TOPIC:

I've always been rather partial to QSA/KSA combinations to Colonials. I should think partly because, in my own backyard, most chaps were denied them.

Sylvester John Eastes

Corporal, Brabant’s Horse
Corporal, Midland Mounted Rifles – Anglo Boer War

- Queens South Africa Medal with clasp Cape Colony to 270 Corp. S.J. Eastes, Brabant’s Horse
- Kings South Africa Medal with clasps South Africa 1901 & 1902 to 148 Cpl. S.J. Eastes, Midlands M.R.

Eastes was born on 8 August 1869 in King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape (or British Kaffraria as it was known) of South Africa to Charles Eastes, a Carpenter and his wife Sarah Maria (born Wild)

At the time he was born the Eastern Cape was in recovery mode from one of the interminable Kaffir Wars which had plagued its inhabitants since the day the settlers arrived in the territory. Life, never easy in these frontier settlements, was made doubly hard by the theft of livestock and the poor farming conditions people found there.

On 29 August 1869 Sylvester was baptised in the small local church. Back in those days it was felt that there was safety in numbers, besides which many hands were needed to till the soil and work the lands. It was for these reasons that Sylvester was joined by siblings Charles Thornton Eastes, James William Eastes, Daniel Eastes, Richard Abraham Eastes, Frederick Henry Eastes, Ann Elizabeth Eastes, Caroline Emily Eastes, Elizabeth Sarah Eastes and George Abraham Eastes – ten children in total.

Little is known about his early years but, with the advent of the Boer War in October 1899 he was one of the earliest to enlist for service which he did with Brabant’s Horse at King William’s Town on 21 November 1899. The Eastern Cape had no real quarrel with the Boer Republics to the North. They were not even under any immediate threat that honour falling to their neighbours in Natal and in the Northern Cape. Nevertheless a number of military outfits came into being at the time who were to play a valuable role in the war effort at home and further abroad the countryside.

According to his Attestation form Eastes was 26 years old and a Farmer by occupation. He claimed to have had prior service with the Cape Mounted Police and Kaffrarian Rifles and stated that his address was West Bank, King William’s Town. He was assigned no “C” Squadron with number 270 and the rank of Corporal.

Brabant’s Horse was raised and took the field in the Queenstown-Dordrecht district under Captain De Montmorency. The regiment was very soon sent to hold various posts, and when General Gatacre went out to attack Stormberg, on the night of 9th December, 160 of Brabant's were intended to join the attacking force from Penhoek, but the telegram was not delivered although the detachment under De Montmorency did arrive at Molteno on the afternoon of the 10th, and scouted back on the line of the British retreat.

On 22nd and 23rd December 1899 De Montmorency and his men had skirmishes near Dordrecht, in which they got the better of the enemy, who had the stronger force. About this time Captain De Montmorency raised his body of scouts, all picked men, who did some very fine work. On the 28th, with some of his own scouts and some of Brabant's Horse, he was out near Dordrecht, but little was to be seen of the enemy.

On the 30th, however, there was quite a stiff little fight, in which a party of the Frontier Mounted Rifles was cut off and only rescued the following day. Captain Flanagan's company of Brabant's was said to have done very well. The corps did an immense amount of patrol work throughout January, and Captain Flanagan's company were the first troops in the Queenstown district to gain touch with the Vlth Division, then approaching the Stormberg country from Cape Town.

Lord Roberts had in January 1900 announced the appointment of Brigadier General Brabant as Commander of the Colonial Division, which included the two regiments of this corps, and under that general they did excellent work in the clearing of the north-east of Cape Colony. In the fighting about Dordrecht, in the second half of February 1900, the corps took a very prominent part and were several times very heavily engaged.

In Lord Roberts' telegram of 18th February he mentioned that Brabant "had attacked Boer positions on the 16th. He gradually closed in on the laager during the day with fighting lasting from 9 am till dusk. At midnight Captain Flanagan, 1st Brabant's Horse, attacked and took the laager at the point of the bayonet, capturing the stores". Captain Crallen and Lieutenant Chandler and 4 non-commissioned officers and men were killed, and 5 non-commissioned officers and men wounded.

On 5th March there was again severe fighting near Dordrecht, in which the Cape Mounted Rifles bore the heaviest share of the losses. At Aliwal North, on the 11th, Brabant's Horse had 3 killed and 6 wounded.

In the Hammonia district they had an immense amount of difficult scouting, and several times, in the latter half of May and in June, they had encounters with superior forces and rather heavy losses. On 29th June Lieutenant J S Orr was severely wounded, and other casualties were suffered in an action in which the enemy had to be driven across the Zand River.

On 3rd July Lieutenant and Adjutant A F C Williams was shot through the lung. On the 6th to 8th July at the capture of Bethlehem, on the 16th near Witnek, and on the 23rd, 24th at Slabbert's Nek, Brabant's Horse were in the forefront and gained distinction, but, as a matter of course, had to pay the price. 'The Times' historian points out that it was some "adventurous scouts" of Brabant's Horse who, by discovering on the night of the 23rd a commanding summit to be unoccupied, enabled Clements to seize the ridge at daybreak—the corps being entrusted with this task.

For reasons best known to himself Eastes took his discharge from Brabant’s Horse on 3 August 1900 just before the focus shifted to the Orange Free State thereby earning for himself the Cape Colony clasp to his Queens Medal. However the war for him was not yet over. On 1 April 1901 he joined the ranks of the Midland Mounted Rifles with number 148 and again the rank of Corporal.

This M.M.R. came into being in the second phase of the war for the purpose of assisting to expel the invaders from the Cape Colony. In April and May 1901 they were often in action, and were said to have done very well on two occasions in the latter month, particularly at Zwagershoek. At Doornhoek, on the 13th, they had Lieutenant P E H Coombs and several men wounded.

The first reference in despatches to the corps by name was unfortunately associated with a mishap. In the despatch of 8th July 1901, dealing with the operations against Kritzinger's, Letter's, and other commandos, Lord Kitchener said: "On the 21st of June a party of 60 Midland Mounted Rifles—a local corps— was surrounded and captured by Kritzinger between Cradock and Graaf Reinet; 9 men were killed and 2 officers and 10 men wounded".

According to the published casualty lists the number of killed and wounded was slightly larger. Captain H J Spandow died of his wounds; Lieutenant A P Robertson was severely wounded. It is satisfactory that the detachment made a very good fight, and that there was no surrender until the losses became out of all proportion to the end to be gained in holding out.

The Midland Mounted Rifles were to get their chance in due time. In the despatch Lord Kitchener said: "It must also be mentioned that three days previously Letter's commando had been checked by a party of Midland Mounted Rifles, who killed seven and wounded six of their number, and prevented the Boers escaping by a pass which the patrol was then holding".

The corps continued to do much useful work in the central districts of Cape Colony with Eastes with them until 9 July 1901 before he took another unexplained leave of absence only to return on 6 August 1901 where he remained with them until the end of the war on 31 May 1902.

Sylvester John Eastes’ medals were awarded to him posthumously – he passed away on 16 December 1904 at the age of 35 – cause of death unknown.