TOPIC:

Served: General Malan. Awarded the DTD (Dekoratie voor Trouwe Dienst) and received the Wound Ribbon (Lint voor Verwonding).

City Coins, December 2004.

DTD: Luit. C.W. Cloete;
DSO (GV);
ABO medal: Luit. C.W. Cloete;
1914-15 Star Capt. C.W. Cloete, Enslin’s Hse.;
BWM & AVM (Bil) (with MiD oakleaf): Capt. C.W. Cloete

Cornelis Willem Cloete served in the Boer War as a Lieutenant in General Wynand Malan’s Commando. According to a published obituary (date of death 2 September 1944) he also served in Danie Theron’s Scouts and campaigned with both General De Wet and General Hertzog. At the end of the war he is stated to have served on President Steyn’s staff.
He commanded Enslin’s Horse during the German South West African Campaign during WWI receiving the award of the DSO for his services, the recommendation, following being twice being Mentioned in Despatches by General Botha, for the award of the DSO being recorded as follows:-

“An officer of exceptional capability whose outstanding gift of leadership was always most marked. Recommended for special recognition.”
DSO; London Gazette 22 August 1918.

www.greatwarforum.org/topic/36192-boers-died-for-uk-in-ww1/

www.greatwarforum.org/topic/36192-boers-died-for-uk-in-ww1/
Author Chris Boonzaier in 2005:

‘In an Army of irregulars, there are few units that stand out as a real "Elite". In the case of the Boers, it was without a doubt the Danie Theron scouting Corps.
Theron, a man worshipped by his men (Although Reitz says he never really saw him in an affable mood) had gathered men of a number of nationalities to form a fighting reconnaissance Corps, and through the exploits of the Corps and his own personal Bravery, Theron attained the status of an Afrikaner legend that persists up until today.
The 100 selected men included men of the calibre of Wynand Malan, Hinton the Train wrecker, Barney Enslin, Manie Maritz and a number of others who would later become famous, either for their exploits in the Boer war, or due to their exploits in the initial stages of South Africa’s involvement in WW1.

Shortly after Therons death, and after General De Wets failed attempt to lead a large raid into the Cape Province, Wynand Malan led a raiding party of 25 men into the Cape. This small unit had some of the cream of the old TVK in it, including Maritz and Cloete.

The small unit hoped to raid behind British lines, and at the same time recruit Cape Rebels to Join them in their fight.

Always a small unit, they managed to become a large thorn in the side of the British commanders in the area. Malan’s book published in the 1940s mentions Cloete a number of times, each time stating what a superb sharpshooter he was.

The first incident takes place when the TVK was surrounded by British troops while resting on the banks of a river. After numerous attempts to break through the ring of surrounding "Khakis" Malan orders Maritz to drive the men over the river and through the British cordon using his whip. Malan and Cloete would follow in case of stragglers.
Finding themselves alone and cut off, they rode hell for leather down a road, unable to turn off because of wire fences. Ahead of them British soldiers took aim at the approaching Boers, unsure if they were Boer stragglers or a British vanguard. The closer they came, the more desperate the situation seemed.

A short distance from the British troops, the fence turned off, and the two horsemen used this opportunity to make a dash for it, all the time riding along the length of the fence. By now the British had realised who they were and had opened a furious but inaccurate fire on them. Ahead of them loomed a gate... Malan writes he had always known Cloete had nerves of steel, but he was amazed how calmly he slipped from his horse to remove the barrier as the bullets whizzed by them. Then seeing a figure appear on a hill to their left, Cloete took the time to put his rifle to his shoulder and aim. Just as he was about to fire Malan cried out "Don’t shoot, its Scheepers !!"

Gideon Scheepers is an Afrikaaner martyr. Captured and unjustly executed by the British, Scheepers name entered South African History as a symbol of a fighting man murdered by the Khakis. His unit had been a short distance a way, and upon hearing of the fight he had climbed the hill to get a better view.

On that day in the veldt he was almost robbed of his future Martyrdom by Malan’s sharpshooter Lieutenant Cloete. Cloete lowered his rifle, jumped on his horse and followed Malan down the road to safety.

In another incident Malan, Cloete and eight teenage volunteers were out on patrol when a group of ten British cavalry approached them, once again the British were unsure who was in front of them. When the British were a few meters away Malan called to the officer that they were Boers, and that the English soldiers were now his Prisoners. The British Lieutenant was a brave man and jumped to the ground taking aim at Malan who fired first, killing the British Officer. At the sound of the shot the boys panicked and turning their horses they galloped off, leaving Malan and Cloete (who by now had jumped to the ground, rifle in hand) to fend for themselves. Malan writes that the British soldiers sat transfixed in their saddles and were all shot within a few seconds, Cloete taking care of the last two who had made a break for it. He refers to it as a sordid bloody affair and was furious with the Young Boers who had done a runner, leaving him and Cloete alone to deal with the Patrol.

At the end of the war, when Malan was still recovering from a wound, the Commanding Officer of the British Lieutenant paid Malan a visit and still furious over the death of his Officer tried to engage Malan in a fist fight. As Malan says, if this was his reaction long after the event, it can only be imagined his fury at the time of the incident.

After another action in which Malan’s men had taken a large number of British soldiers prisoner, stolen their supplies, destroyed their weapons and released the men Malan arrived at a farm house, where the farmer, a friend of the Commando, came running out, saying a drunken British Soldier had come and stolen his horses and mules, taken the two sons of his farm hands, and set off for the village saying he planned to shoot the youths. The farm hands were hysterical and the farmer was furious, saying they had heard shots as soon as the soldier and boys were out of sight.

Malan, Cloete and the rest of the patrol rode off after the soldier. They galloped up behind him, Malan passing him first, his pistol in his hand, but judging the man to be no threat he did not shoot. At that moment a shot sounded, and the man fell dead, Cloete according to Malan, being very quick on the trigger. He asked Cloete why he had shot him, and Cloete replied that he thought the man was going to shoot Malan in the back. The book does not really clear up whether Malan thought this was a valid concern on Cloete’s part, or a cold-blooded killing.

Either way, the incident ended in a shoddy manner worthy of a cheap western. The farmer tied the Soldier to one of the Mules, and sitting himself on another he rode off to town, to bring the Body back to the British. On arriving in the town, he rode to the office of the town commandant, announcing that he had a gift from Malan. When the commandant came out the farmer cut the leather thong holding the body on the horse and it fell onto the road. The angry commandant announced that he was confiscating the mules, to which the farmer replied that Malan had sent the body back as a gift not the mules, and if he was to return without Malan’s Mules, he would certainly suffer, the British agreed and let the farmer depart with his mules.

On numerous occasions Malan’s men succeeded in routing or capturing green British troops many times their own number, always having to let them go because they had no means to keep POWs and because the killing of captives went against their nature. It was with this in mind that Malan ordered an attack on a group of around one hundred British soldiers, having just twenty men himself. A number of times in his book he mentions that he always attacked with the thought that if he hit, the enemy hard and fast enough, they would run or surrender before they realized that the attacking force was not as large as it seemed. Malan spoke from experience as he had been both attacker and defender and had seen this happen to his own men and the enemy.

On the occasion in question, Manie Maritz had circled around the British force and was getting ready to attack, while Malan and Cloete positioned themselves for an attack from the other side. On their way over a hill that night they heard rifle and machine gun fire from the area where Maritz had been preparing his attack, rushing forward they were surprised by a sentry who Cloete killed with a snap shot. There followed a fight in which the British lost very heavily and after which a large number of prisoners were taken... only to be released a few days later.

In June 1901 Malan´s commando was west of Cradock where they, according to Creswick´s book on the guerilla war, they "made themselves perpetually offensive". Malan´s nemesis was without a doubt Colonel Scobbell, Scobell being the man who wanted to fight Malan after the war because of the officer Malan had shot earlier. In the meantime, Scobell had to content himself with a dawn raid on Malan´s camp on the 19th of June. Four Boers were killed and 40 horses captured, the rest of the Boers escaping mostly bareback on their horses. By the 25th Malan had gathered enough men for a raid on the town of Richmond but was beaten back by the defenders and on the 27th of July a Major Mullins leading a unit of Brabants Horse (a unit of irregulars) caught up with Malan and a fight ensued in which Cloete was seriously wounded.

Malan notes what terrible pain Cloete must have suffered. While withdrawing from the fight he was wounded in the leg, according to Malan the bones being smashed. Refusing to give up, Cloete continued to ride with the commando. Malan was horrified to see the leg catching on objects as they rode and twisting on the shards of flesh that kept it in place. Once out of action they took Cloete to a farmhouse. The case was too serious to treat and in the end the farmers brought him to the British Hospital in Cradock.

At this point Cloete exits Malan’s book, and that is the limit of my research. In 1914 Cloete was 2nd in command of Enslin's Horse, the OC being Barney Enslin, who with Cloete had been one of Theron's scouts. I assume both were specially picked, because they happened to be serving in an area where the chief Rebel was none other than Manie Maritz. While Enslin and Cloete remained loyal to the Union Govt, Maritz (and a number of other Theron men) went into open rebellion, Maritz going so far as to attack Union troops (Enslin’s horse among them) with the help of German soldiers.....’