Cambridgeshire
Times – 12/1/1900
The Disaster to the 1st
Suffolk’s
About midnight on Saturday, Colonel Watson, having
urged the General to grant him peradanton was allowed to attempt
to occupy a very important hill commanding the road to Colesberg
Bridge. The hill presents a bare face with a gentle
accent towards our position by rugged rocks, and has a steep front
towards the back. Four companies
of the Suffolk Regiment marched on the hill and took up a position. The Boers appeared in force from the east front, and opened a hot
fire.
A cry of “Retire” was raised, it is said by some of
the Boers, and about two thirds of our men retired.
The remainder held the position for twenty minutes
longer, and then being outnumbered and surrounded, they surrendered.
Colonel Watson was wounded and taken prisoner. Six other officers and about seventy men are
killed or wounded, or in the hands of the Boers.
Local Men Killed and Missing
Killed:
Pte. Prigg, (who has a sister at Stuntney)
Slightly Wounded:
Pte. Phipps, Ely.
Missing:
Sergt. Frost, Little Downham
Pte. J. Wayman, Ely
Pte. A. Case, March
Pte. J. Rayment, Chatteris
Sergt. G. Claridge, Chatteris
Pte. H. Hodson, Chatteris
Pte. C. McCue, Manea
Pte. G. Pears, Walsoken
[This list is as complete as it can be made.]
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Cambridgeshire
Times - 9/2/1900
Five
Thousand Boers against the Brave Little Band
Another interesting account of the fight is given
in a letter from Private W.H. Garford.
Private Garford was one of the Wisbech reservists, and in
writing to his mother, who resides on the Elm road, from Arundel,
on Jan 12, he says:-
“On January 1st we arrived at Koleskop
at 9.30, and after halting for an hour received orders to occupy
a hill on the left flank. There
we remained under fire for four days and nights without any rest,
losing four men killed and ten wounded.
We understood that we were to be relieved by our remaining
four companies from Rensburg for a little rest.
In a short time, however, we received orders that we were
to parade at 4.30am on the 5th for the purpose of taking
Red Hill. Somehow or other
the order was cancelled, and at 12pm on the 5th, we were
roused in silence and told that we had to take Red Hill. So on we marched, as steady as a wall, little
thinking of the dreadful straits awaiting us. After marching on about a thousand yards in quarter column, a whistle
was heard similar to that of a bird.
We all made the remark that it was a signal to the enemy,
to let them know that we were coming.
Little or no notice was taken of it, and we still marched
on, when another whistle was heard similar to the first, but no
particular attention was paid to either. Then came the order, fix bayonets, but no one
was to fire a shot on any account until dawn. On we marched, clambering from rock to rock until we reached the
brow of the hill, where the command ‘halt’ was given. Colonel Watson called out the officers commanding the companies
to the front, and they all stood on the summit scanning the enemy’s
position, when a single shot was fired.
The order was given to lie down, and then a terrible fusillade
of rifle fire was poured into us from 15 to 20 paces.
The Commanding Officer finding he had made a mistake by marching
us into that terrible trap, gave the order ‘H Company advance’. Seeing, however, his men falling down like hail, he then gave the
order to retire and get away as quickly as possible. I believe most of the officers fell at this period, for only one
of them was seen again. On
rallying for another charge we met with a terrible flank fire and
were compelled to retreat for better shelter, while our comrades
were falling like hail all around us.
The only officer returning out of twelve was Major Graham,
who was foremost in the fight and received three wounds.
He also states that there must have been between five and
six thousand of the enemy holding the position, which was strongly
fortified, against a brave little band numbering 400 of the Suffolk
Regiment, viz., A, B, D and H Companies, the enemy averaging 15
to 1. Our total losses were four officers killed,
seven wounded, six of whom were taken prisoners. Rank and file: killed 36, wounded 49, missing 99; being a total
of 195 casualties. Personally,
I am all right, but I do not think I shall get into a worse fire
if we stop here for a year. The
enemy’s firing was dreadful and in total darkness.
They were hidden behind well fortified walls, with only small
loop holes for them to fire through.
I lost my right and left hand men, whilst standing at the
summit of the hill, one being George Pears, of Wisbech.
He was one of the six reservists that left the town when
I did. The other remaining
pulled through with only a scratch or two from explosive bullets.
Poor old ‘Minty’ Hotson is missing, but I cannot say whether
he is killed or taken prisoner.
I cannot tell you how we are to manage now, for most of our
officers have gone, and we are put back from the fighting line in
reserve, awaiting for reinforcements of officers and men.”
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