TOPIC:

Charles Edward Hartley Sutherland

A Jameson Raider

Gunner, Artillery Troop, Mashonaland Mounted Police
Corporal, Matabeleland Relief Force – Matabele Rebellion 1896
Trooper, Duke of Edinburgh’s Own Volunteer Rifles
Trooper, Kitchener’s Horse
Lieutenant, Railway Police – Anglo Boer War

- Queens South Africa Medal (Relief of Kimberley/Paardeberg/Driefontein/Johannesburg) to 3658 TPR. C.E.H. SUTHERLAND, KITCHENER’S H.

Charles Sutherland was born in Kidbrooke, Kent in about 1877 the son of Mary Sutherland and her well-to-do husband Charles, a Clerk to Colonial Brokers. At the time of the 1881 England census a 4 year old Charles was at home in Clifton Lodge, Osberton Road, Lee along with his parents and younger sibling, 1 year old baby Violet Harman. Also in the home were Mr Sutherland’s 16 year old nephew, Joseph Fenwick (likewise a Clerk to the same Colonial Brokers) and a myriad of servants in the forms of Emma Whybrow, Housemaid; Emily Whitebread, Cook; and Rebecca Keat, Nurse.

Ten years later, at the time of the 1891 England census, the family were at 2 Osberton Road, Lee (suspected to be the same address as previously). Charles was now a 14 year old school boy whilst Violet was 11. Marguerite Elizabeth (10) had joined the ranks and the number of servants was down to just one – 60 year old Annie Watson.

Having finished his schooling, a young Charles scouted around for something with which to occupy himself. Late Victorian England was brim-full of young gentlemen of independent means in search of adventure and, having been fed on stories of the Dark Continent and what opportunities there were to be had in territories which were only now being explored and chartered; it was no surprise that Charles Sutherland set course for South Africa where, shortly after his arrival, he made his way northwards to Rhodesia.

Rhodesia at the time he would have entered the country, was relatively virgin territory. Cecil Rhodes’ British South Africa Company had obtained, by Royal Charter, the rights to govern and administer the territory and several treaties had been signed with the likes of Lobengula, the Matabele Chief and others. After the Pioneer Column had entered Rhodesia in 1890 there had been a veritable flood of prospectors and adventure seekers in their wake, all seeking to make their fortunes.

A number of wars were fought against the war-like Matabele and their more placid neighbours, the Mashona. Sutherland would have a role to play in those conflicts but first, he was to be embroiled in something far more sinister and, in the final analysis, catastrophic – the Jameson Raid – as a Trooper with the Artillery Troop of the Mashonaland Mounted Police.

Dr Leander Starr Jameson, a close confidant of Cecil Rhodes, took it upon himself to organise an armed force with the intention of invading the Transvaal Republic with the objective being to overthrow Kruger’s government and install a British-friendly one which would then make the Transvaal a British Colony. In Johannesburg itself the Reform Committee was supposed to organise an uprising in the city to aid and abet Jameson’s efforts.

The build-up to the Jameson Raid

On 29 October 1895 the Hon Robert White, Chief Staff officer, arranged to establish a police camp at Maliet farm near Pitsani, which was inspected and approved by Jameson a day or so afterwards. It was ideally situated, a coach stop on the route between Mafeking and Bulawayo, just 3 miles from the Transvaal Republic (ZAR) border and with a permanent water supply, a quiet spot out of the way for training.

Two days following Jameson’s appointment Inspector Straker with eighty men of the Matabeleland Mounted Force and two Maxims moved out of Bulawayo…most people, including the police, thought they were being sent to protect the railway construction work if there was trouble from the tribes. Straker and his men arrived at Pitsani on 30 November 1895 and were followed by other detachments including one from the Mashonaland Mounted Police under Sub-Inspector Tomlinson. In all 380 of the mounted police – then called British South Africa Company Police, left the country, leaving just forty in Matabeleland under Inspector Southey.

The smuggling of arms and ammunition into Johannesburg was organised, however, rumours were rife amongst the miners and President Kruger was well aware of the plot and told the burghers at Bronkhorst Spruit: “Wait until the time comes. Take a tortoise; if you want to kill it you must wait until it puts out its head and then you cut it off.”

On Sunday 29 December 1895 around 3pm Jameson addressed the men at a general dismounted parade where they formed up in a square and he told them there was a crisis and they needed to ride the next three days to cover the 170 miles to help the men, women and children on the Rand and ‘restore order’. Most believed it would be a ‘great adventure’ and that the Raid had ‘official’ sanction and they would be in Johannesburg before the Boer commandos could mobilize.

The officers and 356 NCO’s and men left at sundown with one day’s rations, 120 rounds of ammunition and 50 lbs of horse feed. Tents and stores were left behind; a 12½-pounder field gun and six Maxim guns on galloping carriages were taken with their ammunition in scotch carts.

During the night Jameson and his troops travelled 40 miles and arrived at Malmani (Ottoshoop) at 5:30am on Monday 30 December with the BBP men arriving shortly afterwards from Mafeking. They gathered at the local store where a two hour break was taken to make final preparations for the march of the combined groups on Johannesburg where they expected to hear the cheers of the crowd.



Frank Feller Tally -ho into the Transvaal.jpg

Now warned, a Boer commando from Lichtenburg arrived at Ottoshoop three hours after they had left.

Stores along the line of march to Johannesburg had been well-stocked with supplies for the men and horses so the column could travel light and through the night. At Doornpoort which was reached in the early morning of Tuesday 31 December 1895, remount horses had been left; but few of the remounts had been broken to the saddle and the men continued on with their by now tired horses.



From Men Who Made Rhodesia. the route from Pitsani to Doornkop.jpg

At Mrs Boon’s store in Rustenburg district during the afternoon of Tuesday, Lieut. Sarel Eloff a grandson of President Paul Kruger, in command of a local Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek Politie (ZARP) patrol was arrested and in an interview with Jameson, questioned him on the purpose of the Raid. Jameson assured him of his friendly intentions and set Eloff free on condition that he remained at Boon's store for two hours before alerting the authorities, but in the meantime Eloff's scouts had already alerted Field-Cornet Piet Steenkamp, who then mobilised the Rustenberg Commando.

The column travelled on and just after midnight on Wednesday 1 January 1896 whilst travelling through rocky terrain the column’s scouts were fired upon by a party of Boers waiting under cover who tried to block the road. Although they were driven off, one of the MMP was wounded, the first indication that their passage would be resisted.

The column moved off towards Krugersdorp. Willoughby was aware they were being tailed by a small Boer force and strengthened the rear guard with an additional Maxim gun. They were then delayed after Van Oudtshoorn’s farm, as fences needed to be cut, and close to Hind’s store, 7 miles from Krugersdorp, the scouts under Lt-Col Harry White came across a party of 200 Boers watering their horses in a small stream, who then made off. The Maxim’s might have inflicted severe losses on the Boers, but they did not fire on them, although some shells were fired from the seven-pounders to speed them on their way.

Hind’s store had virtually no supplies for the men, or the horses as the Boers had been before them, so the advance continued. A few miles further the column reached the summit of a 400-foot ridge and across the valley they saw the Boers were behind a strong defence line made up of prospecting trenches, stone walls, mine-dumps and the mill house of the Queen’s Battery Gold Mine.

A river ran at the bottom of the valley and the road to Krugersdorp crossed by way of a drift. The Boers at the rear of the column moved closer and Willoughby ordered the seven-pounders to fire shrapnel shells 1,900 yards to their front to test the Boer positions. The Boers held their fire and kept under cover, except a few who moved when a shell burst over the mill house of the Queen’s Battery Gold Mine.

Lt-Col Grey and the ex BBP men moved to the left flank, whilst Lt-Col Harry White moved forward in a skirmishing line towards the Boer lines which were thought to be abandoned. However, near the river their forward movement was checked by a heavy cross-fire from the Boer lines and White’s men suffered casualties and fell back. It now seemed impossible to advance through the drift towards Krugersdorp and the force began a flank march to the right and south towards Randfontein which is 25 miles from Johannesburg in an attempt to outflank the Boer Commandos under General Piet Cronje. Willoughby had been told if he passed a long swampy stream called Luipaards Vlei he would meet a good road to Johannesburg. To cover this movement the BBP under Grey fired from the left on the Boer lines with the 12½-pounder.

As they moved to Luipaards Vlei in the late afternoon, a Maxim was heard on their left and a large body of men seen to be moving towards the Queen’s Battery Gold Mine mill house. Willoughby believed this was the Johannesburg reinforcements, left the ammunition carts on the road and cantered towards the sound of the Maxim.

However, these were Boer reinforcements moving towards them and by the time Willoughby realised his mistake and got back to the ammunition carts he had been outflanked by Boers coming from the south. It was now dark, and they decided to camp for the night. The ammunition carts were drawn up in three sides of a square, the guns put on the remaining side.

The Boers opened up a heavy fire on the column’s camp until silenced by return fire from the field guns and then kept up a sporadic fire throughout the night which killed two men and wounded another three. The Boer aiming mark was the dim light of the ambulance wagon which already held about thirty wounded men. The men had very little sleep in the preceding 80 hours with most of that time on horseback, little food and the constant firing during the night interrupting any rest. Morale was low as the last food was at van Oudtshoorn’s store and all knew the Boers meant business.

On Thursday, 2nd January 1896 before daylight, patrols went out to test the Boer defences which were found to be strong especially along the railway embankment. However, the road to the south seemed clear and at 5am the column moved off and became engaged in a running fight during which they suffered additional casualties. The rear-guard had the heaviest fighting, although the Maxim guns kept the Boers at bay and never closer than 500 yards. Near Prinsloo’s Farm the Boer commandos captured a wagon with wounded men and spare ammunition, but the column had managed to keep moving with almost all the Boer opposition on the left flank and still the possibility they might reach Johannesburg 12 miles away.

Suddenly a strong Boer force emerged on the ridge about a 1,000 yards away on the right flank. To prevent the Boer flanks merging in their path a daring charge was made by two troops of the MMP under Chief Inspector W Bodle.



Caton Woodville. Jameson's Last Stand - the Battle of Doornkop.jpg

The situation began to look decidedly worse. Boers now occupied the vantage points on the surrounding ridges and kept up a constant fire. Jameson’s men occupied the Vlakfontein farmhouse and began shelling the ridges but could not prevent the Boer forces from linking up and now the route ahead was cut-off.

In addition, the Raiders had just cleared a ridge which they believed to be Doornkop, beyond which was a good road to Johannesburg. They were wrong; Doornkop was the next ridge about 400 feet high, very steep and stony and held by hundreds of Boers behind the cover of rocks. They were now coming under heavy and sustained fire suffering further wounded. The Boers on the heights surrounded the farm and prevented any further advance.

The main body of Jameson’s men were sheltering in out-buildings and a stone cattle kraal of Vlakfontein farm. A stubborn defence was made with the field guns and Maxim guns. However, ammunition for the former was running short and the Maxims, which required water to keep them cool, started to overheat and jam.

Willoughby took stock of his position. His men had been reduced by casualties and were exhausted from lack of sleep and food; they were pinned down by the Boers, unable to advance or even retreat. Then the Transvaal State Artillery came into action at a range of 1 mile. There was nothing for it but to surrender – it is not known who gave the order, but the cease-fire sounded at 9:15am. Jameson, Willoughby and the officers gathered together, and the exhausted troopers lay on the ground.



Illustrated London News. The surrender at Doornkop. Prisoners await the arrival of Boer Commandos.jpg

The raiders were treated with “rough consideration” by their captives who gave them bread and biltong whilst they collected their arms and Cronje prepared a report for President Kruger. The uninjured prisoners were taken to Krugersdorp and then transferred to Pretoria, whilst the serious casualties were treated at a temporary hospital by Dr A G Viljoen in the newly constructed store of Harvey Greenacre.

Members of the Reform Committee, including Frank Rhodes, Hammond, Phillips and Farrar were taken into custody on the 9 February 1896, charged, and found guilty of high treason and sentenced to death. The sentences were soon commuted to fifteen years gaol, before being released after a few months on the payment of heavy fines.

Jameson, Willoughby and 12 Imperial Army officers were taken by train and handed over to the Natal authorities at Charlestown on the Transvaal / Natal border on 20 January 1896. They sailed from Durban on the troopship Victoria arriving at Gravesend on 24 February where they were arrested by Scotland Yard officers and taken to Bow Street Police Court for trial.

The remaining 26 officers and 398 other ranks left from Durban on the Harlech Castle and were dropped at their home ports in South Africa, or Great Britain, or given railway tickets home, some to Rhodesia. All the expenses were paid by the British South Africa Company which was also required to pay compensation of almost £1 million to the ZAR government.

Charles Sutherland was one of those “captured by the Boers at Doornkop, Transvaal on 2 January 1896. Sent initially to Pretoria, he was, along with his fellow prisoners, repatriated to England from Durban aboard the Harlech Castle on 24 January 1896. The address provided for him was No19 Greencroft Gardens, South Hampstead, London., the residence of his mater familias – who had gone to live with her father, John Woolley Pitt, on the death of her husband in March 1895.

Like most Jameson Raiders, Sutherland wasn’t done with Africa. Once the dust had settled he headed back to Rhodesia, resuming his service with the military there – on this occasion as a Corporal with the Matabeleland Relief Force, in which capacity he took part in the second Matabele Rebellion, that of 1896. The B.S.A.C. medal he earned was issued off their roll, his address being provided as c/o J. Pitt (his mother’s maiden name), 16 Greencroft Gardens, South Hampstead, London – alternatively, The Castle Mail Packet Co. Ltd., Cape Town in whose service he was employed as a Shipping Clerk once the rebellion was over and his time in Rhodesia had come to an end.

As the 19th century drew to a close the long festering tensions between the two Boer Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal reached boiling point. Paul Kruger, since the Jameson Raid (in which as we know Sutherland had played a part), no longer trusted British intentions with regards to his nations sovereignty. After he had foiled that attempt at insurrection he undertook a massive arms procurement programme, equipping his Burghers with the latest Mauser rifles and acquiring the latest ordnance for his Transvaal Staats Artillerie.

On 11 October 1899 war was declared and the Boer Commandos streamed over the borders into Natal and the Cape Colonies, laying siege to the towns of Kimberley, Mafeking and Ladysmith as they rolled back the Imperial and Colonial troops in their path. Those in faraway Cape Town could have been forgiven for thinking that the war would never reach them. This rather complacent outlook changed abruptly when Commandos began incursions into both the East and the West of the Cape Colony – some reaching only a few miles from Cape Town.

Apart from the already established regiments other local units were raised to assist with the war effort. One such was Kitchener’s Horse. Kitchener's Horse was employed in the operations undertaken by Lord Roberts in February 1900 for the relief of Kimberley and in his advance to Bloemfontein and it was with “D” Squadron of this regiment that Sutherland attested for service on 9 February 1900 with the rank of Trooper and no. 3658. “D” Squadron was created out of the overflow of men who had joined the Duke of Edinburgh’s Own Volunteer Rifles. Aged 23 he was recorded as being a Shipping Clerk. His next of kin was his mother who, by this time, had moved to France where she was living at 5 Rue de Havre in Havre.

On 9th February 1900 the Mounted Infantry Division, under Colonel Hannay, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, left Orange River station. After some fighting, the Division reached Ramadam on the 12th, where Lord Roberts was concentrating his army; but the bulk of Kitchener's Horse had preceded the rest of the Mounted Infantry, and had joined General French before midnight on the 11th.

At 2 a.m. on the 12th they set out with French for Dekiel's Drift, on the Riet. The next day French, who had crossed the Riet River on the 12th, left a squadron of Kitchener's Horse at Blaauwbosch Pan, about eight miles north-east of Dekiel's Drift, on the Riet, in order to protect the wells until the infantry, who were following, should arrive. Unfortunately the infantry took a different course, and instead of them a large force of Boers turned up, who attacked the squadron and compelled their surrender after they had made a very creditable defence in a farmhouse for two days.

Another squadron was part of the slender escort of the convoy which was lost on the Riet on the 13th. The convoy is said to have been seven miles long, and the escort, left to see it over a most difficult drift with Boers all round, was 300 strong. The escort was not captured. Notwithstanding this bad luck, the corps did excellent work before Bloemfontein was reached. About one half of the regiment was with Colonel Hannay when Cronje was discovered to be trekking across the front of the Vlth Division on 15th February, and they took part in the pursuit and the other operations which led to his capture.

At Paardeberg Kitchener proceeded to order his infantry and mounted troops into a series of uncoordinated frontal assaults against the Boer laager. This was despite the fact that the cost of frontal assaults against entrenched Boers had been demonstrated time and again the preceding months. It was no different this time. The British were shot down in droves. It is thought that not a single British soldier got within 200 yards of the Boer lines. By nightfall on 18 February, some 24 officers and 279 men were killed and 59 officers and 847 men wounded. Judged by British casualties it was the most severe reverse of the war and became known as Bloody Sunday.

Kelly-Kenny had warned Kitchener not to leave "Kitchener's Kopje" undefended. Possession of the kopje was essential to guard the south-east of the British position and prevent Cronjé's escape. But Kitchener, in his zeal for an all-out attack, had left the kopje defended by only a handful of "Kitchener's Horse".4 De Wet was therefore able to take the kopje with little resistance. The strategic picture had now changed dramatically. De Wet could now make the British position on the south east bank of the Modder untenable, and the Boers now commanded a swathe of front stretching from the north east right through to the south east. As darkness fell, Kitchener ordered his troops to dig in where they were. Few received these orders and fewer still obeyed them. Desperately thirsty and exhausted, the surviving British trickled back into camp. It was only after Cronje had been trapped and unable to move his forces that he surrendered on 27 February with 4000 men.

On 7th March Kitchener’s Horse were engaged at Poplar-Grove. Five officers and five non-commissioned officers and men gained mention in the despatch of 31st March for good work on the way to Bloemfontein. According to the official statement, the strength of the corps when it entered Bloemfontein on 13th March was 26 officers, 402 men, 270 horses, and 2 maxims.

About the beginning of March Kitchener's Horse had been, along with the 6th and 8th Regiments of Regular Mounted Infantry, the City Imperial Volunteers Mounted Infantry, Nesbitt's Horse, and the New South Wales Mounted Infantry, put into the 2nd Brigade of Mounted Infantry under Colonel P W J Le Gallais, 8th Hussars. The regiment fought with Le Gallais and General Tucker at the battle of Karee Siding on 29th March 1900, and they were attached to Ian Hamilton's force, which, towards the end of April, set out first to clear Thabanchu and thereafter take part in the northern advance, during which the regiment, along with the 2nd Mounted Infantry Regulars and Lovat's Scouts, was in the 6th corps under Colonel Legge.

Winston Churchill, in his 'Ian Hamilton's March' relates that on 26th April Kitchener's Horse and a company of regular mounted infantry were told to hold a kopje near Thabanchu for the night, but about dusk they were ordered to retire. This the Boers tried to prevent, attacking the force with great determination: however, the attack was driven off, and the little body got into camp during the night.

On the 30th, at the battle of Houtnek, the regiment, with great boldness and skill, seized Thoba Mountain, and it was during the enemy's attempt to regain this commanding position that a party of about 12 Gordon Highlanders and 13 of Kitchener's Horse under Captain Towse of the Gordons made the famous stand and bayonet charge. 5 men of Kitchener's Horse were killed, and Captains Ritchie and Cheyne and 8 men were wounded at Houtnek.

In his telegram of 2nd May Lord Roberts remarked: "Kitchener's Horse is spoken of in terms of praise". On 4th May Ian Hamilton was again engaged, "and succeeded in preventing a junction of two Boer forces by a well-executed movement of some of the Household Cavalry, 12th Lancers, and Kitchener's Horse, who charged a body of the enemy and inflicted serious loss. They fled leaving their dead on the field, and their wounded to be attended by our doctors" The 'Standard' correspondent drew attention to the good work of the regiment at the crossing of the Zand River on 10th May.

The regiment was present at Ian Hamilton's other actions on the way to Pretoria and at Diamond Hill (11th and 12th June 1900). They started as a portion of Hunter's force designed to surround Prinsloo, but like Roberts' Horse were detached to pursue De Wet. On 24th July the regiment ;,lost 9 men wounded at Stinkhoutboom, but about the same date they captured 5 of De Wet's waggons. When De Wet left the Reitzburg Hills Kitchener's Horse again crossed to the north of the Vaal and operated under Ridley, Hart, Clements, and other commanders in the district west of Johannesburg and Pretoria.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to determine in which action a man was unless he stood out and was either wounded, mentioned in dispatches or Killed in Action. Sutherland was none of these from what has been ascertained. His time with Kitchener’s Horse up he took his discharge from them on 11 September 1900 on which date he was granted a commission as a Lieutenant in the Railway Police.

From September 1900 until February 1901 the Railway Police was increased to 4 officers (Sutherland would have been one of the newly promoted ones) and 116 non-commissioned officers and men. The headquarters were fixed at Pretoria and at this time, though nominally separate for Railway purposes, was really under the Provost Marshall and was a species of Military Police.

No attestation forms exist for the Railway Police and it is not known when Sutherland took his discharge from them. What was made very clear to all members was that service with the R.P. did not count towards the award of the Kings South Africa medal.

The war over on 31 May 1902 Sutherland returned to his pre-war employment. At some stage he was joined in South Africa by his mother and sister Marguerite – the family seem to have settled down at Whittlesea in the Queenstown district of the Eastern Cape. Sutherland though was employed by the Witwatersrand Native Labour Association whose offices were in the Chamber of Mines Building in Johannesburg.

Never destined to live a long life, Charles Sutherland passed away on 10 November 1913 whilst at sea, on board the Portuguese steamer S.S. Zambezia, destined for England. He was only 36 years and 10 months old and unmarried. On 9 March 1914, on a Witwatersrand Native Labour Association letterhead, the Medical Doctor who attended Sutherland wrote: -

“I the undersigned hereby certify that as a Medical Practitioner travelling on board the S.S. Zambezia, I attended Charles Edward Hartley Sutherland during his last illness on board the S.S. Zambezia, and was present at his death which took place on 10 November 1913.”
His probate showed that he had left effects to the value of £1925.

Acknowledgements:
- Jameson Raid – ZimFieldGuide.com for account of the Jameson Raid (adapted)
- The Colonials in South Africa – John Stirling
- Ancestry.co.uk. for medal rolls/census data etc.

Thank you for sharing your excellent research Rory, I found this a very interesting read.

What an adventurous life Sutherland led at many of the pivotal historic events in South African history.
I wonder if he was buried at sea or whether his remains reached landfall for interment?
Many thanks for sharing.
Steve

Rory, fascinating story. Slightly off topic, just a few remarks about Jameson and his ill-fated raid. A fact not generally known is that when Dr. Leander Starr Jameson sailed for South Africa, he was actually meant to take up a position of GP in the sleepy town of Dordrecht (about 100 km north of East London). On the ship he got acquainted with one Dr. Rowland who was en-route to take up the position of GP in rowdy Kimberley. On the ship they agreed to exchange places, an exchange that would greatly impact the future of South Africa.
As for the raid, it was not Jameson who organized it. The whole affair was the brainchild of Cecil Rhodes and developed with the blessing of Joe Chamberlain, the London based Secretary of State for the Colonies. Rhodes, together with some other goldbugs, also financed the entire affair. Certainly, Rhodes got cold feet when he found out that another part of the plan (insurrection of the Uitlanders) wouldn’t materialize and tried to stop the raid. Jameson, however, never seems to have received the telegraph cancelling or postponing the raid and went ahead as originally planned- with the known outcome. Jameson (together with a few other men) was subsequently scapegoated, Rhodes and Chamberlain got away with their machinations and had to await the arrival on the scene of another fine specimen from Perfidious Albion (Alfred Milner) to obtain their ultimate goal (the Transvaal goldfields, in case anyone is wondering)
I have some documents which describe the raid from Boer perspective that do away with many of the heroics attributed to the raiders, and those of Jameson in particular.
Lt. Kolonel Trichard(t) who was present at Jameson’s surrender, took possession of various of Jameson’s personal belongings (see photographs below). Trichard(t) also bought (for the then substantial sum of 25 Pond) Jameson’s charger at the auction at which the raiders' horses were sold.

Some of the items taken from Jameson at Doornkop:
His fork


His stirrup cups

That's a marvellous post Everhard! I wonder if Trichardt ever claimed his medal. That is a medal, given what you have written, that is worth pursuing. I don't see it on the rolls here but they are not always complete.

Please post the documents you have from the Boer perspective - they are sure to make interesting reading. Another vexing question around the Raid was what happened to the MIA's - the men who got away and weren't taken POW?

Regards

Rory

A Boer eyewitness describes the surrender of Jameson in “De Volkstem” as follows:
“When the order to cease fire had been given, Commandant Trichard and his men rode forward to where the British stood, resting on their arms. He asked where the officers were and ordered the men to throw down their arms. This the English refused to do, when Trichard, jumping off his horse tore the gun from the Englishman nearest to him, saying “I’ll see whether you’ll obey me or not”. Trichard’s men followed suit, and then the English threw down their arms. Jameson and the other officers were hiding in a cattle enclosure, but were soon discovered. Jameson almost fainted when Trichard, laying his hand upon him, said: “I take you prisoner.” He asked for a guarantee that his life would be spared, but the Commandant told him he had no authority to grant this. Jameson did not show any concern for the fate of his men and did not say a word to them. “

Re Medals: Lt. Colonel S.P.E. Trichard was in the field for the entire duration of the war; until October 1900 as Commandant of the ZAR Staats Artillerie and thereafter as Commandant of a unit of the Middelburg Commando. He left South Africa shortly after the signing of the Peace Treaty and never returned. He died of a heart attack in 1907 (well before any medals were issued) during a hunting trip in a remote part of Kenya and was buried there in an unmarked grave.

Re: MIA: I do not know whether any of the Raiders escaped prior to the surrender of Jameson. As for the prisoners, Trichard writes in his book “Geschiedenis, Werken en Streven van SPE Trichard” that the Raiders were initially meant to be transported to Johannesburg but, because of the still lingering danger of a revolt by Uitlanders, it was decided to take them to Pretoria. The officers were locked up in prison and the troopers were sent to an enclosure on the race track where they were handed over to the Landdrost (District Magistrate). I have not researched whether there were any escapes from there but, in any case, after the trials of the main protagonists, the Raiders (officers and men) were transported to the border with Natal and handed over to the British troops there.