2nd Battalion Leinster Regiment in South Africa 1902 1905

The arrival in South Africa

On the 16 of January the 2nd Battalion Leinster Regiment arrived at Cape Town, South Africa from the West Indies, and after a strenuous day unloading the ship, bordered a train for the front line, and impending confrontation with the Boer forces. When the Battalion arrived in South Africa the war had already been in existence for two years and three months. By all of the then known rules of engagements, the Boer army had been defeated. Their field armies had been consistently beaten (once their early snatch victories had been lived down); the capitals of both the Orange Free State and the Transvaal had been in the possession of the British forces for two years; the whole immense territory from the Cape to Rhodesia was in the possession of the British Army and little by the way of artillery remained in Boer hands. Nevertheless a guerrilla war was in full swing, and the ultimate victory of the British still seemed a long way off, which was surprising considering that the British had about 250,000 troops fighting 30,000 Boers. The reason for the difficulty was that the two assets possessed by the Boers at this time were their extraordinary mobility and the way in which a Boer force, when in difficulties, would completely dissolve to reappear later, perhaps 100 miles from where it had vanished. This was the first time that the might of the British Army had come up against a mounted "hit and run" mounted guerrilla force, and it was having to learn new tactics to secure a victory. After a long journey of four days and four nights on the train, the 2nd Battalion arrived at Elandsfontein, and went into camp amongst the gold mines of Germiston, an outlying suburb of Johannesburg. The Regiment spent just over two weeks at Germiston, during which time the Battalion was issued with khaki serge to replace the uniform in which they had arrived.

Into Action
On the sixth of February the Battalion moved into active operations down to the railway in the Free State, as Orange River Colony was called. The objective was to protect the railway from the constant attacks of enemy, by using small corrugated iron block houses as protection against musket fire. These block houses were, as a rule, located about three-quarters of a mile apart, and were usually occupied by a non-commissioned officer with eight or nine men. (The

headquarters of larger formations, such as a Battalion, usually were involved in protecting some particularly vulnerable point such as a bridge or ford). The block houses were connected
by barbed wire fencing, into which the enemy could be driven. Where two great block house lines crossed the Boers were gradually forced into the apex of barbed wire, thus effectively cornering them. It was warfare of this kind that the 2nd Battalion experienced.

The branch line to Heilbron connected with the main line from Cape Town to Pretoria, (via Bloemfontein), at an acute angle; and it was into this corner that a great sweep by the British forces planned to drive as many Boers as possible that were still at large in the North Eastern portion of the State. The task of the Battalion was, by means of small posts, to fill up the spaces between the block houses on the Heilbron rail road, so that when the Boers were driven against it, they might be met by a line of fire all along the railway. The Regiment stayed on the lines until the 19th of February but were unable to capture the leaders of the enemy they were after, the "hit & run" guerrilla tactics proving to be effective. Consequently a new great super drive was planned, and the 2nd Leinsters moved to Frankfort, to take place in a combined operation of some 30,000 British troops.

The Wilge Valley Action

From Frankfort the 2nd Battalion were moved up-river of the Wilge River, together with a mounted column, and were ordered to drop a "stopping force" at every drift or ford until the supply of men ran out. This would straggle the Battalion out over some 25 miles of the Wilge valley, stretching communication lines. One question which concerned the Regiment was how they were to return to Frankfort once the driving columns had passed on towards Drakensberg, as no return plan had been communicated to them by the upper command. The Battalion marched out of Frankfort on the morning of the 21st of February together with a mounted force, Kitchener's Fighting Scouts, who were some 160 strong. This was considered an ideal combination for veldt warfare, with the mounted troops being able to scout far ahead, and to the flanks, whilst the infantry could afford a rallying point should opposition from Boer forces be encountered. The Battalion crossed the River through waist high water, and moved up the valley dropping detachments at drifts as they progressed. It was in this area that the 2nd Battalion Leinster Regiment engaged in combat with the Boers. The move up river was difficult, the river itself was extremely tortuous being sometimes quite close to the railway track and other times over a mile or more away out of sight. The maps issued to the Battalion were of poor quality, and the two ex-enemy guides attached to the Battalion appeared know less about the country than the Battalion members themselves; as such it proved extremely difficult to locate the drifts. Then, to top it all, at the end of the day as the Battalion made ready for the evening, they were treated to a downpour of South African rain, drenching every man to skin. The next day the Battalion continued to move up the Valley without seeing the enemy, leaving small detachments on the way. But they did round up cattle and sheep that they saw, making it impossible for the Boers to live the off the land. The policy of the British Force was to deprive the Boer fighting force, their families and settlements of food or shelter, unless they surrendered and accepted confinement in what amounted to being concentration camps. At the end of the second day the Battalion made camp at Bamboo Spruit some 25 to 30 miles from Frankfort, and as they made ready for the evening they could hear the sound of machine guns and artillery in the distance, providing evidence that the driving line was engaged with the enemy. The evening was uneventful and the next morning the remainder of the British force passed on, and Kitchener's Fighting Force moved out of sight. As the days stretched out, the supplies began to run out for those detachments left by the River. It was possible to catch sheep from the flocks still roaming the valley, but other rations

were getting very low. Second in command of the Battalion, Major Drummond, together with Sergeant Major Smyth and two Yeoman, (mounted infantry), were sent back to Frankfort to draw more supplies and arrange for providing a relief to those left in the Valley. The Boers noticed the departure of Major Drummond and his men, and set off in pursuit, however the Major and his troops managed to keep in front. The party eventually arrived at Frankfort to discover that the authorities had apparently forgotten all about the Leinsters and signals were then sent out instructing the Battalion to re-group, collect itself together and return to Frankfort as quickly as possible. This is in itself was a very dangerous manoeuvre, as traveling across country without cavalry support was extremely dangerous. However the luck of the Regiment held out, and with joining of each detachment the Battalion grew stronger as it moved back down the valley on its way back to Frankfort. It was not long however before the enemy realised what was happening and the rearguard reported a group of Boers galloping towards them. At the same time it was reported from the forward skirmishers that a conical shaped hill overlooking a steep sided gully in front of the Battalion, was held by the enemy. The Adjutant ordered Sergeant Gaffney to take with him a detachment, and to attack the conical hill, removing the enemy from the position. Under heavy fire the troop, led by Sergeant Gaffney attacked the Boers who were not prepared for this movement, and Sergeant Gaffney's troop, now supported by a party led by Captain Sangster, were successful in removing the Boers from the hill. With the position now occupied by the Leinsters, the Battalion's transport moved across the gully at the gallop, and a small rearguard led by Lieutenant Fox safely saw the remainder of the Battalion start towards Frankfort. The Boers immediately re-occupied the hill, and were reinforced by the group that had originally been chasing the Leinsters. Having re-gained the high ground the Boers placed the Leinsters under very heavy fire. The position of the rearguard became very difficult, with the Leinsters taking a number of casualties. Fortunately Lieutenant Fox coolly and skillfully led both the rearguard and the wounded to safety and they closed up upon the Battalion. As it was by then late in the afternoon the 2nd Leinsters "dug in" whilst the Boers occupied the neighbouring heights. The next morning headquarters were requested to send mounted reinforcements, however the response was for the Battalion to remain were they were until the following day, when a mounted force would be sent from Frankfort at dawn. A mounted detachment of one officer and 25 Yeoman were duly dispatched, but were unable to locate the 2nd Battalion, and returned to Frankfort. This was clearly an unacceptable move, and they were dispatched again with orders not to return until they had found the 2nd Battalion. At dusk of the following day members of the 2nd Battalion of the Leinsters saw the party about two miles distant, and managed to attract their attention. The situation was that approximately half the Battalion had re-grouped, and had now been joined by the officer and 25 Yeoman. All the food had been exhausted, and with little other choice, the Battalion set off just before dawn moving in a great square, in single rank, with the transport in the centre. Half of the mounted men covered the front and half acted as the rear guard. Immediately that it became a light the Boers began to attack the rearguard but casualties sustained by the Leinsters were few. Moving quickly across country, the remaining detachments of the Battalion were collected, and with the mounted Yeoman providing a strong rearguard, it was late afternoon when the 2nd Leinsters reached Frankfort, hungry but safe, after a long day without food.

This example of the action between the 2nd Leinster Battalion and the Boers, although itself not large, was taken as an example by the authorities, of why moving infantry columns, without the support of mounted troops, should stop. It was shown that against a highly mobile enemy such as the Boers, infantry alone stood a very good chance of being overcome, and it was agreed by all, that the 2nd Leinster Regiment had been fortunate in their engagements in the Wilge Valley, casualties being so low. After a few days rest at Frankfort, the Battalion move towards the Tafal Cop to strengthen the block house line for a reverse drive scheduled to take place between the 5th and 7th of March. After this the 2nd Leinsters moved out for Heilbron, for service on the branch railway line between Heilbron and Wolbroeck (from the 9th and to the 13th). Night after night the Boers attacked the lines in their efforts to break through, but the British strategy proved to be successful, and a great number of prisoners and stores were captured. The objectives having been achieved the 2nd Leinsters were ordered to return to Pretoria arriving on the 14th of March, relieving the Cameron Highlanders in the Artillery Barracks, (the Cameron's leaving to take part in the operations in the Transvaal). Headquarters for the 2nd Battalion were at the Artillery Barracks but the greater portion of the Battalion went into garrison in the forts and block houses round Pretoria and along the railway running north to Pietersburg. On the 15 of April "C" company (who had been left in the West Indies), arrived from St. Lucia, and now for first-time in over three and half years, the whole Battalion was together, even if it was spread around Pretoria. The Boers by this time were seeking peace, and being in Pretoria, members of the Leinster Regiment were amongst those who saw the leader of the Boers, De Wet, in person. There was six weeks of negotiations, following which the articles of peace were signed in Pretoria on the 31st May, and the South African war was over.

Peace & the Coronation of Edward VII

Peace was officially declared on the 1st June, and as the coronation of King Edward Vll had been arranged to take place in London on the 26th of June, the British government immediately recognised the advantage (to them), if the victorious army of South Africa could be represented. Accordingly representatives of the 2nd Leinsters left Pretoria for Cape Town on the third of June, and these were, Captain and Adjutant F.E. Whitton; Sergeant F. Bailey; Lance corporal Luckett; Privates Mines, Ford, Lamport, Deacon, Cummins, McKenzie (3676), McKenzie (3677) and McCall. By the 7th of June the last contingent had arrived and the Bavarian sailed from Cape Town, the ships engineers pledging themselves to get the detachment home in time. The ship arrived in the English Channel on the 24th June to be met by a signal from Hurst Castle informing them the King was ill, and the coronation was postponed. Upon docking at Southampton a few hours later, the troops were advised that his Majesty was convalescing, but that they would all proceed to London the next day, and then go under canvas in the parks until the coronation could take place. So it was that the next day the contingent from the Leinsters joined the remainder of those who had arrived from South Africa, now totaling some 2,200 soldiers, and they were paraded for inspection by the Commander in Chief, Field Marshal Lord Roberts. Lord Roberts at the conclusion of inspection made a short speech, and proceeded to inform the parade about the arrangements for their disposal. Only the colonial troops were to proceed to London for the

coronation; the regulars and militia would return at once to their depots. This was a bitter blow to every regular officer, non-commissioned officer and man on the parade. "No one moved and the silence could be felt", reported an observer, and it was clear to all that the regular army and militia's took this to be a great insult. Capt. Whitton and his detachment returned to South Africa as soon as they could secure a suitable passage.

After the War

Whilst at Pretoria the 2nd Leinsters took part in the very impressive peace celebrations. A large detachment of time expired men, that it is those soldiers who had completed their period of engagement with the British Army, returned to the United Kingdom, and the Battalion received in exchange a number of men from the 1st Battalion. It was rather unfortunate that the arrivals from the 1st Battalion had also been set to return home, and they arrived not too happy, completely dominating the younger soldiers remaining with the 2nd Battalion, and for some time after discipline with the 2nd Battalion proved a difficult task. On the 8th April 1903 the headquarters moved out of the Artillery Barracks for a new location Quagga Camp, and three companies went on detachment to Pietersburg. The Quagga Camp was in the most insanitary surroundings, bounded by a sewage farm, a leper hospital and a dump of condemned tin meat. New Barracks were being built but as always there appeared to be excessive delays. The detachment at Pietersburg. were camped outside the town, and eventually on the 14th June rejoined the headquarters at Quagga. Other Regiment's in the area included the Northamptonshire's in the Artillery Barracks, and the Welsh Regiment on the other side of the city. In May 1904 the Battalion left for Middelburg, Transvaal, to be quartered alongside a Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment, and shortly after they were joined by a detachment of mounted infantry. The role of the 2nd Leinsters was to assist the civil authorities in the transition from war to peace conditions, and also to develop the training in the light of experience gained from the war. Some of the men from the 3rd Battalion (King's County Militia) re-enlisted for regular service at the termination of hostilities. These soldiers were used to create the new "H"Company of the 2nd Battalion, forming a 130 strong mounted infantry company commanded by Major Luard. Two other companies were created to form the 2nd Battalion Mounted Infantry, the men being drawn from the 3rd Middlesex Regiment and the Loyal North Lancs. In 1904 the 2nd Battalion Mounted Infantry was transferred from Ladybrand to Harrismith, Orange River Colony. Early in 1905 "H" Company re-joined the Regiment, once more becoming infantrymen, and the 2nd Battalion Leinster Regiment moved from Middelburg, South Africa, to Mauritius. Not all the men from the 2nd Battalion Leinsters moved to Mauritius, for one man Sergeant Major John Dickson, it is was time to return to Ireland as Sergeant Major of the 5th Battalion Leinster Regiment based in Navan