Diary and letters relating to the service of Stanley Spencer Reid, 1900-1901 - Part 3

(1)
Wolvehoek
June 19^th 1900
My dearest Father & Mother
Here we are back in the
Free State again; having come
down from Pretoria three days
ago. Our duty seems to be that
of patrol work & to keep an eye
on things in general. It is not
very exciting work so far
as I can see, but at any rate
is accompanied with very
little risk. On leaving Pretoria
& with it the 11^th Division & the
Guards Brigade under
General Pole-Carew, we were
paraded & the General came
& addressed us; he spoke
in most flattering terms of

(2)
our work while under him &
said Lord Roberts had
asked him what corps he
considered the very best for
this work in which we are
f now engaged; he said that
our contingent was he considered
the best in the army
for the work. But we don't
care much about it. So
at any rate our name is
good as a fighting body.
It is nice being right at
the front as we have been
for several months. A 
report is current that General
De Witte collared our mails
& burnt them, the blooming
pig; he also captured all

(3)
the clothing intended for us
& therefore our shabbiness.
My boots & socks are right
through the soles, & no chance
of obtaining new ones for
some time to come. We
are at present camped in a
house which is cosier than
the open air; but so accustomed 
have I become to
having the sky as sole
canopy that I am not
particular where my noble
form rests. In fact the
ground is softer than a
wood floor, the dews
outside however are very
heavy & a house protects
one from this. It rained

(4)
pretty heavily on Sunday
so we were fortunate to
have things covering at
night. What do you think
my weight is now? When
I left W.A. my weight was
about 10 stone 12 lbs, & now
it is 12 stone 2 lbs; not a 
bad increase at all is it?
So all fears on your part
will be set at rest in
regard to my physical
health. This is a particularly
dreary looking place;
quite level & with the
grass all about burnt;
for the Boers when
retreating always set fire
to the grass to cover their
(5)
retreat, for the smoke acts
as a good cover to their
movements. And all along
the track of the army the
grass is burnt; dead
horses, miles of empty
biscuit & bully beef tins
mark the track as well, &
I can tell you the stench
is somewhat terrific.
The mortality among horses
must have been immense.
We hear that an army of
occupation, 15,000 strong
has left England for Africa
so that is a hopeful sign.
Did I tell you that on the 
day of the investment of
Pretoria three guns were

(6)
the first into one of the 
two five ports which
protect it, & I got a cavalry
officer's sword & a Mauser
Carbine & a Transvaal
flag as mementoes, also
a Webly revolver. I could
sell these for a good pound
Seen now as curious but
have no intention of so
doing. In addition I have
the best collection of
the badges of the different
regiments in the army,
in the contingent. They
have cost me a good bit,
but at any time I could
get some pounds for it.
Some of the badges are
(7)
very pretty, especially
the Welsh, & the Lancashire.
We have some
difficulty in carrying
such things about, but I
have managed it somehow
 so far. One would think
badges wd be very plentiful
but such is not the case,
for the regiments all left
them with their Home
uniforms, not being allowed
to wear them with Khaki
as they might glisten in the
sun or something. I have
often regretted not taking
my Kodak; what splendid
snap-shots I could have
got. Three out of our

(8)
officers have proved themselves
all through the
war to be arrant cowards;
there is nothing more
contemptible I think than
to see an officer showing
the white feather. The
fellows do not hesitate
in letting them know it
either, in an indirect way.
Oh dear how I do long to
know how everything is at
home; til is such a time
since any news came; not
even a paper since leaving
Bloemfontein. The whereabouts
of Kruger does not
seem to be known at all;
he left Pretoria two days
(9)
before its investment by
us, bound either for
Lydenberg, or as some say
for Delafoa Bay so that
he may do a get altogether
At any rate it is a fact
that he took 2½ millions
in money with him. What
a haul for the British if
they had caught him.
Our contingent at present
is cut in two; half have
been left further up the line
towards Pretoria, while
we came on to this place.
So only about 30 of us are
here. Our numbers have
become augmented through
the return of several of

(10)
the sick men, so we
must number nearly 60
altogether. A mail was to
go this morning, but I
can't catch it; I might
have only that we had to
go to stables & so time was
lost. I lost my "carry all"
containing razors & shaving
kit some time back so
now when I want to shave
a razor has to be borrowed.
The day after we
first arrived in Pretoria
I took a walk over the
Ropyls which the British
had been shelling & firing
upon & picked up bits
of shell & bullets all
(11)
over the place. They say
it takes a ton of lead
to kill a man, & it 
must be true' for when
the volleys of musketry
& the boom of the big guns
& the screeching & whistling
of the shells overhead makes
one recognize how much
material must be expended.
At Donkers Hook the 
other day I could hear
the shells whistling up
over my head as they
sped from one line
to the other & then wd
come the report, after
a huge cloud of dust
could be seen, for sound

(12)
travels far slower than
sight waves. Of course
the great difficult
in an action is to locate
the enemy's position; for
as civilized warfare
stands at present, the
powder used gives no 
smoke whatever.
You get more of the old
fashioned battle fully
wrapped in smoke, but
only the reports to tell
that things are moving
save for the bursting
of shells & the consequent
cloud of dust.
The "phiff" of the rifle
bullet as it strikes the
(13)
ground near one does
not make one afraid;
but a feeling of wonder
creeps over one as he
tries to solve where the
next one is to hit; &
per generally he finds out
soon enough. One poor
beggar, an officer, got
shot through the arm
& had been carried back
& was having it dressed
when another bullet
went clean through his
head & killed him
dead. The expression
on the faces of the dead
is very peaceful; &

(14)
evidently without much
pain. But these details
will hardly be interesting
to you. The Mauser rifle
of the Boers is undoubtedly
I think superior
to our Lee -Metford,
but say what people 
like, they are very poor
shots, or many of our
contingent would not be
alive now. In fact
we have a contempt
for Boer marksmenship
as they have so
often missed us. A 
man who can't hit an
object the size of a
man on horseback at
(15)
50 yards range is not
much of a shot; Now I
have to get away again
& lay down near those
lines so my letter must
for the time being come
to an end. Dearest
Father & Mother I hope
to be back with you
all soon, & if the
Boers only exercise
their common- sense
I will be. Lord Roberts
is wonderfully lenient;
even now he has offered
to all Boers who lay
down their arms the
right to keep their farm
& everything, & also to be

(16)
compensated for any
injury done to their flocks
or property. This climate
is really wonderful;
since De Aar we have 
had no rain to speak of
until Sunday when it
rained a good deal;
summer is the rainy
season here; during the
winter it seldom rains.
I am quite an expert
cook now; can make
bread or anything &
that with water, flour
salt & egg powder, only.
This place is garrisoned
by the prisoners released
by the Boers; & most of
them look precious thin
(17)
not that the Boers treated
them badly; but food
was scarce; & as for 
their clothes; why they
are regular tatterdemallions,
clothed in everything
conceivable. I was one of
two with a waggon who
took provisions to them on
the first day they came
to Pretoria; & didn't they
cheer at the prospect
of a good feed. We are,
I believe to return to
Pretoria before long,
but nothing is at all
certain, & everything
will depend upon what
the Boers do. How is

(18)
Jack doing at the Boulder
& Frank also; I hope
neither of them will 
regret coming to that
dusty hot places. We
have a contingent for
the infantry of Tommies;
& as a matter of fact
they envy us; for if
tucker is to be got we
obtain it, as a horse
is a splendid means
of transport, & beats
foot - work all to
pieces & in addition we
are always in front
of the infantry & scoop
all we want. Then
(19)
we have waggons on which
to stow frying pans
etc while they are not
allowed to do this. In
fact our live now is not
bad at all, & very different
to our experiences
in the Van Wyks Vlei
district. When will the
Guards there used to be
some of them over every
evening for a feed or else
to get our scraps. I
came across several very
nice fellows among them.
Now mother I want you
to send this letter on
to Mrs Millie Liall
when you have finished.