A Fine Collection of Medals for the First Boer War

Foreword

For over a hundred years there had existed some form of conflict between the British and the Boers in South Africa, most often over Britain’s level of influence or expansionist ideas in the area. In 1877 Britain took the step of annexing the Transvaal bringing it under British control and extending its imperial influence in the area the reason given to encourage economic growth and ironically to bring stability to the region. But the Boers desperately wanted to remain independent and govern themselves in the Transvaal, where they had a bitter dislike for British rule. They tried using passive resistance first. Their leaders, including Paul Kruger, even travelled to London in 1877 to present their case for an independent Transvaal to the British Government but to no avail. Probably made more confident by how the British performed in the war with the Zulus which showed some vulnerabilities the Boers took a more direct approach. This eventually led to the First Boer War (also known as the Transvaal War, or to the Boers, the First War of Independence, or the First Freedom War).

Things flared up at Potchefstroom (Lots 34, 35, 38, and 40) on 11 November 1880 following a dispute over taxation when a group of about 100 Boers involved themselves in the dispute and fired the first shots fighting back against government troops. This led to the Boers rebelling and declaring independence on 13 December 1880 when around 4,000 of them proclaimed the reconstitution of the South African Republic (the Transvaal) and appointed their own provisional government. From 22 December 1880 the British garrisons all over the Transvaal were placed under siege and their lines of communication cut. Between them they housed around 2,000 troops, and were located at Lydenburg (Lots 41 and 45) in the east, Wakkerstroom and Standerton in the south, Pretoria (Lots 39 and 46) in the centre, Marabastad in the north, and Potchefstroom and Rustenburg in the west, with a minimum of fifty miles between any two. The Boers were well prepared. They had no regular army but as farmers had spent most of their working lives in the saddle and as they had to depend on both their horse and their rifle to hunt and survive they had become very skilled hunters and expert marksmen, learning to fire from cover and make the first shot count. They avoided close combat as much as possible preferring mobility and marksmanship.

The Governor of Natal Sir George Colley, a favourite of Wolseley’s and generally considered one of the most brilliant officers in the British Army, intended to rectify the situation but completely underestimated Boer capabilities. The main engagements were:

Bronkhorst Spuit (‘Watercress Creek’) (20 December 1880) – (Lots 36 and 37)
A detachment of 94th Foot under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Anstruther en route to Pretoria was attacked with heavy losses. Among the casualties was Anstruther who ordered a surrender before finally succumbing to his injuries.

Laing’s Nek (28 January 1881) – (Lots 42 and 43)
Laing’s Nek was a strategic pass on the Natal-Transvaal border. Led by Colley himself with around 1500 men artillery and Gatling guns the British attempted a frontal attack to break through the Boer position there. They were beaten back by Boer sharpshooters. One point of interest is that this was the last time a British Regiment carried its Colours in to battle.

Ingogo River (8 February 1881) – (Lot 44)
Following the defeat at Laing’s Nek Colley retreated to his camp at Mount Prospect to await reinforcements. However he was forced into action to maintain his lines of supply and communications by escorting a convoy but was attacked by the Boers at the Ingogo River crossing where again the Boer marksmen wreaked havoc amongst the British troops causing Colley to retreat back to Mount Prospect but not before sustaining 150 casualties nearly half his force.

Majuba Hill (27 February 1881) – (Lot 47)
There was a brief break in hostilities while negotiations were underway but having received reinforcement Colley decided to act anyway. He led a force to occupy the heights of Majuba Hill thereby being able to overlook the Boer positions around Laing’s Nek even though he took no artillery and the Boers were out of rifle range meaning all he could do was observe. A small Boer force ascended the hill and making good use of their marksmanship decimated the British troops. Colley himself was killed by a bullet to the back of the head while trying to rally his troops. Whilst the British lost 285 killed or wounded the Boers suffered only two dead and four wounded. The actual battles lasted only an hour!

Following these humiliating reverses where a small group of South African farmers had humbled the mighty British army Britain gave up the contest and decided upon peace and withdrew from the Transvaal, with the war ending on 23 March 1881 leading to independence being restored, but relations between the two never recovered ultimately leading to the Second Boer War in 1899.

No campaign medal was issued for this small war (which only lasted around three months with relatively minor engagements – one could almost call them mere skirmishes with the number of troops involved), with the only medals awarded being those for gallant or distinguished service, comprising 6 Victoria Crosses, one Companion of the Order of the Bath, 4 Royal Red Crosses, 20 Distinguished Conduct Medals, and 1 Conspicuous Gallantry Medal, an unusually high number amply illustrating the ferocity of this war.
Mark Furness-Roe