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Part of the book series: War, Culture and Society, 1750-1850 ((WCS))

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Abstract

This chapter deals with the Yeomanry’s involvement in the Second Boer War and the raising of three foreign service contingents amounting to nearly 35,000 men, then called the Imperial Yeomanry. This dramatic expansion and mobilisation was largely driven by temporary enlistment, but it did bring the historic institution to national attention. This chapter describes the organisation, social composition, motivations and operational performance of the force, and compares it on all counts to the home service force that acted as its parent. At the heart of this analysis is a database project that will map recruiting trends and provide answers for the occupational changes that took place over the course of the three contingents.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Beckett, I.F.W. ‘Buller, Sir Redvers Henry’ ODNB (OUP, 2004).

  2. 2.

    Badsey, S. ‘The Boer War (1899−1902) and British Cavalry Doctrine: A Re-Evaluation’ The Journal of Military History, Vol. 71, No. 1, 2007, pp. 89−90; and Badsey, S. Doctrine and Reform in the British Cavalry, 1880−1918 (Ashgate, Aldershot, 2008), pp. 62−63.

  3. 3.

    Speech by Lord Harris. The Morning Chronicle, 3 January 1900.

  4. 4.

    Two sergeants and nine troopers. KSYM, KSY/1988/05, 06, 07 and 09.

  5. 5.

    Killed: 18 officers, 198 ORs; died of disease: 8 Offs., 322 ORs; prisoners: 28 Offs., 578 ORs; wounded: 54 Offs., 490 ORs; invalided: 60 Offs., 1337 ORs. BPP: Cd. 803, 1902: Lucas Report on the Imperial Yeomanry and Proposals for Future Organization. Appendix 56, p. 1901.

  6. 6.

    This percentage (of 10,371 men) relates to NCOs and other ranks of the first contingent. No figure exists for officers. The sample was calculated with the attestation documents in TNA, WO 128—see Appendix B for references to source material. This amounts to approximately 4300 men; and Lucas Report, Appendix 36, p. 171.

  7. 7.

    Between 4 January and 25 May 1900, this committee consisted of Colonel A.G. Lucas, Lieutenant-Colonel E.W. Beckett, Colonel Viscount Valentia, Colonel T.A. St. Quintin, Colonel the Earl of Lonsdale, Captain W.L. Bagot, and Colonel Lord Harris. All were pre-war Yeomanry commandants, bar St. Quintin and Bagot. Colonel H.G.L. Crichton and Sir R. Baillie later replaced Valentia and Bagot when they left for service in South Africa. Lucas Report, p. 16.

  8. 8.

    23,104 in May. BPP: Cd. 578, 1901: Return of Military Forces in South Africa in 1899−1901.

  9. 9.

    Knight, Major W.C. BPP: C. 1790, 1904: Elgin Commission Minutes of Evidence, Vol. I, p. 304.

  10. 10.

    See comments: Colonel Lucas (pp. 276 and 279), Major-General Chesham (p. 287), and Major W.C. Knight (pp. 304 and 307). Elgin Commission, Minutes of Evidence, Vol. I.

  11. 11.

    BPP: Cd. 1417, 1903: Annual Report of the Inspector-General of Recruiting, 1902, p. 41; and BPP: Cd. 421, 1900: Return of Military Forces in South Africa, 1899−1900.

  12. 12.

    BPP: Cd. 578, 1901: Return of Military Forces in South Africa in 1899−1901; and BPP: Cd. 1417, 1903: Annual Report of the Inspector-General of Recruiting, 1902, p. 41.

  13. 13.

    BPP: Cd. 892, 1902: Return of Military Forces in South Africa, 1899−1902.

  14. 14.

    BPP: Cd. 1789, 1904: Elgin Commission, 1904, p. 72.

  15. 15.

    BPP: Cd. 1417, 1903, p. 41.

  16. 16.

    Elgin Commission, 1904, p. 75.

  17. 17.

    Significant numbers of Volunteers joined the IY, pay being a draw—they received 1s a day in the VSCs as opposed to the cavalry rates (1s 8d) and later 5s in the IY. More came with the increase in pay. They brought musketry skills lacking in raw recruits. Beckett, Riflemen Form, p. 214.

  18. 18.

    The War Office told Lucas that they were recruiting for the South African Constabulary when the IY needed drafts and did not think competing enlistment would benefit either force. Lucas Report, Appendix 3, pp. 142−143; see comments by Colonel Lucas, Colonel Deane, Major-General Lord Chesham, and Major Knight. Elgin Commission, p. 71; and Elgin Commission, Minutes of Evidence, Vol. I, p. 276.

  19. 19.

    Elgin Commission, p. 72.

  20. 20.

    Unusually, the Middlesex IY companies (34th and 35th) took 30% of the home regiment. At 215 strong in 1899 this amounts to nearly 65 men. Stonham, C. and Freeman, B. Historical Records of the Middlesex Yeomanry, 1797−1927 (Privately printed, 1930), p. 88.

  21. 21.

    Colonel E.M.S. Crabbe. BPP: Cd. 1791, 1904: Elgin Commission, Minutes of Evidence, Vol. II, p. 422.

  22. 22.

    Elgin Commission, 1904, p. 73.

  23. 23.

    Ross, P.T. A Yeoman’s Letters (Burfield & Pennells, 1901), p. 179.

  24. 24.

    Unlike the first contingent, officers were not vetted locally by Yeomanry colonels but were raised through the recruiting centres. Subalterns earned 15s a day. Major Knight. Elgin Commission, Minutes of Evidence, Vol. I, p. 305.

  25. 25.

    Price, R. An Imperial War and the British Working Class: Working Class Attitudes and Reactions to the Boer War, 1899−1902 (Routledge, London, 1972).

  26. 26.

    Spiers, E. The Scottish Soldier and Empire, 1854−1902 (EUP, 2006), pp. 171 and 183.

  27. 27.

    See, for example, Miller, S.M. Volunteers on the Veld—British Citizen-Soldiers and the South African War, 1899−1902 (UOP, 2007), pp. 63−64.

  28. 28.

    Gilks, A.D. ‘A History of Britain’s Volunteer Cavalry, 1776−1908.’ (Ph.D. thesis, University of Birmingham. 2005), pp. 388−396.

  29. 29.

    Farmers 25%, horse trades 13%, clerks 8%, engineers 5%, butchers 4%, gentlemen 3%, merchants and traders 3%, metal trades 3%, building trades 2%, grocers 2%, salesmen 2%, labourers 2%, students 2%, land agents 2%, servants 2%, and none 5%. Miller, Volunteers on the Veld, p. 68.

  30. 30.

    Farmers 24%, artisans 15.7%, agricultural w/c 13.2%, clerks 12.4%, retailers 10.7%, professionals 8.3%, independent/gentlemen 5%, merchants 4.1%, unemployed 3.3%, labourers 2.5%, manufacturers 0.8%. Verdin, Lt-Col. Sir R. The Cheshire (Earl of Chester’s) Yeomanry 1898−1967 (Wilmer Bros., Birkenhead, 1971), Appendix III, p. 610.

  31. 31.

    Ibid., p. 9.

  32. 32.

    BPP: 158, 1900: Return of Names of Members of Either House of Parliament serving in S. Africa.

  33. 33.

    Lucas Report, Appendix 30, p. 168.

  34. 34.

    The Pall Mall Gazette, 9 March 1900; and Lucas Report, p. 189.

  35. 35.

    The Times, 23 February 1900.

  36. 36.

    Birmingham Daily Post, 19 January 1900.

  37. 37.

    See Appendix B. These details rely on attestation forms and are not infallible, but they are the most accurate and numerous source available.

  38. 38.

    The percentage of married men rose from 11.7% to 13.5% and then 15.2% over the contingents.

  39. 39.

    Although ‘class’ is a crude measure, it simplifies the comparisons and fits with the existing literature.

  40. 40.

    Price, An Imperial War and the British Working Class; and Spiers, E.M. The Army and Society, 1815−1914 (Longman, 1980), p. 44.

  41. 41.

    Reason 34 of ‘why I joined the Yeomanry’—‘Had always preached Patriotism and thought it was the time to put theory into practice.’ Ross, P.T. A Yeoman’s Letters (Burfield & Pennells, 1901), p. 179.

  42. 42.

    CKS, U24/218. Kent Messenger, 24 July 1901.

  43. 43.

    Spiers, The Army and Society, p. 44.

  44. 44.

    ‘The Intelligence Officer’ On the Heels of De Wet (Blackwood, London, 1902), p. 42.

  45. 45.

    Gage, Captain M.F. Records of the Dorset Imperial Yeomanry, 1894−1905 (Bennett, 1906), pp. 144−145.

  46. 46.

    Springhall, J. Youth, Empire, and Society: British Youth Movements 1883−1940 (Archon, 1977), pp. 17−18.

  47. 47.

    Beckett, I.F.W. The Amateur Military Tradition, 1558−1945 (MUP, 1991); and Summerfield, P. ‘Patriotism and Empire: Music-Hall Entertainment, 1870−1914’ in MacKenzie, J.M. (ed.) Imperialism and Popular Culture (MUP, 1986).

  48. 48.

    The underlying cultural pressures have been assessed by Miller in greater detail: Miller, S. ‘In Support of the “Imperial Mission”? Volunteering for the South African War, 1899−1902.’ The Journal of Military History, Vol. 69, No. 3, 2005, pp. 691−711.

  49. 49.

    Calculated using the sample results and the total for the first contingent. 30% of 10,242 equates to 3073.

  50. 50.

    For example, the Sharpshooters and the Dorset Yeomanry. The Times, 17 January 1900; Glyn, Major R.H. A Short Account of the Queen’s Own Dorset Yeomanry, 1794−1939 (Dorset Press, Dorchester, c.1947); and The County Gentleman, 6 January 1900.

  51. 51.

    Lucas Report, pp. 70−71.

  52. 52.

    The County Gentleman, 28 April 1900.

  53. 53.

    BPP: Cd. 1417, 1903, p. 4.

  54. 54.

    Rates of pay: other ranks: 5 to 10s per diem; NCOs: 12s 6d; officers: 20 to 25s. Lucas Report, pp. 107−108.

  55. 55.

    Ibid., p. 105.

  56. 56.

    Scottish yeomen made up 673 men. Other figure calculated from the 2638 of 34,733 that settled. McFarland, E.W. ‘“Empire-Enlarging Genius”: Scottish Imperial Yeomanry Volunteers in The Boer War’ War in History, Vol. 13, No. 7. 2006, pp. 318−319. For corrected figure see BPP: Cd. 1417, 1903, p. 24.

  57. 57.

    Country Life Illustrated, 17 March 1900.

  58. 58.

    Lucas Report, pp. 106−107.

  59. 59.

    Pakenham, T. The Boer War (Abacus, London, 1979), pp. 20−21.

  60. 60.

    Lucas Report, p. 108.

  61. 61.

    McFarland, “Empire-Enlarging Genius”, p. 321.

  62. 62.

    Bennett, W. Absent-Minded Beggars—Yeomanry and Volunteers in the Boer War (Leo Cooper, Barnsley, 1999), p. 12.

  63. 63.

    Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Harris (Royal East Kent Mounted Rifles) feared the Yeomanry might be asked to revert to constabulary work while men were away. He pushed the government to allow the home Yeomanry to recruit back to establishment and recoup the deficit caused by foreign service. The Morning Chronicle, 3 January 1900.

  64. 64.

    Elgin Commission, 1904, p. 74.

  65. 65.

    Price, An Imperial War and the British Working Class, p. 196; and Miller, S.M. Volunteers on the Veld, p. 156.

  66. 66.

    Bennett, Absent-Minded Beggars, pp. 54−55.

  67. 67.

    Elgin Commission, Minutes of Evidence, Vol. I, pp. 293−294.

  68. 68.

    Badsey, Doctrine and Reform in the British Cavalry, p. 100.

  69. 69.

    Bennett, Absent-Minded Beggars, pp. 44−46, 51, 77, 96−97 and 190; and Beckett, The Amateur Military Tradition, pp. 201−204.

  70. 70.

    TNA, WO 108/380. Secret Dispatches—Vol. I, p. 281; and Bennett, Absent-Minded Beggars, pp. 101−104.

  71. 71.

    Bennett, Absent-Minded Beggars, pp. 122−123.

  72. 72.

    Gage, Records of the Dorset Imperial Yeomanry, pp. 125−132.

  73. 73.

    Reckitt, B.N. The Lindley Affair—A Diary of the Boer War (A. Brown & Sons, 1972), pp. 14−16.

  74. 74.

    Bennett, Absent-Minded Beggars, p. 116.

  75. 75.

    Peel, Hon. Sir S.C. Trooper 8008, IY (Edward Arnold, London, 1901), pp. 79−83.

  76. 76.

    The controversy arose over his authority to offer surrender. Reckitt, The Lindley Affair, pp. 17−28; Anglesey, A History of the British Cavalry, 1899 to 1913—Vol. IV (Secker & Warburg, London, 1986), p. 180; Pakenham, The Boer War, pp. 436−437; and Bennett, Absent-Minded Beggars, pp. 118−119.

  77. 77.

    IY figures from Pakenham, The Boer War, p. 437; Boer figures from Anglesey, A History of the British Cavalry, Vol. IV, p. 181.

  78. 78.

    Pakenham, The Boer War, p. 437.

  79. 79.

    PRONI, D1415/B/2. Lieutenant James Craig’s Rough Diary, 28 May 1900.

  80. 80.

    The Northern Whig, 5−8 June 1900; and Pakenham, The Boer War, p. 436.

  81. 81.

    The Times, 31 December 1900.

  82. 82.

    Bennett, Absent-Minded Beggars, pp. 121−122; Pakenham, The Boer War, p. 437; and Amery, L.C.M.S. (gen. ed.) and Williams, B. (ed.), The Times History of the War in South Africa, 1899−1902, Vol. IV (William Clowes and Sons, 1906), pp. 258−259.

  83. 83.

    Kruger, R. Good-bye Dolly Gray (Cassell, London, 1959), p. 312.

  84. 84.

    Elgin Commission, pp. 71−72.

  85. 85.

    BPP: Cd. 693, 1901: Report from Brigadier-General Dixon on the Operations at Vlackfontein, 29 May 1901, pp. 2 and 4.

  86. 86.

    Pakenham, The Boer War, p. 514.

  87. 87.

    BPP: Cd. 693, 1901, p. 3.

  88. 88.

    Two hundred Scottish Horse suffered nine casualties. The quantity of 1st Derbyshire Regiment is unknown but it was likely to have been a company (approx. 100 men); they suffered 87 casualties. Ibid., p. 4.

  89. 89.

    As footnote 88 suggests, the brunt of the fighting was taken by the Derbyshire Regiment. McFarland, “Empire Enlarging Genius”, p. 326; and The Times 6 June 1901 and 12 July 1901.

  90. 90.

    Figures vary—Pakenham states 49 men killed, sourced from the official history. The above figure comes from BPP: Cd. 693, 1901, p. 4.

  91. 91.

    Bennett, Absent-Minded Beggars, p. 192.

  92. 92.

    At Moedwil (also known as Rustenberg) 1500 Boers under de la Rey inflicted 107 casualties on the IY and left them horseless at the cost of 60 men. At Tweefontein Christiaan De Wet and around 1000 Boers gutted a Yeomanry camp leaving 289 dead, suffering only 14 casualties. Bennett, Absent-Minded Beggars, p. 196.

  93. 93.

    Conan Doyle, A. The Great Boer War (Smith, Elder & Co, London, 1902), pp. 265, 274 and 304; The Times 4 March 1902; and BPP: Cd. 967, 1902: Lieutenant-General Lord Methuen’s report on the Action at Tweebosch, 7 March 1902, p. 4.

  94. 94.

    BPP: Cd. 967, 1902, p. 4.

  95. 95.

    Ibid., pp. 5−6.

  96. 96.

    Pocock, E.J. ‘The Veteran Yeomanry in South Africa, 1901−1902,’ Soldiers of the Queen. No. 90, 1997, p. 23; and McKenzie Rew, Captain H.G. Records of the Rough Riders (XXth Battalion Imperial Yeomanry)—Boer War 1899−1902 (Brown & Wilson, Bedford, 1907), p. 44.

  97. 97.

    Pocock, E.J. ‘The Veteran Yeomanry in South Africa’, p. 24.

  98. 98.

    Elgin Commission, p. 75.

  99. 99.

    In spite of these regulars, Major Knight thought most officers were of a similar stamp to the second contingent. The majority, however, would never see service. Elgin Commission, Minutes of Evidence, Vol. I, p. 306; Elgin Commission, p. 75; and Pocock, ‘The Veteran Yeomanry in South Africa’, p. 24.

  100. 100.

    Corner, W. The Story of the 34th Company (Middlesex) Imperial Yeomanry from the Point of View of Private No. 6243 (Fisher Unwin, 1902), p. 18; Hunter, H. Twelve Months with the Imperial Yeomanry in South Africa (The Whitehaven News, 1901), p. 46; Peel, Trooper 8008, p. 6; and Elgin Commission, Minutes of Evidence, Vol. I, p. 276.

  101. 101.

    Elgin Commission, Minutes of Evidence, Vol. I, pp. 274, 277 and 305.

  102. 102.

    Weston-Jarvis fought hard to ship his men together—most yeomen embarked in mixed groups of 110 soon after arriving at Aldershot. They reorganised in South Africa and were sent to their companies where possible. Major Knight envisaged a rotation that would replace the original contingent with the new as they became efficient but time made this impossible. Ibid., pp. 304−305 and 309.

  103. 103.

    This was the same regiment that demanded a subscription fee and the donation of all pay from the first contingent. These figures are a conservative estimate. Ibid., pp. 277, 278, 288, 305 and 309.

  104. 104.

    The civilian and Yeomanry doctors that vetted the second contingent accepted lower levels of fitness than the army. Ibid., p. 289.

  105. 105.

    Ibid., p. 309.

  106. 106.

    Ibid.

  107. 107.

    Bennett, Absent-Minded Beggars, p. 193.

  108. 108.

    Ibid., pp. 186 and 193.

  109. 109.

    Elgin Commission, Minutes of Evidence, Vol. I, p. 277.

  110. 110.

    Ibid., p. 122.

  111. 111.

    Elgin Commission, Minutes of Evidence, Vol. II, p. 124; for the predominantly positive regimental impressions of the second contingent see: TNA, WO 108/375. Report on drafts raised for service in South Africa, pp. 120−130.

  112. 112.

    The Lucas Report, Appendix 52, pp. 187−188.

  113. 113.

    TNA, WO 108/263. Maj-Gen. Brabazon’s Report on the Imperial Yeomanry in South Africa, p. 2.

  114. 114.

    ‘The Intelligence Officer’ On the Heels of De Wet, p. 47.

  115. 115.

    Elgin Commission, Minutes of Evidence, Vol. I, p. 305.

  116. 116.

    Ibid., pp. 296 and 310.

  117. 117.

    Colonel the Earl of Scarborough declined a command believing himself not sufficiently ‘up to date’. He stated that others were not so sensible. Ibid., p. 310.

  118. 118.

    For example, every man in the 20th Battalion that reenlisted received a commission, bar one who became a troop sergeant. McKenzie Rew, Records of the Rough Riders, p. 102.

  119. 119.

    TNA, WO 108/107. General Sir R. Gipps Committee on the Imperial Yeomanry, p. 2.

  120. 120.

    Elgin Commission, Minutes of Evidence, Vol. I, p. 305.

  121. 121.

    For examples see: Orr, A.S. Scottish Yeomanry in South Africa, 1900−1901 (Henderwick, Glasgow, 1901), pp. 3−4; and Verdin, The Cheshire (Earl of Chester’s) Yeomanry, p. 11.

  122. 122.

    Daily News, 27 December 1899.

  123. 123.

    Daily News, 23 December 1899; and Daily News, 16 January 1900.

  124. 124.

    Colonel Lucas thought they could have had an ‘unlimited number’. Elgin Commission, Minutes of Evidence, Vol. I, p. 276.

  125. 125.

    The Times 1 January 1900 and 2 January 1900.

  126. 126.

    Miller, Volunteers on the Veld, pp. 58−59.

  127. 127.

    Baily's Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, 1 March 1900.

  128. 128.

    Lucas Report, p. 70; and Elgin Commission, Minutes of Evidence, Vol. I, p. 275.

  129. 129.

    Lucas quotes a figure of £66,000 ‘in round figures’ so it has been assumed that further contributions took place after the first committee report. Lucas Report, Appendix 98, p. 235; Elgin Commission, Minutes of Evidence. Vol. I, p. 275.

  130. 130.

    Lucas Report, p. 54.

  131. 131.

    Pakenham, The Boer War, p. 89.

  132. 132.

    Lucas believed that £30,000 was probably ‘debitable against the War Office’ because the counties supported their companies before central money was available. This further highlights the importance of privately raised funds. Elgin Commission, Minutes of Evidence, Vol. I, p. 275.

  133. 133.

    Verdin, The Cheshire (Earl of Chester’s) Yeomanry, p. 9.

  134. 134.

    The Times, for example, ran daily stories throughout the early months of 1900.

  135. 135.

    The Times, 11 August 1902.

  136. 136.

    The Times, 6 January 1900.

  137. 137.

    Baily's Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, 1 July 1900.

  138. 138.

    Branch hospitals also existed at various times at ‘MacKenzie’s Farm’, Maitland, Elandsfontein and Johannesburg. The Times, 11 August 1902; and Elgin Commission, Minutes of Evidence, Vol. I, p. 302.

  139. 139.

    Ibid., p. 501.

  140. 140.

    The Times, 11 August 1902.

  141. 141.

    Pick-Me-Up, 13 January 1900.

  142. 142.

    Punch, 29 August 1900.

  143. 143.

    ‘Point de Zele’—without zeal or enthusiasm.

  144. 144.

    Punch, 21 March 1900.

  145. 145.

    The Times, 9 April 1901.

  146. 146.

    Gage, Records of the Dorset Imperial Yeomanry, pp. 144−145.

  147. 147.

    The Times, 27 August 1901; and The Times, 30 August 1901.

  148. 148.

    House of Commons Debate, 7 March 1902. Vol. 104, Para. 712−713; 24 March 1902. Vol. 105, Para. 821; 15 April 1902. Vol. 106, Para. 271−272; and The Times, 3 September 1901.

  149. 149.

    The Times, 21 January 1902.

  150. 150.

    TNA, CAB 37/59/122. Circular from St. John Brodrick on reports from officers commanding Imperial Yeomanry units for the benefit of the cabinet, 26 November 1901.

  151. 151.

    The Times, 16 April 1901.

  152. 152.

    BPP: Cd. 1417, 1903, p. 23.

  153. 153.

    The Times, 27 June 1902.

  154. 154.

    BPP: Cd. 466, 1901: Harris Committee on the Organization, Arms, and Equipment of the Yeomanry Force, pp. 11−12; and Elgin Commission, Minutes of Evidence. Vol. I, p. 284.

  155. 155.

    Amery, L.S. (ed) The Times History of the War in South Africa—Vol. VII, Index and Appendices (W. Clowes, London, 1909), pp. 17−23.

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Hay, G. (2017). South Africa, 1899−1902. In: The Yeomanry Cavalry and Military Identities in Rural Britain, 1815–1914. War, Culture and Society, 1750-1850. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65539-0_6

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