History

The 13th Battalion of the Imperial Yeomanry Guard consisted of 4 squadrons which were involved in the battle of Yeomanry Hills, 2 miles outside Lindley in the old Orange Free State Republic. This was no ordinary Battalion as it was comprised of the nobility and upper crust of British society.

The 13th Battalion was sent from England to the Cape Colony where they undertook their preparations at Maitland, Stellenbosch and Matjiesfontein. From here they were sent to The 13th Battalion was sent from England to the Cape ColonyBloemfontein which had recently been captured from the Boers. From Bloemfontein they were ordered to proceed to Kroonstad by train as far as they could. Finding the railway destroyed they proceeded by horse and on foot until Ventersburg and then eventually reached Kroonstad after spending 2 nights in the veld. At Kroonstad a signal was received from General Colvile ordering the whole Battalion to join him at Lindley, 40 miles away. What was unbeknown to the Battalion was that this signal was not sent by General Colvile and was in fact a trap which had been set by the Boers.

After spending another 2 days in the veld the Battalion eventually reached Lindley in a poor state as there had been no provision of logistical supplies for the last 4 days. By this stage both the men and the horses were hungry. Upon riding into Lindley in the afternoon there was an initial skirmish where after the Battalion withdrew to the two hills that would later be known as Yeomanry Hills. During the night the Boers brought up extra forces and encircled the Battalion who were then cut off with no supply lines.
Upon the morning of 28th May 1900 a messenger who knew the area was dispatched to summon help and a second messenger was dispatched on the 30th May. The two sides continued to snipe at each other with the Battalion suffering a number of casualties. On the night of the 30th May the Boer forces brought up 2 cannons which they used to bombard the Battalion’s position. Tired and exhausted the men of the 13th
The final surrender occurred by chance when a corporal who was isolated in an exposed position, raised a white flag of surrender. His captain then felt obliged by the white flag not to return fire and he then also surrendered. The Officer Commanding, Lt Col Spragge then had no choice but to order the whole Battalion to surrender. Ironically this occurred at around 4 o’clock on the afternoon of 31st May 1900 when relief was but minutes away. In fact the relief force consisting of the 3rd Imperial Yeomanry Guard managed to cut off 2 cannons and 16 wagons that the Boers were forced to abandon. Ironically all the prisoners were released a few months later when the British forces captured Pretoria and the Boers of the Transvaal Republic neglected to evacuate them in time. This caused a lot of friction between the Free State and Transvaal Boers. Battalion had no reply to the bombardment of the Boers.