TOPIC:

Joseph Henry McLaren

Trooper, Standerton Mounted Police – Anglo Boer War
Corporal, D.S.C. (Divisional Signaling Company) – German East Africa – WWI

- Queens South Africa Medal (TVL/SA 1901) to 39 TPR. J.H. MCLAREN. STANDERTON M.P.
- British War Medal to CPL J.H. MCLAREN. D.S.C.
- Victory Medal (missing)

Joseph McLaren was born in Clare, South Australia on 12 July 1875 the son of Donald McLaren, a Farmer, and his wife. McLaren’s story is one of those best told, in part, by the newspapers of the day wherein he or his comrades featured. The backdrop to his story is the Anglo Boer War which commenced on 11 October 1899 and was fought in South Africa between the two Boer Republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State and the might of Imperial Britain.

The causes for the war were many, suffice it to say that, after the abortive Jameson Road of 1896, President Kruger of the Transvaal could no longer trust the intentions of the British and started the process of putting his fledgling country on a war footing by equipping her with the latest artillery pieces and thousands of state-of-the-art Mauser rifles and ammunition.

After the war had gone badly for Britain in a week in December 1900 (known as Black Week), where she suffered three significant military reverses, the call went out to the Colonies to supply additional manpower to take the fight to the Boers. Australia was one of those who stepped up, sending several contingents to the fighting.

According to a report in a newspaper, McLaren, “In 1900 was an official in the Loco Department at Albany. He then offered for service with the West Australian contingent in the Boer War but, being rejected, left for the Dominion and joined up there.” Being rejected was a reasonably common occurrence with the number of volunteers exceeding the initial requirement. Many then made their way to South Africa under their own steam to enlist with any number of locally raised outfits.

It is not known exactly when McLaren came to South Africa. The above report states 1900 but there is an insert in the Albany Advertiser (West Australia) of Tuesday, 26 February 1901 of ships’ manifests sailing from Albany. There is a J. McLaren listed as a passenger aboard the S.S. Damascus bound for London via Cape Town. This could well be him.


Map of Standerton and surrounds detailing some of the actions engaged in.

Having arrived in South Africa and with the war in full swing, McLaren joined the ranks of the Standerton Mounted Police. The first action in which this small body of men were involved was in January 1901 and was reported on in the Evening Star of Boulder, Western Australia as follows: -

“London, January 18 – The details of Major General Colville’s march from New Denmark to Vlaklaagte River show that a fierce battle was fought at a point between the two towns referred to. A force of 700 Boers attacked the baggage guard, which consisted of 300 of the Rifle Brigade and 50 Standerton Mounted Police. The enemy forced the British to retire, but the check was only momentarily, as the infantry fixed bayonets, and at the sight of cold steel the Boers broke up their lines and fled from the field.

The British riflemen were hid in a hollow to receive the onslaught of the Boers, who on seeing that an ambush had been prepared for them declined to attack further and took refuge in flight. The casualties on the British side were one killed and 15 wounded.”

Whether or not McLaren was present at this action would depend on him being the passenger aboard the Damascus previously referred to.
The next skirmish in which the S.M.P. were involved featured in the Zeehan and Dundas Herald (Tasmania) on 25 April 1901 under the heading “Boers Captured at a Dance” – it read thus: -

“The Standerton Mounted Police have received information that a party of Boers were engaged in terpsichorean recreation at New Denmark, proceeded thither, and captured 25. Standerton is in the south-east of the Transvaal, not far from the Natal and Orange Free State boundaries.”

From time to time men wrote home detailing, as far as military censors would allow, their exploits and experiences in the field. Very often a man’s movements and those of his regiment could be accurately tracked in this way. Members of the S.M.P. were no exception and it is to a comrade of McLaren’s, Trooper D.A. Smith, that thanks must go for a very informative letter home, published in two parts in the Evening Star of Wednesday, 24 July 1901. They provide valuable insight into the S.M.P. and life on campaign in their ranks.

“Letter from Africa – Many of our readers knew Mr. D.A. Smith of the Loco. Southern Cross, and the following letter received from him, by the editor of this paper, will be read with interest by everyone.

Standerton, Transvaal, May 22, 1901 – My dear friend, as I promised when I left the Cross, I now have much pleasure in dropping you a line. Well, when “Moorey” and I arrived in Durban we obtained employment with the Natal Government Railways. After we left there we went to Maritzburg where we stayed two hours. We took a job on the Standerton Mounted Police, at 7s 6d per day and found and duly arrived here.

After crossing the border at Volksrust, we had to ride in open trucks to guard the train. We thought we were going to be full—blown police, but found that our duty consisted chiefly of going out as scouts at the head of a column for the purpose of finding out the Boers’ position and drawing their fire, so as to enable the column to open fire with their artillery.

Of course ours is the most responsible duty attached to an attack, as if we are seen by the enemy before we see them we stand a good chance of passing in our marble. But the way we usually do is to keep about two miles ahead, or to the right or left flank (whichever we are told off for) and go steadily up to the top of a kopje, and if we suspect anyone on top, turn round suddenly, and make believe we see someone, and gallop away. You can bet your life if there’s any Boers there they’ll think they are seen, and open fire at once.


Map of Standerton and surrounds

If we do get fired at we keep galloping under cover of the column until we reach it, and then we give the exact spot at where we were fired at and give a rough idea by the number of shots fired of how strong they are. If it is not too steep the column charge the kopje but if any ways difficult for their ponies to climb they open out with the big guns, generally pom-poms or 15 pounders. As scouts we are generally in twos and usually cover a space from flank to flank of about 8 or 10 miles. Moorey and I generally get together and take it in turns to hold each other’s horse at the foot of a very steep and rocky kopje (which horses cannot climb) while the other walks on foot to the top.

We have had many hundreds of shots aimed at us by the Boers but generally at 2000 yards range and when they are at that distance we only put our fingers to our nose as there is not much chance of being sniped off at that range. We have been in about a dozen different skirmishes during the last six weeks, and are still like the army lasses, fighting for glory.

We were nearly cut off from the troops at Platt Kop, though, and they had us at the lovely range of 500 yards. And the best of it was that we were on the open veldt, without our horses, while they had a splendid cover in a kaffir kraal. We laid there in the grass for about half an hour, with bullets dropping all around us, and were thankful when at last our horses came. On that patrol we were in two engagements at Bushman’s Kop, one at Vlaklaagte and one at Joubert’s Kop. We lost a lot of horses but only one of our chaps was wounded. We took 30 prisoners, but 20 of them were women and children, and we captured 12000 sheep, 500 horses and about 600 cattle. We burnt about a dozen farmhouses and furniture, and there was lovely furniture in some of the houses. We are privileged to take anything we like out of the farmhouses, but the regular soldiers are not.

There are a lot of bush fires around here just now. The grass all dried up and burns in the winter and there’s no rain only in the summer. The nights are very frosty and when I woke this morning there was at least half an inch of frost on my blanket and hat. Of course when we are in camp we have tents to sleep in and are very comfortable. The Vaal River runs through here and we have had to swim it a couple of times when we were pushed. We were in the Orange Free State once and the Boers there are very desperate characters, so we left them for some stronger column to go at. The strength of our corps (S.M.P.) is now 45 and out of these are about 20 Australians. We are paid principally in Kruger money but the face value of that is the same as British.”

The Standerton Mounted Police would appear to have been disbanded in the middle of 1901 with McLaren now in the market for meaningful employment. He set his sights on Durban finding a position with His Majesty’s Customs Department. Not satisfied with this, he ventured to Johannesburg where, from 5 Davis Street, Doornfontein, on 4 September 1902, he addressed a letter to the Director of Public Works, Pretoria as follows: -

“Sir – I respectfully beg to apply for employment in any department of the Public Works where you may have a vacancy. In support of my application I beg to state that I have been employed in H.M’s Customs in Natal from June 22nd 1901 to July 31st last for which I have a reference from the Collector, and resigned with the hope of bettering my position in Johannesburg.

Yours obediently, Joseph Henry McLaren.”

The accompanying application form confirmed that he had worked with the Western Australian Railways and that he preferred “clerical or outside work.” As references he provided Geo. Mayston, Collector of Customs, Natal and Mr. A.C. Watkins, Austral Iron Works, Johannesburg. His application unsuccessful, his testimonials were returned to him on 12 September 1902.

McLaren remained in Johannesburg and, on 29 April 1903, was married to 22 year old Bessie Watkins, a Cardiff, Wales born lass, living at 17 Kimberley Road, Bertrams, Johannesburg (the daughter of the Watkins of Austral Iron Works) by George Douthwaite, a Wesleyan Minister. McLaren was 27 years old and resident in Smal Street, Germiston at the time of his nuptials.

On 9 March 1914 he joined the Free Masons United Services Lodge of Pretoria where he was recorded as being a Civil Servant. He resigned on 31 January 1918. 1914 was auspicious for an entirely different reason – the world had been (largely) at peace since the Boer War but, on 4 August 1914, Germany and her Allies were at war with Great Britian and her Allies in what was to become known as the Great War.

McLaren, no longer in the first flower of youth, was to bide his time before enlisting for service. On 8 February 1916 he completed attestation forms at Potchefstroom for service with the Wireless Signal Section. Confirming that he was 40 years old he was a Customs Officer with the Collector of Customs in Durban (he would appear to have sought his former position with them.) He now had three children aged 11, 8 and 2 and confirmed his prior service with the Standerton Mounted Police. Physically he was described as being 5 feet 9 ½ inches with a sallow complexion, dark brown hair and dark grey eyes. By way of distinguishing marks he had a mole on the bridge of his nose and a mole on the outer side of his right leg. Having been found fit by the Doctor he was assigned no. 359 and the rank of Private with the Divisional Signaling Company for service in German East Africa. On about 7 April 1916 he embarked for the theatre of war aboard the “Huntsgreen.” After succumbing to the ravages of Malaria whilst employed in East Africa he was repatriated to South Africa aboard the Hospital Ship “Oxfordshire” disembarking at Cape Town on 25 April 1917 whereafter he was declared Permanently Unfit for Tropical Service but Temporarily Unfit for Non-Tropical Service.

This spelled the end of McLaren’s wartime exploits. He had been promoted to Corporal on 14 April 1916 and, according to his Proceedings on Discharge form completed at Potchefstroom on 5 October 1917, he had a Military Character of Very Good and was credited with service of 1 year 274 days before official discharge on 17 November 1917.

For his efforts he was awarded the British War and Victory medals (the whereabouts of the last unknown). McLaren and his wife were tardy with the baptism of their children. Vera, born 24 March 1907, was only baptised as an adult in Johannesburg on 24 September 1921 in the presence of her sister Mildred and her mother. McLaren’s first wife, Bessie, passed away in Sandhurst, Johannesburg on 7 February 1944. The death certificate was signed at George in the Cape Province where, it must be assumed, he had retired.

Having been married for 41 years McLaren wasn’t accustomed to being alone. All three daughters (his only children) were wed and out of the house. At George on 29 March 1947, at the age of 71 he married Nora Owen (born Else) a 64 year old widow of Sunnyside, Parktown, Johannesburg. His own address was Hillcrest, Blanco, George.

In about 1930 he had returned to the country of his birth for a visit. A local newspaper carried the following article under the heading “South African Visitor”: -

“After 29 years spent in South Africa, Mr. J.H. McLaren, an officer of the Customs and Excise Department at Johannesburg, landed at Albany from the Aberdeen liner Euripides yesterday. In 1900 Mr. McLaren was an official in the Loco. Department at Albany. He then offered for service with the West Australian contingent in the Boer War, but, being rejected, left for the Dominion and joined up there. He also served two years in East Africa in the Great War. At the conclusion of the former campaign he joined the Customs Department and is now enjoying long service leave. His wife and children are travelling with him.

Mr. McLaren who is a brother of the Rev. Gilbert McLaren, formerly of Wagin, is an interesting personality and has a wide and varied knowledge of South African affairs. Questioned as to the advance of the wool industry in South Africa; Mr McLaren said that those engaged in the industry were keen to bring about improvement in their flocks.

“It is not a recent innovation,” declared the visitor, “as I saw as far back as 1901 South Australian rams being sold in Pietermaritzburg”

Joseph Henry McLaren passed away in the Kleinfontein Hospital, Benoni on 10 September 1965 at the grand old age of 90 from Carcinoma of the Prostate. He had been resident at 4 Watt Street, Rynfield, Benoni at the time of his death and he was widowed for the second time.

Acknowledgments:
- Trove for Australian newspapers articles acknowledged above
- Ancestry for medal rolls etc.
- SANDF Documentation Centre for WWI service file and card
- This site for Standerton map
- UCT Library Map collection for additional map

Excellent research Rory. Thank you for sharing.

A fascinating read. Many thanks, Rory.