The war between Great Britain and the Boer Republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State broke out on 11 October 1899 and those living in the Northern Cape region of the Cape Colony were plunged into three years of unimaginable hardship, with accompanying loss of liberty and even life.
The Northern Cape was to play a decisive role in the war, the major battles of the Western Campaign taking place within 120 kilometres of Kimberley. Within hours of the war’s beginning, Boer commandos moved into Natal and the Cape Colony on three fronts. With Cecil Rhodes, the former Cape Premier, ensconced in Kimberley, the town was a prime target for the Boers and, by 14 October, Kimberley, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Kekewich, was besieged.
The details of the siege, including the victories and setbacks suffered by the Relief Column under Lieutenant-General Lord Methuen, can be relived at the Magersfontein and McGregor Museums. Included among these are the Battles from Orange River Station, including Modder River, Magersfontein, Belmont, Graspan and the eventual Relief by General French and his cavalry.
The decisive victory by the Boers over the Highland Brigade at Magersfontein on 11 December 1899 was a crushing blow to the British army and to the besieged folk of Kimberley who had expected relief before Christmas. They had to endure many more days of deprivation and danger, including shelling from a Boer Long Tom, before relief came on 15 February 1900.
This did not mean the end of the war, but the end of the conventional stages and, until May 1902, Boer guerrilla forces roamed the entire Northern Cape region, with skirmishes between Boer and Brit being regular occurrences. By visiting the many battlefields and talking to the local inhabitants, a visitor is able to picture that distant war and bring it to life, recapturing the trials and tribulations of all who, in any capacity, were concerned in the war.
