Campaign Pictures of the War in South Africa (1899-1900): Letters from the FrontHales, A. G. (Alfred Greenwood)
History
Campaign Pictures of the War in South Africa (1899-1900): Letters from the Front
Hales, A. G. (Alfred Greenwood)
South African War, 1899-1902 -- Personal narratives
amongst us in a way that made one feel that no spot could be labelled
"absolutely safe."
At about 7 p.m. we sent a force out south, consisting of about 4,000 men,
under General Boyes. Amongst that force were the West Kents, Staffords,
Worcesters, Manchesters, all infantry. The Imperial Yeomanry and mounted
infantry also accompanied the expedition. But there was little for them to
do except hold the enemy in check, which they did. There were some
phenomenally close shaves during the day. On one occasion the enemy got the
range of one of our guns with their pom-pom, and the way they dropped the
devilish little one-pound shells amongst those gunners was a sight to make
a man's blood run chill. The little iron imps fell between the men, grazed
the wheels, the carriage, and the truck of the gun; but
He, watching over Israel, slumbers not nor sleeps.
Nothing short of angel-wings could have kept our fellows safe. The men knew
their deadly peril, knew that the tip of the wand in the Death Angel's hand
was brushing their cheeks. One could see that they knew their peril. The
hard, firm grip of the jaw, the steady light in the hard-set eyes, the
manly pallor on the cheeks, all told of knowledge; yet not once did they
lose their heads. Each fellow stood there as bravely as human flesh and
blood could stand, and faced the iron hail with unblenching courage and
intrepid coolness. Had those khaki-clothed warriors been carved out of
bronze and moved by machinery, they could not have shown less fear or more
perfect discipline. The pom-pom is a gun which I have been told the British
War Office refused as a toy some two years back. I have had the doubtful
pleasure of being under its fire to-day, and all I can say is that I would
gladly have given my place to any gentleman in the War Office who happens
to hold the notion that the pom-pom is a toy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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