TOPIC:

Hi

The answer would be in the ABO Vorm"B": there were a number of Commandants Botha

Henk

Thanks to the untiring efforts of some I now have the Vorm B iro Vermaak which I append below.

The chap originated from the Craddock region of the Eastern Cape and saw action at Betje's Kraal, Richmond and Doorn Hoek.

My questions are:

Would he be classed as a Cape Rebel - not being from either the ZAR or OFS? and what actions, if any, took place where he fought?







Regards

Rory

Hi

The above extract from Vol 3 of "The Rebel Record" by Taffy & David Shearing fits your man very well except for the age quoted.

The 2 references which you could take further relatively easily would be the 2 books
duP : "Oomblike van Spanning" by P J du Plessis, Cape Town 1938
OA : "Oorlogsavonture van Gen Wynand Malan" by H J C Pieterse, 1941

It is possible that father and son C P Vermaak joined together and that the son did not lay down arms in 1902, only coming back to the Cape Co;ony after the amnesty of 1905 and therefor was not recorded in the usual references.

It could also be that the Shearings may be able to shed some light on the matter : [email protected]

I am convinced "your" man was a Cape Rebel

Pragtige groep!!

Henk

Hi

This is a really nice grouping. To get an ABO with other medals is always very nice. Mostly they are seen with ww1 trio to Commandos that served in German South West Africa as these mean rejoined their old Commando to go fight in the new war. Much rarer to get them "proper military units"

Yours is especaily nice because he served in with the SAMR - a police/military unit and the goes onto get his LSGC award for 18 years service with them. His police number shows him as being in the SAP in 1913 with the original block numbers allocated to those already in the SAMR when it converted to the SAP. He was a constable in the Cape Western Division as that time.

Its really nice that he goes from a "Rebel" to a Policeman. Opposite sides of the coin ... although the same coin.

Its also a pleasure to see that 1914-15 star award document. In all the years I have seen very few of them.

well done - great group and thanks for sharing

Munroe

Henk, Munro and others - many thanks for your comments which are highly appreciated!

Henk, in my ignorance I neglected to look at the reverse of the SAP Discharge form iro Vermaak - there it states for all to see that he was 50 years old in 1932 when he took his discharge. I have e-mailed the Shearings asking them to check the veracity of their records,Vermaak would have been born in 1882 making him 19 years old when he was with Malan's Commando and not 54 unless we are dealing with someone else?

Further proof that he is one and the same comes from the Vorm B where it states that he was a Policeman in Impetu in the Komgha District of the Eastern Cape when he he applied for the medal in 1923.(letter below)





I am trying to track down family (the medals came from Paulpietersburg) and will advise of any further developments.

The plot thickens!

Regards

An addendum to my post above.

I have just received this reply from David Shearing which I quote verbatum as it solves the puzzle absolutely,

Dear Rory,

We think you have picked up one of the mistakes we made in “The Rebel Record”. At the time we were confronted with many very similar names, and combined their stories if we felt sure at that time they were the same person. Your collection of medals confirms what we now believe to be correct, and what will be appearing in our new book “Malan Attacks Richmond”. What we now have is:

VERMAAK, Cornelius Petrus. Lelie Kloof, Cradock. Joined Malan's Commando May 1901 and Fouché's Commando later. Laid down arms. Sentenced under proclamation 100/1902 at Cradock on 13-6-1902.

VERMAAK, Jacobus. Leliekloof, Cradock. Malan's Commando. Acted as a servant to Malan who spoke of the old man's caution. About 54 years old. (We don’t have any record that he laid down arms).

We now think that Jacobus Vermaak is possibly Cornelius Petrus’ father or uncle – as their addresses are the same.

So please amend your copy of “The Rebel Record” by deleting “Acted as a batman to Malan who spoke of the old man's caution. About 54 years old.”

If you wish to add Jacobus Vermaak, please do so.

Regards,

Taffy and David Shearing

The book they refer to will make for interesting reading - thanks agian to Henk for providing their contact details.

Regards

Rory