Experiences of the Marchwiel postman on the Front
Private Arthur Davies, C Company, 1st Royal Welsh Fusiliers writes home the following interesting letter from Natal, dated November 30th 1899: "Just a line to let you know that I am alive yet. We disembarked at Durban on November 17th at 4pm and had a grand reception. Thousands of people came to see us landing - they gave us bread, cake, bananas, cigars, matches, tobacco, tons of fish, and two or three carts of eatables - I did eat some stuff that day, not having had a good meal since leaving England, and we have not had a good meal since...
On November 22nd we were called to arms at 2.30am as about 5,000 Boers were reported to be in sight and an attack was expected. On Thursday November 23rd, turned out for another fight, the Boers began shelling at 5am and a good job for us that their shells did not burst, or there would not have been many of us left to tell the tale. I wrote a letter home while the shells were dropping within 12 yards of me.
Wednesday November 29th. We are expecting a big fight today either at Colenso or Ladysmith. I think the war will be over by the end of the year; I hope so anyway."
Extracts taken from North Wales Guardian, January 12 1900
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Private Glover and the 'modern war'
Private Glover of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in a letter written from Ladysmith camp says: "I can honestly say that every inch to Ladysmith has been bought very dearly. The casualty list reads something like this: Killed 1,100; wounded 3,500; and missing 3,000. This you cannot doubt makes a hole in the British Army.
Africa is a big place, and I think you will be able to find your way from the Cape to Cairo if it is only by the graves of the British dead... I got slightly wounded in the Spion Kop affair, a bullet striking me in the instep, just making a slight flesh wound. Of course, narrow escapes are not to be counted. Who, in a modern war, with all the up to date appliances for maiming and taking lives, does not have narrow escapes?
...I shall not be sorry when this war is over and I think I echo the sentiments of all the British troops; though Kruger and his clique will have to chuck up their hands, for we mean it this time."
Extracts taken from North Wales Guardian, April 13 1900
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Context: Britain went to war with the Boers (Afrikaans-speaking whites) in South Africa in 1899, to curb the independence of the two Boer republics - the Transvaal and the Orange Free State - and to control their gold mines. Initially the war went disastrously against Britain, but sheer force of numbers enabled the British Army to defeat the Boers. Back home, war fever did not last as the fighting dragged on into 1901-02, and foreign opinion was against Britain from the start.
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Further reading
BBC News Archive:
Forgotten victims of the Boer War Back to top
