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Edward Faux Hopkins - a Vallentin's Heidelberg Volunteer 3 years 5 months ago #72099

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Edward Faux Hopkins

Trooper, Vallentin’s Heidelberg Volunteers – Anglo Boer War.

- Queens South Africa Medal to Tpr. E.F. Hopkins, Vallentin’s Heidelberg Vols.

Edward Hopkins was an anachronism – an Englishman who, having a business in the Z.A.R. at the time of the Boer War, chose to take the oath of neutrality rather than throw his lot in with his countrymen. On the surrender of the Boer forces he emerged from the shadows and joined the illustrious Vallentin’s Heidelberg Volunteers – a unit which, according to sources, was manned primarily by Boer sympathisers or those who, like the National Scouts, had turned on their own volk and had taken up arms against them.

Born in Newton Regis in Warwickshire on 19 March 1867, Edward was the son of Charles Hopkins, a prosperous farmer and cattle breeder, and his wife Mary, born Tavernor. He was baptised in the parish church on 7 April 1867.




According to the 1871 England census, the Hopkins family was resident “In the village”. Mr Hopkins as mentioned, was a successful Farmer of 310 acres and employing 7 men and 1 boy. The household was a full one with Edward (4) joined by siblings Emma Jane (7), Charles (5) and George (2). As one would expect there was an abundance of servants in the forms of Elizabeth Morris, the Dairy Maid, Mary Foster, a General Servant, Eliza Kitchen, a Nurse and William Robottom, a Groom.

Ten years later, at the time of the 1881 England census, the picture was somewhat altered. Sadly, Mr Hopkins had passed away on 24 June 1871 (a few months after the last census) and left his widow with the responsibility of running the farm and raising the family on her own. The family had moved to the village of Hartshill, near Atherstone in Warwickshire – Edward was now a 14 year old school boy and was at home with Charles (15) and George (12). That the family had not been left destitute was evidenced by the presence of Elizabeth Thompson, a servant and George Hough, a farm boy, to cater for the family’s needs.

In 1889, at the age of 22, Hopkins bade farewell to England and, taking passage to South Africa, settled down to a life in the colonies. Initially settling in Durban, Natal, he set himself up in business as a Forwarding Agent. The love bug bit a while later and, at St. Cyprian’s Church in Umbilo, Durban on 21 July 1898, he wed Sarah Annie Vincent Nicholson, a 24 year old spinster. He was 31 years of age at the time.

Shortly thereafter Hopkins took the momentous decision to move his family to Heidelberg in the then Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek (or Transvaal) – this was the domain of the Boer and under the government of President Paul Kruger. Allying himself with another British subject, one Albert Edward Beckwith, the two set themselves up as Beckwith & Co. and opened a store for trading purposes. This was to prove a fruitful but traumatic partnership as rapidly unfolding events in their chosen place of residence was to show.

The Transvaal in the last year of the 19th century was a hornet’s nest of activity. War was in the air! Kruger, long tiring of the demands made by the many “Uitlanders” who had flooded into his country, sent an ultimatum to Britain demanding that troops along the Transvaal border be removed, among other demands. Britain, naturally, didn’t comply and, on the morning of 12 October 1899, war between the Z.A.R., its ally the Orange Free State and the might of the Empire, was declared.

As a prelude to this, thousands of the “Uitlanders” – those of British or foreign birth – had already fled the Transvaal in droves, heading for the comparative safety of either Lourenco Marques or to Durban. Hopkins and his partner were now faced with a dilemma – on the one hand they couldn’t afford to leave their business unattended and, on the other, they were conflicted as to whether or not they should join the Boer forces. Pressure was being applied by the local magistrate and matters finally came to a head with Beckwith throwing in his lot with the Boer Commandos and Hopkins taking the oath of neutrality which allowed him to remain on in the Transvaal, unmolested.

With Beckwith away on Commando, Hopkins continued with the business; this couldn’t have been an easy thing to do and one has to speculate as to just how much he cooperated with the Boer authorities in order to remain “neutral” and able to turn a profit.

After withstanding the might of the British onslaught for longer than most expected, the Boers were eventually driven back on the Transvaal and Heidelberg, one of the towns closest to the Natal border, capitulated and was occupied by the British forces on 23 June 1900. This was bad news for Hopkins – he later set out, in a Claim for Compensation, why this was the case. Writing together with his partner, the disgraced Beckwith, he stated as follows on 10 May 1901:

“We the undersigned, Edward Faux Hopkins and Albert Edward Beckwith, trading as Beckwith & Co. maketh oath and say that when Her Majesty’s forces entered Heidelberg on June 23rd last our premises were taken possession of by Major Ritchie, 20th Field Hospital, R.A.M.C. also when General Hunter’s brigade passed through and again in November when our shed was broken open for the second time damage was done as per accompanying account amounting to one hundred and sixteen pounds.”

By all accounts the store the men operated was requisitioned by the R.A.M.C. as a Field Hospital.

Thus “liberated from the yoke of Boer oppression”, Hopkins felt the need to redeem himself in the eyes of the new authorities. In November 1900 he enlisted with Vallentin’s Heidelberg Volunteers. This corps, which was raised by Major Vallentin, was largely composed of surrendered Boers, and was employed on the Standerton line, their duties being chiefly to protect the line and the possessions of surrendered Burghers in the neighbourhood. But they did more active work, and on 24th May 1901 were credited with a smart capture of a laager, when they secured 9 armed prisoners and much stock. Major Vallentin was wounded on this occasion. On 24th July a party of the scouts fell into an ambush, and 4 were killed. They were known derisively by the Boers as the 'Witkop Commando' ('the White Head Commando', a reference to the white hat bands that they wore).




Hopkins would have felt quite at home with this motley assortment of men, many of them would have been friends or at least acquaintances of his. The Heidelberg Volunteers were split into two sections – 62 of whom had their medals issued off roll signed at Heidelberg on 28th August 1901, by Major Vallentin himself. It was these men, Hopkins among their number, who were operational and deployed as scouts and on patrols.

The second section seems to have seen much less action – their medals – 94 of them – were issued off a different roll on the same date and refer to the Nigel Mine Guard component. These were the men who were attached to protect the mines in nearby Nigel, hence the name, but they all fell under the command of Major Vallentin and the unit being Vallentin's Heidelberg Volunteers.

The action referred to above which took place on 24 July 1901 was at a place called Braklaagte where the Heidelberg men were ambushed by a Boer Commando. The casualties they suffered in this engagement were Beck, Bouwer, Morrison, Nel, Schroeder, Struben, Van Eeden, Van Emmenes.




All these men, except Schroeder and Struben, were executed by the Boers (according to notes in Watt's In Memorium), showing just what a risky business it can be to turn on your own kind. In fact, the Boers made much of the fact that, were they to run into any “turncoats” they could expect nothing but death at their hands. It would seem that they were true to their word.

According to the Compensation Claim, submitted in 1903, Hopkins served with the Heidelberg Volunteers “to the end of hostilities” – this would imply that he was active until 31 May 1902, the day the war ended. He claimed to be a “Travelling Agent” and senior partner in the firm of Beckwith & Co. Beckwith, as has been noted, sided with the Boers and was tried as a Rebel, found guilty and sentenced to a fine of £500.

Edward Hopkins passed away in the Heidelberg hospital on 16 August 1942 at the age of 75 years 5 months. He was a successful cartage contractor at the time of his death and was survived by his children, Mary Hamilton Paterson (born in Heidelberg on 22 June 1900 – the day before the town was occupied by the British forces); Phyllis Vincent Bunting and Joyce Tavenor Joerning. His wife had predeceased him on 26 December 1936.












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Edward Faux Hopkins - a Vallentin's Heidelberg Volunteer 3 years 5 months ago #72101

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Thank You Rory...... A great peace of research...... Mike
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Edward Faux Hopkins - a Vallentin's Heidelberg Volunteer 3 years 5 months ago #72112

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Rory,

I have been standing on site all day pressure testing a 100 M3 Hydrogen vessel and whilst still on site I have decided to have a cuppa and read this incredibly interesting bit of research on Hopkins. I was a fantastic read, well done and thanks for posting it, this has brightened up my day.

I noticed a slight error with the following date "would imply that he was active until 31 May 1901, the day the war ended" should be 1902.

Cheers and well done on the piece.

Regards
Adrian
Part time researcher of the Cape Police and C.P.G Regiment.

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Edward Faux Hopkins - a Vallentin's Heidelberg Volunteer 3 years 5 months ago #72126

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Thanks Adrian - yes a slip of the finger. I think the course of the war would have been markedly different if it had ended a full year earlier than it did!

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Edward Faux Hopkins - a Vallentin's Heidelberg Volunteer 3 years 6 days ago #75496

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Very interesting post, thanks
Robin Smith did an article on Vallentin's Heidel Volunteers : samilitaryhistory.org/vol155rs.html
This is the badge they wore:

regards, Iain
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Edward Faux Hopkins - a Vallentin's Heidelberg Volunteer 2 years 10 months ago #76515

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Great was my joy when I located the same photograph of the VHV chaps I have included in my above post. This time round it was one where the subjects were numbered and named - my joy was unconfined when I found my man Hopkins (no. 34), sitting on the ground in front of (slightly to our right), Major Vallentin himself.

I attach the naming in case others are just as lucky.

Rory



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