Durban - We will remember them… Those poignant words were uttered by millions of people across the globe on Remembrance Day.
There were a few tears among visitors to Spionkop in KwaZulu-Natal as they reflected on the carnage that cost so many lives during the Second Anglo-Boer War in January 1900.
It was the culmination of a disastrous campaign waged by British Commander-in-Chief Sir Redvers Buller against the cunning Boer leader, Louis Botha.
The British, hopelessly outmanoeuvred and outgunned, lost more troops in one small part of Spionkop than in any other comparable theatre of war area, including World War I. Officially, 322 British soldiers and 58 Boers perished.
It was the most futile battle ever fought on African soil, according to military historian Raymond Heron, the owner of Spionkop Lodge, which has a stunning view of the hill in a beautiful area along the Tugela River.
Heron has been conducting tours to the battlefield for 15 years and knows every bit of the site.
Buller, says Heron, never wanted the job of commander, but reluctantly accepted it with Lord Kitchener as his chief of staff. Buller’s main mission was to lift the siege of Ladysmith with a force of 27 000 soldiers.
He had suffered major defeats with more than 3 000 casualties at Stormberg, Magersfontein and Colenso, so his confidence was at a low ebb.
The British were not used to African conditions, and the Boers were good shots over 1 000 metres – with snipers using smokeless powder for the first time – and able to go home for a meal and rest after a hard day in the field.
The 27 000 British soldiers were using equipment unsuitable for the conditions. Their 640 wagons, weighed down by 64 artillery pieces, stretched for 25km, moving at kilometre and a half a day.
The 6 000 Boers on Spionkop watched this while they dug in and prepared for battle.
When Colonel Alec Thornycroft’s 1 700 troops climbed for five hours in the dark to the top of Spionkop, they found themselves in thick early morning mist after three days of rain.
When the mist lifted, they overlooked the Boer force whose withering fire from their Mauser rifles into the shallow British trenches caused terrible casualties.
Throughout the day there were many examples of heroism and blunders on both sides. Communication was a major problem and at one stage both British and Boer soldiers retreated.
Raymond Heron said that among the British stretcher bearers was Mahatma Gandhi who, with his colleagues, had to carry the wounded to the foot of Spionkop.
Heron has launched a fund to erect a memorial to the stretcher bearers who died. Future British prime minister Winston Churchill was among the British forces.
During a three-day truce after the battle, the Boers helped the British bury their dead in the trenches, which are still clearly marked.
Heron has many interesting stories to tell.
For instance, he relates the tale of the British private whose lower jaw was shattered and yet still managed to tell his nurse to give his cigarettes to someone else. Then there was the soldier whose last question was: did we win?
The most heart-rending tale concerns a grieving mother who travelled by ship all the way from England to plant a yew tree as a memorial to her son who died in action.
The tree still stands among the many gravestones as a lasting tribute to her loved one – in spite of being struck at least three times by lightning. - Sunday Tribune
If You Go...
Spionkop Lodge, a 700ha game farm, was the headquarters of the British Commander-in-Chief, Sir Redvers Buller.
It was later to become a rallying point for relatives of soldiers from Liverpool, England, who died on Spionkop.
Liverpool Football Club adopted The Kop as the name for part of their ground at Anfield as a tribute to the soldiers. Another 23 clubs followed suit.
Liverpool supporters even commissioned a bench to be built with 96 pieces of timber as a memorial to the people who died in the Hillsborough tragedy in 1989.
The bench is on display at Spionkop Lodge.
‘‘We thought it would be a fitting place to keep the bench, which was constructed in Durban,’’ said lodge owner Raymond Heron.
The colonial-style farmstead has a magnificent dining room, luxurious en-suite accommodation offering a choice of full board or self-catering facilities, and a conference room in park-like grounds, making this the perfect base from which to explore the berg, bush, birds and battlefields of this historic region of KwaZulu-Natal.
There are more than 270 bird species in the area.
Activities include sunset boat cruises on Spionkop Dam and game viewing, fishing, horseback riding, walking and white water rafting.Tours to rock paintings and caves occupied by the Khoi San (Bushmen) are also available, while there’s also the option of tours to Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift.
The main building has a small but well-appointed library, containing many historic books, a lounge with a fireplace and a sunroom in which to relax.
For more information, contact Raymond or Lynette Heron at:
PO Box 20, Ladysmith 3370, KZN
Tel: 036 488 1404
Fax: 086 86 647 8134
Cell: 082 573 0224/5
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.spionkop.co.za/ www.churchill.co.za