LESSON
a chest measurement of 35.5 inches, with hazel eyes and brown hair.
He stated that his religion was Church of England (Protestant). He had
a scar and birthmark on his left elbow and scars on both knees. A few
days later, on Thursday 8 March 1900, James was appointed Private to
the 46th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry, which formed part of the 13th
Company sent to South Africa. He volunteered to fight, provided his
own horse and he or his family paid the £170 required to purchase his
equipment.
James Rennie arrived in South Africa five weeks behind the rest
of his 13th Company, who had moved on into Cape Colony by the
time he arrived in South Africa. Over the next few weeks, the 13th
Company Imperial Yeomanry, under the command of Lieutenant-
Colonel B Spragge, had been ordered to join the 9th Infantry Division
under General Sir H Colville near Kroonstad in the Orange Free State
and by late May 1900, had almost reached their destination.
Early on the morning of Sunday, 27 May, the 13th, having spent
the night in Kroonstad, Orange Free State, were amongst a force sent
out to join Colville at Lindley, where they arrived in the afternoon.
It was here that Spragge arrived to meet Colville and found he had
already left. It was decided to rest there for the day and then follow
Colville to Heilbron. Within a few hours of entering the town, they
were fiercely attacked and Spragge found himself surrounded by a
much larger force of Boers commanded by Commandant Piet De Wet
and General Prinsloo, including artillery.
The 13th fell back on the transport wagons, which had been
left on the Kroonstad road in a sheltered valley. The 13th held their
ground for three days until artillery was brought up to fire upon
them. Shortly afterwards, their position became untenable and the
13th were left with no option, but to surrender. Eighty men were
killed or wounded out of a force of 470, and the remainder were
taken prisoner.
James Rennie was not taken prisoner at Lindley. His name does
not appear in the official Casualty Rolls, nor in the list of prisoners
released from Watervaal, Barberton or Nooitgedacht. This is further
corroborated by the fact that there is no period of internment
recorded on his Service papers.
James Rennie’s service papers do note two areas of action in South
Africa, Bethlehem and Zand River and exclude Lindley, which also
suggests that he was not present at that action.
The action at Bethlehem refers to the action there in July of 1900,
the escape of the Boer General Christian Rudolph De Wet and the
surrender of the Boer General Martinus Prinsloo and a number of Boer
Commandoes trapped in the Brandwater Basin area by a large British
and Colonial force, of which there were a huge number of Imperial
Yeomanry.
The action at Zand River refers to what some call The Battle of
Zand River, which occurred earlier, on Thursday, 10 May 1900, 17days
4 • SHAMUS RENNIE • 60 YEARS • A THIRD GENERATION FAMILY BUSINESS
The marriage certificate of James Rennie and Ida Brewster in
1908.
before the action at Lindley and also included the same units of
Imperial Yeomanry.
It is impossible to pinpoint his exact movements during that
period, except for being present at the actions at Bethlehem and
Zand River.
DEPARTURE FROM SOUTH AFRICA
James Rennie left South Africa at the end of February or early March
1901 as he arrived in England on Thursday 28 March 1901. It has not
been possible to identify the troopship which carried him home. His
service papers record that he served for another month and on 28
April 1901, his discharge was recorded by the 1st Provost Battalion
(Now known as The Royal Military Police):
“Discharged at his own request from further service connected
with the War in South Africa. He was paid a standard War Gratuity
under Army Order Number 5 of 1901, as the rank of Private.”
RETURN TO SOUTH AFRICA
After experiencing the War and the vastness of South Africa, it is
hardly a surprise that his experiences had a profound effect on him
and made him want to return. He was obviously a good horseman
and good with a rifle, qualities that made him suitable for the Cape
Mounted Police in which he was a Lance Corporal when he married
Ida Brewster, from Port Elizabeth, on 3 August 1908.
*The Industrial Archeology of Northern Ireland; WA McCutcheon, 1980
0860 SHAMUS • www.shamusrennie.co.za