TOPIC:

Dear Forum
As a collector of QSA casualties, I am trying to put together some information on 5635 Private Williams.
Boer War Casualty, Welsh Regiment. Killed in Action Nr Elandshoek, During the defence of a derailed train.
Louis Williams was born in Merthyr Tydfil 5th July 1878
Served in the 1st Battalion the Welsh Regiment and was Killed in Action on the 20th May 1901 Near Elandshoek when British troops attempted to defend a derailed train on the railway line between Alkmaar and Godwaan. The circumstances are carefully described in the citation of the D.S.O. to 2nd Lieutenant D. L. Campbell, 1st Battalion, Welsh Regiment: Also mentioned on ABW thread.
My question is, are there any details pertaining to the identitiy of the 3 soldiers who were with Lieutenant Campbell?
and how many soldiers of the Welsh regiment were killed in the confrontation?

Private Williams
Buried at Braberton.
He is remembered on The Merthyr Tydfil South African (Boer) War memorial which is located on Queens Road in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan.
Any further information would be most appreciated. As with many KIA’s the paper work and service records are far and few between.
Cheers
Dave F

Hello Dave

Your man was an invalid on the train when he was killed

This is taken from Evening Express, Monday , June 14 , 1901 page 3

Soon after they heard a terrific explosion up the line, and saw someone running towards them like mad. He was the stoker and was too exhausted to say anything. The patrol advanced to the scene of the explosion at the double, and, rounding a corner, came upon an awful wreck. The driver of the first train, shot through the head, was hanging out from the engine, covered with blood. There were about a dozen sick men, whom the Boers had compelled to descend from the train and lie in the bottom of a ditch. The Boer commandant ordered the patrol to surrender, but he was immediately consigned to a warm place. Lance-corporal Isaac and another man were crawling under a truck in order to get deliberate aim at the leader, when a Boer in khaki, whom they had mistaken for a "Tommy," fired at them, but missed, a splinter merely inflicting a scratch on the lance-corporal's neck. The patrol then got undercover, and began firing volleys and independently, and soon afterwards the Boers, who were between 50 and 60 strong, were driven off. In the end truck, the patrol found an officer and four men, who were the only defenders of the train. They had had a, very warm time, as the Boers were all around them, threatening to blow them up if they didn't surrender, and at one time had got on top of the next truck, and were firing down on them. The officer (Lieutenant Campbell) told them he had twenty-five men with him, and, of course, would not surrender, but made the Boers an offer that, if they would leave the sick alone, the British would not fire on them. This the enemy would not accept. An engineer, who was taken prisoner, reported that one Boer was killed, and one or two others wounded. "Our casualties," says Lance-corporal Isaac, "were four killed and five wounded, and, in my opinion, three of the dead were murdered. Two of the men were invalids, and the engine- driver was a non-combatant." The method of blowing up the line was with a wire laid into some trees, where the Boers had slept all night. An officer of the Welsh Regiment, who came upon the armoured train, told Lanoe-corporal Isaac he had done remarkably well. "You see," sagely observes the lance-corporal, "the Boers did not know how we got on the spot so quickly, and also that there were only six of us. or I expect we should have had a lively time. Dai Williams, of Pontypridd," he continues, "was the only Volunteer with me, and he was jolly cool, and did very well." 

The whole letter can be found here

newspapers.library.wales/view/3479184/3479187/46/

Regards

Dave
SAFF shows of the 1st Welsh Regiment, 5666 L/Cpl. J.Richards, and 5635 Pte. J.Williams were Killed and 7528 Pte. R.Morgan and 8051 Pte. R.Vaughan were both wounded (the latter severely) and 3951 Pte. Watson (nn shown) was slightly wounded same place, same time, near Elandshoek on 20/5/1901. SAFF also shows Driver J.Furze of IMR as Killed, same date, same place.
Regards
IL.

Dear Linney and Research Rescue

Many thanks for your swift response and infomation.
it is very much appreciated.
regards
Dave

Dear Dave

This is what I’ve been able to find out about the incident at Elandshoek (or Alkmaar) on 20 May 1901 and the involvement of the Welsh Regiment:
1. On the outbreak of the Boer War the 1st Battalion Welsh Regiment was `stationed at Aldershot with a strength of 500 NCOs and men. Mobilisation was at once ordered and the reservists, 330 in all, were called up, every man answering the call. They sailed on the Kildonan Castle on 4 November 1899. The battalion, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel R J F Banfield, disembarked at Port Elizabeth on 26 November 1899 and remained there for a long spell of route marches and training getting everyone fit for the hard times ahead’. They were involved in guarding the lines of communication. In January 1900 orders were received to join the force at Rensburg, and the battalion was placed in the 18th Brigade under Brigadier T E Stephenson in the 6th Division. The other units in this brigade were the 2nd Royal Warwickshire, 1st Yorkshire and 1st Essex Regiments. `The battalion particularly distinguished itself at the battle of Paardeberg, and when at Bloemfontein received the personal thanks of Lord Roberts who said to them ‘’You have done magnificently at Paardeberg and Driefontein.” In his dispatch Lord Roberts wrote: “The storming of Alexander Koppe by the Welsh Regiment was the finest piece of work I have seen.” The battalion took part in the advance to Pretoria’. (Mansell, A Very Gallant `Welshman’, OMRS Spring 1994 at page 67 and Short Histories at page 416-7). At Paardeberg on 18 February 1900 the Welsh Regiment charged across a plain swept by enemy fire and pushed back the Boer defences so that the Boers were closely confined on the Modder River. At Driefontein the Welsh Regiment led an attack on a strongly defended height, from which the Boers were driven at the point of the bayonet. At Bloemfontein the Welsh Regiment joined the 11th Division and advanced on Pretoria. The Welsh Regiment participated in the victory parade in Pretoria on 5 June 1900 and was then engaged at Diamond Hill and Belfast. On 23 July 1900 the advance along the Pretoria-Delagoa Bay railway line to Komatipoort commenced. As the army proceeded east it was followed by engineers who repaired the railway and rapidly brought it back into operation. Repair work commenced on a large bridge near Godwaan Station in the Elands River Valley on 13 September 1900. `Troops of the 11th Division kept guard. By 25 September 1900, when Komatipoort had been occupied by the British Army, the entire’ railway was ready for use. By 10 October 1900 102 trains had used the railway to transport most of the army back to Pretoria. (Short Histories at page 417 and Military History Journal Volume 11 No. 3/4-October 1999, The British Defence of the Pretoria-Delagoa Bay Railway, D W Aitken).

2. The 3rd Battalion Welsh Regiment was a Militia Battalion which `volunteered for active service and embarked for South Africa on 12 February 1900. It was employed in guarding the long lines of communication, as well as the dangerous work of escorting convoys of supplies throughout the country, frequently having brushes with the enemy’. (Short Histories at pages 417-8). It appears to have been assigned to the defence of Vryburg, north of Kimberley, because 300 men of the Welsh Regiment were stationed there in August 1900. (Painting the Map Red, C Miller at page 206).

3. `On the 3rd April, 1900, a Detachment of 240 from 3 Welsh commanded by Lt. Colonel Perkins marched as escort to a Convoy from De Aar to Prieska. Other Officers present were Captains H. E. Taylor, Forrest, Perkins, How and Captain W. Taylor. Lieutenants, Hobbs, Nash, Barker, Ellis, Carey, Woodfull and Campbell. (Welsh Militia and Volunteer Corps 1757-1908 by B Own at 134).

4. The 1st Battalion Welsh Regiment was stationed at Godwaan from 4 September until 12 October 1900 and was then sent to Barberton, where they remained until 22 November 1900 `when they went to occupy various stations in the Komati Valley – Krokodile Poort, Nelspruit, Alkmaar, Elandshoek, and Godwaan. While stationed in this most unhealthy district the battalion was decimated by fever.’ (Sterling, British Regiments in South Africa at page 232).

5. `After nine months service in the Komati valley the Regiment suffered so severely from the fever which infested the district, that it was moved to Johannesburg in May 1901, and garrisoned the town until March 1902, when it proceeded to Rietfontein to hold a line of blockhouses among the Magaliesburg mountains, and so remained until the war was ended’ on 31 May 1902. (Short Histories at page 417).

6. The railways were a key method of communication for the Imperial forces. After the Imperial forces took control of the railway line from Pretoria to Komatipoort Boer forces began attacking it. On 1 October 1900 a train was derailed at Pan Station and 23 soldiers were killed when the wreckage was fired upon. An engine was blown up and 5 trucks derailed near Balmoral on 6 October 1900. On 8 October 1900 a train was derailed at Kaapmuiden. On 19 November 1900 there was a Boer attack on Wilge River Station and another on Balmoral Station. On 7 January 1901 there were a series of attacks along the railway at Machadodorp, Belfast, Dalmanutha, Wonderfontein and Pan, Belfast almost falling to the Boers. In January 1901 traffic was frequently interrupted by derailments and on 17 January 1901 an engine was blown up and the train derailed near Brugspruit east of Balmoral Station, after which two further trains were ambushed and brought to a stop by the wreckage of the first train. On 23 January 1900 near Balmoral Station another train was derailed. Other trains were successfully attacked on 13 February 1901 near Balmoral Station and again on 18 February 1901, 11 March 1901 and 27 March 1901. `During the months of January, February and March [1901], in spite of a steady improvement of the defences of this as well as of all other railways, the line between Machadodorp and Pretoria was blown up on twelve occasions, and in most cases trains were derailed and partially destroyed.’ (Amery, The War in South Africa, Volume V, at page 199, Military History Journal Volume 11 No. 3/4-October 1999, The British Defence of the Pretoria-Delagoa Bay Railway, D W Aitken and With “The Buffs” in South Africa, J B Backhouse at pages 61-91).

7. A leading Boer saboteur was Jack Hindon, who had been born in Stirling, Scotland on 20 April 1874 and after joining the British army was sent to Zululand, where he deserted, coming to live in the Transvaal. He participated in the Jameson raid on the side of the Boers and at the commencement of the Boer War joined the Middleburg Commando. He was present at Spioenkop and formed a unit of scouts. Hindon surrendered in May 1902 before the end of the war.

8. Hindon specialised in sabotaging trains by mining the railway. To do so he cut down a Martini-Henry rifle, removing a large part of the barrel and the stock. The trigger guard was removed so that the trigger was left exposed. A bucket of dynamite would be buried in the ballast under a rail. The cut-down rifle mechanism would be placed in the bucket, with the trigger exposed to the rail so that when the locomotive passed over it the trigger would be depressed and the cartridge, with bullet and wadding removed, would fire into a bag of detonators which would ignite the dynamite in the bucket exploding the mine. To guard against attacks each train would be preceded by an armoured train with the locomotive situated between a few reinforced trucks, the trucks setting off the mine and leaving the locomotive intact. To defeat these countermeasures, the Boers tried to activate the mine manually using a wire. Such a command mine was used to derail the train near Alkmaar on 20 May 1901. (Military History Journal Volume 12, number 1 - June 2001, Oliver `Jack’ Hindon, Boer Hero and Train Wrecker, D Aitken).

9. Two key defensive measures were blockhouse lines and armoured trains, which worked together. By May 1901 the railway was well protected by blockhouses. Trains did not run at night and the track was carefully inspected each morning. Armoured trains would accompany the goods trains to provide protection. With improved defences, attacks diminished, but occurred nevertheless, such as on 20 May 1901.

10. As an example of an inspection of the line, `near Doornbult on the western railway line, hearing that the line was mined, Cpl Sims (Royal Engineers) took Ptes Donohue & Moore (3rd Btn. Welsh Regt) with him and proceeded to the spot on a trolley, and though fired on from the bush, removed the mine.’ (London Gazette, 15 November 1901 at page 7381)

11. The Sheffield Evening Telegraph of 3 June 1901 reported as follows:

FIGHTING TRAIN WRECKERS
A Gallant Defence.
“Fix Bayonets” Scares the Enemy.
Kaapmuiden, Thursday.
Details of the recent holding up of a supply train between Alkmaar and Elandshoek have now been received. The dynamited train consisted of two engines and several trucks. A Boer leader, named Hindon, a notorious train-wrecker, stationed himself, with fifty men, close to the line, at a sharp curve on the top of a stiff gradient. He himself wore the uniform of a Captain in the British Army, and the majority of his band was dressed in khaki.
As the second engine, which was placed at about the middle of the train, reached the place of observation, Hindon exploded a mine composed of sixty dynamite cartridges. The engine and trucks were thrown over, and the train brought to a standstill.
Behind the trucks were a van and carriage containing some fever-stricken men of the Welsh Regiment and other details, behind that another van, and, lastly, an armoured truck, manned by a Lieutenant and four men. The Boers, thinking the carriage contained officers, riddled it with bullets, killing two men and wounding another two.
The fireman on the first engine jumped off and escaped, but the driver stuck to his post, and was shot dead with his hand on the lever. The stoker of the second engine was wounded in the thigh.
The instant the explosion occurred the small escort in the armoured truck opened fire. The Boers for the most part kept carefully out of the way of the bullets, and Hindon sent a party of them up the hill to fire down on the truck. The British, however, kept well under the shelter of its sides, and the Boers, seeing that this manoeuvre was a failure, climbed the dismantled trucks, got on top of the van, and attempted to pot their enemy from that position.
This attempt was also fruitless, and the Boers, hearing the command given to fix bayonets, fell off the van on both sides, and ran back to cover. As a last resource Hindon sent a Boer, covered by a British prisoner, up the track to demand the surrender of the escort whom he threatened, otherwise, to dynamite. The little band of British, however, stood firm and the Boers, seeing that the case was hopeless, and hearing the approach of an armoured train, decamped.
Before they left they robbed everybody on board the train, and took away with them one wounded man, a civilian passenger and the driver of the second train. These, after stripping them, they abandoned in the bush on being shelled by the armoured train. They would have undoubtedly looted the whole of the valuable stores and supplies had it not been for the gallant defence offered by the small armed escort. – “Standard” telegram.

12. In The Graphic of 10 August 1901 at page 181 an illustration by Frank Dadd from a sketch by Lionel James illustrates `A Gallant Defence of a Derailed Train near Alkmaan’. The caption to the illustration reads:

Lieutenant Campbell, when the train was attacked by Hindon’s wrecking party near Alkmaan, on May 20, kept possession of a rear truck with only four men. The Boers took the rest of the train and some twelve men prisoners. They were firing on the rear truck from the windows of the saloon coach and both sides of the cutting, repeatedly calling on the young lieutenant to surrender. The subaltern’s answer was “Fix bayonets; no surrender!” The Boers then sent a captured sergeant to induce the rear truck to capitulate and to say that the prisoners would be shot if they still held out. But the boy sent him back with the answer that he would ever surrender. Hindon then called upon his men to bring dynamite and blow the party up, but Campbell held out until an armoured train arrived and relieved the situation. It is reported that the sergeant was brutally short by Hindon, who, with Muller, is the most dangerous train-wrecker the Boers now possess. For his gallant defence Second Lieutenant Campbell, who belongs to the 1st Battalion the Welsh Regiment, has been made a D.S.O.

13. The same illustration is depicted in Ryno Greenwall’s Artists & Illustrators of the Anglo-Boer War at page 55.

14. Campbell is mentioned in After Pretoria: The Guerilla War at page 619 as follows:

On the Delagoa Bay railway the blockhouses gave greater security against derailments, but even here there were attempts to be chronicled. A supply train was derailed close to Godwaan on May 20, by the notorious Hinton, whose atrocities are so many that they defy enumeration. The train had two engines, with several trucks in between them and in front of them, so that they might not both be disabled in the event of a mine, which was exploded by a wire carried to a distance of forty yards from the track. The train was stopped and the enemy came down to loot it. They shot, without any provocation, one of the engine-drivers and also killed a corporal. But a handful of men in an armoured truck prevented them from working their will upon the supplies, and presently an armoured train arrived and drove them off in ignominious flight. It is to be hoped that the time will soon come when Hinton, who adds to his guilt the crime of treason, will expiate his sins upon a gallows high as Haman’s. Even he may one day learn that the arm of England is a long one and the fate of the evil-doer sure. The railway men of the military railways have vowed that when they catch him he shall be flung into the firebox of the nearest engine. If he seeks safety in flight, his crimes against the laws of war and of humanity should ensure his surrender wherever he takes refuge.

The caption to the sketch on the same page refers to the `Gallant Defence of Derailed Train Between Alkmaar and Godwaan, May 20’ and states that `When the train was attacked, Lieut. Campbell, of the 1st Royal Welsh Regiment, with four men retained possession of one of the trucks. Although fired on from the saloon carriage and from both sides of the cutting, and in spite of the threat that if he did not surrender the prisoners would be shot, he held out. Hinton then ordered his men to bring dynamite and blow up the truck: but an armoured train came up in time to prevent the execution of this order. It is reported that a captured sergeant who had been made the bearer of Hinton’s demand for surrender, was shot on bringing back Campbell’s refusal. For his gallant defence Lieut. Campbell received the D.S.O.’ Haman is referred to in the Book of Esther 5:14 as Vizier of King Xerxes who built a gallows about 75 foot high, but soon came to be hoist by his own petard.

15. In the Supplement to the Warder of 14 September 1901 it is noted that a correspondent of the Westminster Gazette who had a `good deal of service in an armoured train’ on the Delagoa Bay Railway commented on the modus operandi of the Boer saboteurs. In referring to the attack on the train on 20 May 1901 he wrote:

Again the first train from Alkmaar in the morning was utilised as a hospital train, conveying some twenty or thirty men sick with malarial fever, with an armoured truck at the end, in which four men and Lieutenant Campbell of the Welsh Regiment were acting as escort. On the way down the line the second engine was blown up; a terrific hailstorm of bullets pattered through the sides of the truck. The escort fired, but the Boers crept along the other trucks and, firing madly, demanded the surrender of the truck. To do this, they brought a Corporal Cureton, of the 1st Liverpool Regiment, to Mr. Campbell to tell him that unless he surrendered they would kill all the sick. When the officer refused, they shot the abovementioned corporal dead on the spot, a bullet penetrating his brain; they also killed one of the engine drivers, and then killed two of the sick and wounded some more. The firing was heard by a patrol of four men, who immediately ran up to the train to render help. The enemy evidently thought a larger force was near at hand, as they soon cleared off. The armoured train coming up as the Boers were climbing the hills, a few shells were sent amongst them, and some were seen to fall from their horses.


16. More detail of the incident is provided in a history of the Welch Regiment:
On the 20th May, 5666 L./Corporal F. Richards, “C” Company, and 5635 Private L. Williams, of “D” Company, were killed, and 8051 Private Vaughan and 7528 Private Morgan were wounded whilst travelling as invalids in a hospital coach on the railway between Nelspruit and Waterval Onder, near Alkmaar. The train was first blown up by the Boers and then fired [upon]. This episode was reported to the Colonel by the Assistant Director of Railways in the following terms:-
I beg to draw your attention to the conduct of Lieutenant Campbell, a young officer of the Welsh Regiment, who with four of his men garrisoned the protected truck of the train blown up yesterday. Although the rest of the train was in possession of the enemy for nearly two hours, Lieutenant Campbell refused to surrender, notwithstanding a large number of the enemy were firing into the truck from the roof of the adjoining coach, and from the commanding hills to the South. 7545 lance/Corporal H. Isaacs, No. 2 Volunteer Company Welsh Regiment, with a patrol of five men bravely ran to the assistance of the train, the Boers retreating on their arrival.
For this gallant action, Lieutenant D. L. Campbell received an immediate award of the D.S.O., L/Corporal Isaacs was promoted Sergeant by the Commander-in-Chief, and 8195 Private E. Murray, of “B” Company, one of the party in the train, was promoted Corporal, also by the Commander-in-Chief. Private D. Williams, of the Volunteer Company, was one of this patrol.
Sergeant Isaacs sent an account of this action to his father, from whom the “Western Mail” compiled the following account:-
It seems that the men were told on Sunday night, May 19th, by a Kaffir scout, that the Boers had crossed the line, and on Monday Corporal Isaacs went out on a patrol of five men.
The Kaffir pointed out the spot where the Boers crossed and the men took up their position at the top of a cutting. Soon after they heard a terrific explosion up the line, and, saw someone running towards them `like mad’. He was the stoker, and was too exhausted to say anything. The patrol advanced to the scene of the explosion at the double, and, rounding the corner, came upon an awful wreck.
The driver of the first train, shot through the head, was hanging out from the engine covered in blood. There were about a dozen sick men whom the Boers had compelled to descend from the train and lie in the bottom of the ditch. The Boer commandant ordered the patrol to surrender, but he was immediately consigned to a warm place. Corporal Isaacs and another man were crawling under a truck in order to get deliberate aim at the leader, when a Boer in khaki, whom they had mistaken for a `Tommy’ fired at them, but missed, a splinter merely inflicting a scratch on the Corporal’s neck.
The patrol then got under cover, and began firing volleys and independently, and soon afterwards the Boers, who were between 50 and 60 strong, were driven off. In the end truck the patrol found an officer and four men, who were the only defenders of the train. They had had a very warm time, as the Boers were all around them threatening to blow them up if they did not surrender, and at one time had got on the top of the next truck and were firing down on them. (The History of The Welch Regiment, 1719-1914 at pages 255-256).

17. In A History of The Royal Regiment of Wales [24th/41st Foot] and its Predecessors 1689 – 1989 by J M Brereton at page 204 makes reference to the incident at Alkmaar:

Occasionally detachments were detailed as escorts to trains ferrying up supplies or evacuating wounded, and on 20th May, 2nd Lieutenant D. L. Campbell of The Welch was in command of such an escort when the train was ambushed and halted by a Boer commando. Campbell and his four men were in an open truck behind the locomotive (whose driver was killed), and came under heavy fire from Boers on the roof of the adjoining coach and also from their positions on a bluff overlooking the line. Ignoring summonses to surrender, the five held out for nearly two hours. At length a patrol of The Welch led by Lance Corporal Isaacs arrived on the scene and drove off the fifty Boers. For this action 2nd Lieutenant Campbell was awarded an immediate DSO (gazetted 5th July 1901) and Lance Corporal Isaacs was promoted sergeant by special order of Lord Kitchener.

At this period the British troops in the eastern Transvaal were being stricken down by a mysterious fever which, though seldom proving fatal, saw hundreds incapacitated, on the sick list. Later it turned out to be dengue fever, common enough in India but then unfamiliar to the medical officers in South Africa, who were mostly home-service doctors. The Welch were so severely smitten that they could parade only 350 effectives out of the 900-odd who had marched from Pretoria.

18. It is unclear whether assisting Campbell in his defence of the armoured truck were three or four soldier comrades. 3123 L Cpl J Cureton of the 1st Battalion Liverpool Regiment was killed in action on 20 May 1901, the place of death being given as Nelspruit, which is close to Alkmaar. From the Welsh Regiment, 5666 L Cpl J Richards and 5635 Pte J Williams were killed in action, 8051 Pte R Vaughan was severely wounded and 7528 Pte R Morgan was wounded near Elandshoek on 20 May 1901. (Palmer, the Boer War Casualty Roll at pages 164, 596, 768, 504 and 726). Jack Furze was the train driver who was killed. (Lancashire Evening Post, Thursday, 23 May 1901). Initially there was some confusion regarding the unit to which the wounded casualties belonged as it was stated that they were from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, but subsequent reports corrected this.

19. ‘Richards and Williams are buried in the same grave at the Barberton Garden of Remembrance. (In Memoriam Roll of Honour Imperial Forces Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902, Watt, at page 351).

20. `In the train incident at Alkmaar on 20th May 1901 a lieutenant, a non-commissioned officer, and a private gained mention for great gallantry’. (Sterling at 232). Apart from Campbell being mentioned, the other mentions in despatches appear to be as follows:

a. 7545 Lance-Corporal H. Isaac of the Volunteer Company Welsh Regiment was mentioned as follows: `On 20th May, 1901, the Boers attacked a train near Alkmaar with 50 men. Lance-Corporal Isaac with only 7 men ran to assist the escort and rendered valuable service.’ He was promoted to serjeant by the Commander-in-Chief. (London Gazette August 20, 1901 at page 5488); and

b. 8195 Pte E Murray of the 1st Battalion Welsh Regiment was mentioned for `extremely plucky conduct when train was derailed near Alkmaar and attacked by enemy.’ He was promoted to Corporal by the Commander-in-Chief. (London Gazette November 15, 1901 at page 7383).

21. The incident involving Campbell is distinguishable from other ambushes of trains in this period because the Boers failed to get access to the stores on the train. In several other train ambushes subsequent to the train being derailed the soldiers guarding the train were overpowered and the train looted

22. One of the last attacks to succeed on this section of the railway was on an armoured train which was successfully derailed on 27 June 1901 near Uitkyk Station. Saboteurs `faced mounting difficulties in attacking the Pretoria-Delagoa Bay railway line: more and more blockhouses were being erected, connected to each other by a formidable network of barbed wire; deep trenches were being dug along both sides of the line; and increasing numbers of armoured trains were being brought into use. … From August 1901’ attacks along the railway almost ceased. Hindon departed for the northern Transvaal in July 1901. (Military History Journal Volume 11 No 6-December 2000, Guerilla Warfare, October 1900-May 1902: Boer attacks on the Pretoria-Delagoa Bay Railway Line, D Aitken).

23. The Aberdeen Journal reported on 19 June 1901 that Lieutenant Campbell of the Welsh Regiment `has received the D.S.O. for his gallant defence of a train near Alkmaar’, the source of the report being Pretoria on 17 June 1901.

I have quoted from sources which may use language different from that which I may myself use.

Best regards
Peter Jordi

Dear Peter
Thank you so much for your concise detailed account. The detail is excellent and has provided me with all that I need to add to the research of my KIA casualty.
Your help is most appreciated.
best regards
Dave