Ladysmith Town Guard
Ladysmith up to 1899 was considered as being a quiet, small town at the crossroads of the routes to Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Crime was minimal and, what there was, dealt with by the local constabulary and magistrate or, in the rare cases, the criminal was tried at the Pietermaritzburg court. There was therefore little need for an armed force to protect the town, until President Kruger gave the British Government “The ultimatum” that pre-empted the second Anglo Boer War. Once that happened then the town, like many in England during WW2 had a need for a Home Guard. It was a fact of life, that most early settlers to the Klip River County, either had or were expert in firearm use, brought about by the ever fear of encountering wild animals. It was therefore quite common practice in these small pioneer towns for there to be Rifle clubs, Ladysmith being no exception had three, Ladysmith Town Guard, Klip River Rifle Association and Natal Government Railway Rifle Association. There was a separate unit manned by members of farming families of the Bergville area such as Coventry, Newton and Pinkney, called the Clydesdale Rifle Association.
During early September 1899 the three Associations were amalgamated to form the Ladysmith Town Guard and, on 10 September 1899, members enrolled and they took the oath. The new Association was affiliated for the purposes of the defence of the Borough making up an aggregate of 333 men. Thomas Randle Bennett was appointed Commandant of the Town’s defence and was to act under the orders of Colonel WG Knox.
Once war between the Boer Republics and Great Britain was declared then the Ladysmith Town Guard became an official Military unit, or regiment, under the overall command of Lieutenant-General Sir George White VC and was subject to military rules and discipline. The Ladysmith Town Guard was no longer a friendly shooting club, but now a part of the mighty British military machine.
Daily drills were at once inaugurated, whilst the members were kindly allowed to practice at the rifle ranges of the Klip River Rifle Association. Nightly patrols were instituted in the town and guards posted on Convent Hill to give the alarm of the approach of the enemy. From the beginning the Town Guard were put to use patrolling the perimeter regions such as Helpmekaar Hill, Cemetery Hill, Gordon Hill and Cove Redoubt all subsequently taken over by the Gordon Highlanders. Other posts manned by the Guard were Maiden Castle, the Railway station and Bridge Head, from where they were relieved by the Manchester Regiment.
Suggested regulations, concerning the duty and conduct of the men were drawn up for the Town Guard, adopted at a meeting held at the Court House, Ladysmith, on the 16th day of October 1899 at 12 noon and approved by General White. Present were Messrs TR Bennett Commandant, Mr Joseph Farquhar Mayor of Ladysmith and President of said Guard, Leader CJ Jones, and Assistant Secretary RAL Brandon.
On the night of the 19 October Colonel Knox ordered the men to guard all the roads leading into the Borough to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the town. That the combined muster this evening of the members of the Town Guard, the members be formed into three companies and each company to have three officers. That each company muster at the Court House each evening at 6 o’clock to answer the roll call and receive orders.
In secret divisional orders dated 23 October, the Guard was ordered to muster on the sound of the alarm at the new supply store and the Railway Bridge Head, the latter being their duty point on 30 October during the engagement on Lombards Kop on 30 October.
On 5 November, the third day of the siege the command was sent to the neutral zone at Ndomba Spruit to take charge of the new camp. Intombi Camp served a twin function, half being for a military hospital and, a separate camp on the other side of the railway line, for those residents that did not want to stay in Ladysmith during the siege. It would appear that those residents that opted to go to Intombi had a rather harder time of things than those who stayed. Not from Boer attack, more from the poor facilities and lack of food, worse at Intombi than in town.
From this date till the 18 December the services of the Guard were not made use of, on the latter date, however, the Guard were again called out and were placed under the command of Captain Young, Royal Engineers Staff Officer. The strength was now 157 men, exclusive of those on sick list.
The duty assigned was to guard the river’s bank on the south side of town, nightly. Captain Molyneux, of the Natal Volunteer Staff, assumed command on the 23 December and immediately implemented a system that each man would be one night on and two nights off.
During the Boer attack on 6 January 1900 the whole of the Guard lined the defences from daybreak till 10 am being under fire all morning. On several subsequent occasions the men were roused in the night to help repel an expected attack.
The Guard was disbanded for all defence purposes on 1 March 1900 and, on the 3 March however, a Guard of Honour was furbished by those still in the town at the presentation of the address to Sir George White at the town Hall.
Nominal Roll: 11 September 1899 – 202 men of who four were 16, A McNeilage, George Wright of Bergville, Lewis Haden, Thomas E Turner and one 71 years of age, Peter MacKrill.
Nominal Roll: 1 Nov. 1899: 161 per GW Lines, Town Guard, 92; Klip River Rifles; 27; NG Railways Rifles 42.
The difference between the two figures, September and November, was probably the fact that quite a number of the families had decided to move to Pietermaritzburg and wait there for the hostilities to end. This is borne out from the regular muster rolls where “such and such is absent, believed to be in Durban”. Because the Town Guard was an official British Military unit any absence without leave was a Court-Martial offence, but there is no record of what happened to these men when they returned to Ladysmith after the siege was lifted.