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| The Second Anglo-Boer War began on 11 October 1899. The war between the British Empire and the Boer republics was the latest development in over a century of conflict in South Africa, stemming largely from disputes over gold mines in the region. The outbreak of war led to a wave of patriotism throughout the UK, with many ordinary people signing up to fight. Things were no different for millers, as can be seen in extracts from the journal The Miller from between 1899 and 1900. |
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| Miller, Lance-Corporal Annell from Newport, Isle of Wight, went out to the Cape to join the Hampshire Regiment. |
| Amongst the earliest members of the volunteer force was Fred Turner of the Ipswich firm E R & F Turner. He would rise to Captain and then Major, before finally retiring as Lieutenant-Colonel. Another who served as Captain during the war was T T Vernon, son of William Vernon, who with his father oversaw the building of the firm’s mill in Birkenhead in 1899, and later of Millenium Mills at Silvertown, London, in 1905. Not everyone survived: Thomas Mead from Tring Roller Mills had a son who joined the Imperial Yeomanry and sailed for the Cape; he was killed in action. |
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| Trooper John Bradfield of Milton Mills, Steventon, Berkshire, sadly died whilst serving in South Africa. He was just 31. |
| Mark Lane, the home of the London Corn Exchange, was said to have provided enough recruits for a whole regiment. One of these was R S Craig, director of Hunter & Craig & Co, who joined the Duke of Cambridge’s Own Imperial Yeomanry as corporal. The Miller describes how he was presented with a field-glass and watch on the stroke of 1 as the Exchange opened its doors for the day, before sailing from Southampton on the Tantallon Castle. |
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| R S Craig, director of Hunter & Craig & Co Ltd, of 20, Corn Exchange Chambers. |
| Craig was taken prisoner in South Africa, later writing home about his experiences: There was much excitement as we heard big guns firing for the first time. Next day mule wagons, ox wagons and any kind of conveyance was going past packed with furniture, stores, women and children, herds of cattle and goats. Besides these hundreds of packed trains with chairs and tables stacked around the boilers. Next the excitement was intense, as we heard the officers had orders to pack up and get ready to go off in the hospital train. About half the officers, disguised as ‘Tommies’ got away. I luckily was not living in the same part of the camp. However, 30 were taken out, but the rest of us felt relieved when the train eventually steamed out of the station. At last we are free, as I suppose you will have seen from the cable I sent yesterday. |
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| Private Edward Evans of Soar Lane Mills, Leicestershire. |
| The son of a Leicestershire miller, Private Edward Evans was also in South Africa, a long way from his roots at Soar Lane Mills. He wrote regularly to his family back home and his letters contain vivid descriptions worthy of a war correspondent: April 7th 1900. They have put me in charge of three sentries which is better than standing sentry yourself. I got a good many hours sleep last night, though I woke up about 10 times. This is Lombards Kop, it is as steep as an angle of 45 degrees. My back aches terribly as we have been building stone breastworks for two days, and on picket for three nights, and it is very hard work. I am always decidedly thirsty, but no use drinking the brackish water nor lime juice, tea or coffee, we have mostly nothing. I have eaten one good dinner since arriving, now living on condensed milk when I can get it, which isn’t very often, and my own fat will not last long now. I must stop now and try to sleep for a few hours before it gets too cold. I have only slept in a tent twice in three weeks. April 8th. We have nearly got through the wet times; they are very strict about punctuality and discipline. On the march they sound ‘reveilles’ at 3am and everything has to be on the bullock wagons, breakfast eaten in an hour and then the day’s work done by 9am. By then it is agony to march with full kit which is around 100 lbs., this includes ammunition, great coat, shirt and socks with jersey rolled inside, water bottle, haversack and rifle. The first day’s march knocked out 39 of our men, the ground was like flue dust and steep hills all the way, we only did about 10 miles. At the end of the day they put no tents up and at night it rained so in the morning we were all soaked. I slept alright, though one or two looked like drowned rats that had been trampled on. Government rations, a dog biscuit, without the scraps of meat, tinned beef, coffee and tea with nearly as much grit in them! April 11th. We have suddenly been moved another eight miles up, in the hottest part of the day too. We are all hungry, only bread and a little jam since yesterday’s breakfast, the starvation cure may be all right, but I would rather have indigestion, we are used to that too. There is only a deserted house when we arrive, but water is the difficulty everywhere. |
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| A senior partner in the Langley Mill, Nottinghamshire, Trooper William Smith joined the Imperial Yeomanry. He had passed his City and Guilds Milling Examination only a year earlier, winning the first prize. |
| The Boer War came to an end on 31 May 1902 with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging. Although Britain emerged victorious, the war had exposed serious weaknesses in military organisation and brought international criticism for the scorched-earth campaigns against civilians, which were designed to deprive the Boer forces of supplies by destroying their crops, farms and homesteads. Homeless women and children were then herded into poorly administered ‘camps of refuge’, where thousands died from disease and malnutrition. These events sparked outrage and debate within Britain, leading to growing anti-imperialist sentiment and calls for reform. With hindsight, the war can be seen as marking both the height and the beginning of the decline of the British Empire. |
