Fort Manchester

Manchester Fort is a typical structure and the largest of the many build during the siege. Areas within the walls were identified for the cookhouse, ammunition store, officers mess etc and were roofed with corrugated iron sheets, the accepted roofing material for that period in South Africa.

Home to some 3-400 men this sandbagged and stone redoubt was approximately 1500 square metres in area with 3 metre thick walls, up to 2 metres in height with underground magazines.

Three days later the Natal Naval Volunteers were moved to the same camp and on 28th November 1899 the cookhouse just below the fort was hit by a shell injuring an Indian cook. The Fort is very well preserved and contains much graffiti on the rocks done by troops no doubt during a boring interlude and among which is the name of Gunner Hatch. Two others would become Deakin and Hamilton Forts.

It was from this advantage point of Caesars Camp that the residents first learned of the Boer attempt to flood the town.

During the ‘excavation’ of he fort in 1997 I came across over 30 different ‘scratchings’. Brian Kaighin