot of his garden. I wish you could see into things, my portion of the farm is valueless as it is now. The rest of our family got all their property without any expense to themselves, why have I to pay all expenses to get mine.

P.S. Please help me out of this trouble I have four children to look to.

Chas. E. Varty”

What the eventual outcome of this was is anyone’s guess but it pointed to a split in the hitherto close-knit family.


Varty in later life with his wife, Una and daughter Phylis

On 6 September 1933 Thomas Boyd Varty passed away at the age of 54, young even by the standards of the day. He was survived by his wife and daughter whom he left very comfortably off.

Bibliography:

- Extracts from Natal newspapers including those containing Murray’s obituary
- Extracts from an article on the ABW forum penned by Brett Hendey
- Files in the National Archives both in Pretoria and Pietermaritzburg
- A family tree provided by Mr Barry Varty of Rietvlei and other documents
- Medal Roll of Murray’s Horse courtesy of The National Archives, Kew[/size]

Hello Rory,
So it arrived then, well, I think money well spent, they are quite rare, I don't think I've seen one here for over a year or so now, anyway, a really superb medal, it is important to remember that these men were not drawing any pay whatsoever and really were volunteers.
Regards Frank

Yes- safe and sound thank you Frank.

I wonder if there are any other photographs of this outfit in existence other than those in the research post on this site.

Regards

Rory

Thanks to the generosity of the family I have updated Varty's story with a photograph or two.

Regards

Rory