The war begins On 25 September 1899 amicable negotiation between Britain and Boer Republic broke. War was in the air and Transvaal battle forces were ready. Greyling commissioned his *Veldkornets to assemble all obligation citizens in the Church Square, with “horse, saddle and bridle, and food provision for eight days.” That same day departed Bethal commando of 400 men to face the ominous. They crossed the Vaal River during the dark where the lighting its first victim struck, one known as Botha. The commando went to Sandspruit, in order to invade Natal, where the main forces of the Transvaal were concentrated. The Boer Republic issued an ultimatum to Britain on 9 October which would expire on 11 October. At Sandspruit the government sent a telegram at 5.51 pm that says Britain rejects the ultimatum and the war therefore begins. To Natal Under the command of General Lucas Meyer pulled the Bethal Commando inside Natal. About this, uncle Frikkie of Eeden tells more: “I was shot the first blow in Natal on the Talana Hill and they left me for dead. A piece of shrapnel grenade got here in my jaw in my sleep and went out through my mouth. I slept for seven months at hospital in Pretoria and thereafter I went back to the commando.” That the Bethal Commando delivered exceptional service, is evidenced by the fact that General Botha, who was Commander-General who took over from H S Grobler, commanded that hundred best men of this commando should be sought out, so that he could use them as a reserve force in emergencies. These were once sent out on a weather clearing up mission. For three days they were trapped beneath murderous cannon fire. Among them a twenty-one year old Henry Hancke tells: “Our horses were so hungry that they ate each other’s mane and necks raw, and the stones around them were finely chewed. The *Bethallers participated in the battles at Talana, Spionkop and the Siege of Ladysmith… During August and September 1901 General L Botha entered Natal for the second time, Bethal Commando made up the biggest part of his trip. From the “Roll of Honour”, published by the Junior Rapportryerkorpse of Natal Region, the below extract of *Bethallers who paid, in Natal, the supreme sacrifice: Talana (Dundee) – 20 October 1899: killed: C P Brits, A Dreyer, M D Greyling, W A Pretorius. Battles around Spionkop – 18-23 January 1899: Killed: W Malan Mishaps elsewhere in Natal, Glencoe: P F J Pretorius (accident) and C G Smith (accident). The twenty-one year old, Hendrik Hancke, as a prisoner-of-war in Bermuda. He was taken prisoner at Oshoek during the Second Freedom War. After the war he played important role in community life. In 1948 he was appointed chairman of the newly formed National Party at Bethal. Later he was one of the founding members of the Oostelike Transvaal Koӧperasie (OTK), were he later would serve as chairman for thirty years. *See Translator’s Note (page I) 26
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