Everyone's War

The Anglo-Boer War (1899 - 1902) had a profound effect on the course of history in South Africa. Both sides predicted a quick victory but found the reality of this war very different as the struggle engulfed the entire country. Not only were the Transvaal and Orange Free State Boer forces pitted against the might of professional and volunteer soldiers from the British Empire, but innocent bystanders, amongst them African, Coloured and Indian people of South Africa, were drawn into the war. Some 100 000 Black and Coloured people served with the British Army and at least 10 000 with the Boer forces - some of them as active and armed soldiers. On 14 October 1899, Kimberley was surrounded by Boer forces.

Four months of boredom, disease, death and general misery lay ahead. The Boer strategy was to shell Kimberley at the same time starve the garrison into surrender by sealing off all outside supplies. During the Siege of Kimberley, the military was under command of Lt Col Kekewich and he had to cope with Cecil Rhodes who sometimes had only harsh words for the Colonel¹s men. In fact, at one stage, Rhodes threatened to surrender Kimberley to the Boers in order to put a stop to Kimberley¹s misery. This threat of Rhodes was taken seriously and forced a change in the entire British strategy. Instead of advancing on Bloemfontein, the relief of Kimberley became the highest priority. In their northward advance the British repeatedly came up against the Boers and many a battle was fought. On 23 November 1899, the British forces under command of Lord Methuen clashed with the Boers at Belmont.
The Boers were beaten off only to clash again with the British forces at Graspan on 25 November 1899. By now, Boer General Prinsloo¹s Free State commandos had been reinforced by the Transvaal commandos of General de la Rey. However, the Boers again fell back to the banks of the Modder River where they fought the Battle of Modder River on 28 November 1899. Again the Boers had to abandon their positions. They withdrew but then dug in at the foot of the Magersfontein hills which became the scene of one of the most epic Boer victories of the entire war. British artillery opened fire on the Magersfontein hills on the afternoon of 10 December 1899. This signalled to the Boer forces that an all-out attack was imminent. However, as at Modder River, the Boers had made use of trenches which, as they advanced, took the British by surprise. It laid the foundation for an emphatic victory for the Boers.

The British forces suffered about 976 casualties of whom 244 died. The Boers had some 250 casualties of whom 105 died. It was not before 15 February 1900 that Kimberley was relieved by the British cavalry under General French. One last major battle had still to be fought in the Western campaign of the War: The battle of Paardeberg. On 18 February 1900, the British forces under command of Lord Kitchener surrounded the Boers at Paardeberg. The next morning, Lord Roberts took charge of the British forces to continue with the battle. It was to become the longest and biggest battle of the entire War, ending with the Boers surrendering on 27 February 1900. The Boer forces lost 100 men killed, 250 wounded and 4 096 men captured. British losses were 258 killed, 1 211 wounded and 86 taken prisoner. These historic and largely untouched battlefields can all be explored by way of the Diamond Fields N12 Battlefields Route which starts in Hopetown some
120km south ofKimberley. Just follow the signs!

Icons Of Our History

Kimberley is a city with an incredible number of monuments, heritage sites, and legendary Ofirsts. Some of the most important and imposing monuments on the Diamond Fields are...

Honoured Dead Memorial

This memorial was designed at the insistence of Rhodes by the famous architect, Sir Herbert Baker, who later designed the Union Buildings in The memorial commemorates those who died while defending Arial">Kimberley during its Siege in the Anglo-Boer War campaign. Bearing an inscription by Rudyard Kipling, who sometimes stayed on Rhodes’ estate in Cape Town, the memorial is the actual tomb of 27 soldiers. At the base of the monument is the famous and original Long Cecil gun which was manufactured during the Siege at the De Beers Workshops, to counter the artillery fire of the Boers. The monument, built of sandstone quarried in the Matopo Hills in Zimbabwe, is situated at the highest point in Kimberley where five roads meet. It is regarded as one of the finest memorials in South Africa.

Cape Police Memorial A statue of a uniformed trooper of the Cape Police commemorates their losses during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899 - 1902. Kimberley was the headquarters of the Griqualand West Division of the Cape Police, also called OCPII¹. One section of the OCPII¹ even had a field artillery. The Cape Police served in the defence of Kimberley during the Siege: The Boer gun forming part of the memorial was captured during a skirmish at Dronfield, north of Kimberley.

Cenotaph Designed by the famous local architect and painter, William Timlin, it was erected to commemorate 400 Kimberley men who fell in World War I. It is the only war memorial in South Africa giving the dates 1914-1919 (hostilities ceased 1918; Peace Treaty in 1919). Plaques bearing the names of Kimberley men who died during World War II (1939-1945) were added later.

Cape Corps Memorial At the time of the Great War, 1914-1918, the headquarters of this famous corps was in Kimberley. Brilliant success at the Battle of Square Hill, Palestine, 18-19 September 1918 - where the German field gun now the centrepiece of this memorial was captured from the Turks - was clouded on 20 September at the Battle of Kh Jibeit where 51 men made the supreme sacrifice, and a hundred were wounded. The memorial was unveiled by General Smuts in 1934 and has recently been relocated to a position next to the Cenotaph.

Rhodes Statue Reputed to be one of the finest equestrian statues in the world, this bronze work by Hamo Thornycroft depicts Cecil Rhodes mounted on his horse, with a map of Africa on his lap. Facing to the north, it is symbolic of Rhodes¹s vision of extending the British Empire deep into African hinterland. Rhodes is depicted in the clothes he wore at the memorable indaba with the Matabele indunas (leaders) in the Matopos.

Numerous Anglo-Boer War memorials dot the local battlefields. One of the most impressive is the Celtic cross in memory of the Highland Brigade losses at Magersfontein. Also at Magersfontein are the Scandinavian memorials, a monument to the Black Watch Regiment and stones commemorating both Boer and British losses. Close to the Magersfontein battlefield is the hugely impressive Burgher Monument. Further afield are poignant memorials to men who died in action or of disease, at Modder River, Graspan and Belmont.  

Transport Museum Situated on the Kimberley Station, which retains much of its original fabric of stone and cast iron, the museum documents the development of the railways and transport systems of the region, and serves as a tribute to those responsible for these engineering feats. On display is a cabin of a real steam locomotive; the cycle used by the Southern Rhodesian Volunteers during the Anglo-Boer War; and model trains from the Baxter collection.