Cape Copper Company Medal for the Defence of O'okiep

Last updated

Cape Copper Company Medal for the Defence of O'okiep
Okiep00.jpg
TypeCampaign medal
Awarded forDefence of the town during the siege of O'okiep in 1902
Country Flag of the Cape Colony 1876-1910.svg Cape of Good Hope
Presented bythe Cape Copper Company Limited
EligibilityO'okiep Garrison members
Campaign(s) Second Boer War
StatusUnofficial
Established1902
Total18 Silver, 537 Bronze
Ribbon Cape Copper Company Medal for the Defence of O'okiep.png
Ribbon bar
Related Flag of the United Kingdom (2-3).svg Queen's South Africa Medal
Flag of the United Kingdom (2-3).svg King's South Africa Medal

In the Colonies and Boer Republics which became the Union of South Africa in 1910, several unofficial military decorations and medals were instituted and awarded during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The Cape Copper Company Medal for the Defence of O'okiep is a private campaign medal which was instituted by the Cape Copper Company Limited in 1902. The medal was awarded to members of the O'okiep Garrison who defended the town while it was besieged by Boer Commandos from 4 April to 4 May 1902, near the end of the Second Boer War. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Cape Copper Company

The Cape Copper Company had its origin in the Cape Copper Mining Company, which was established in 1862 or 1863 as the Cape of Good Hope Copper Mining Company to take over the copper mining properties of Phillips & King, an enterprise which had been involved in copper mining around O'okiep in Namaqualand since the 1850s. The Cape Copper Mining Company was restructured as the Cape Copper Company in 1888. [1]

Siege of O'okiep

The Cape of Good Hope was invaded by Boer commandos towards the end of the Second Boer War and the town Concordia, a few kilometres to the north of O'okiep, surrendered to Boer forces on 4 April 1902. [1] [3]

From 4 April to 4 May, the town O'okiep was besieged by the Boer forces under General Jan Smuts, whose strategy was to capture the rich copper fields and thus force the British to send troops from Cape Town to O'okiep, which would then leave Cape Town vulnerable to attack. [2] [4]

The garrison of O'okiep, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel W.A.D. Shelton DSO, consisted of some 900 men and included local miners who assisted Shelton's troops. The civilian defenders were mostly employees of the Cape Copper Company, three-quarters of whom were Coloured. A chain of blockhouses and other defensive positions had been prepared, and early in the siege the garrison succeeded in repulsing several determined attacks by the commando. However, when the departure of Smuts with a British safe-conduct to the deliberations at Vereeniging heralded the end of the war, the siege became little more than a good-humoured blockade. [4] [5] [6]

The locomotive Pioneer derailed outside O'okiep after the Boer commando attack on the town NCC Pioneer 0-4-0ST b.jpg
The locomotive Pioneer derailed outside O'okiep after the Boer commando attack on the town

On 1 May 1902, the commandos launched an attack on O'okiep, using the commandeered locomotive "Pioneer" of Concordia's Namaqua United Copper Company to propel a mobile bomb in the form of a wagon-load of dynamite into the besieged town. The protective defences at O'okiep consisted of a barbed wire fence, which was erected across the railway line at Braakpits Junction, just north of the town. The points at the junction were rigged to the fence, with the result that when the dynamite laden wagon breached the fence, it derailed at the points and spilled its load of dynamite on the ground, where it burned out harmlessly without exploding. [1]

According to Jan Smuts, the railway between the two towns was still intact, but since there were women and children in O'okiep town, all the commando was allowed to do was to give O'okiep a tremendous fright with a harmless explosion. Boer General Ben Bouwer had inspected the trainload before it was sent hurtling into the besieged town, to make sure that there were no caps in the dynamite. [4]

O'okiep Defence Medal

After the war ended, the British government awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal to all those regular troops who had seen active service in Namaqualand during the war, as well as the King's South Africa Medal to those who had seen service on or after 1 January 1902 and completed 18 months service before 1 June 1902. When it transpired that the Coloured members of the O'okiep garrison were precluded from receiving these medals, the Cape Copper Company decided to strike a medal of its own and to present it to all the defenders of the town, regardless of race. [4] [6] [7]

The silver medal Cape Copper Company Medal, Silver.jpg
The silver medal

Two versions of the Cape Copper Company Medal for the Defence of O'okiep were struck. The bulk were struck in bronze and were awarded to the rank and file of the military and civilian defenders of the town, most of whom were mine workers who had taken part in the defence of O'okiep. A silver medal was awarded to officers, higher ranking mine officials and at least one non-commissioned officer, Paymaster Sergeant Harry Rodda, who was also the paymaster of the O'okiep Copper Company. [6] [7]

Description

Obverse

The Cape Copper Company Medal is a silver or bronze medallion, 36.5 millimetres in diameter with a raised rim, depicting the encircled company emblem, a miner with a spade standing next to a mining cocopan, and inscribed "1888" at the bottom and "THE CAPE COPPER COMPANY LIMITED" around the perimeter. [3] [7]

Reverse

The reverse is smooth with a raised rim and is inscribed "PRESENTED TO THE OFFICERS NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE GARRISON OF OOKIEP IN RECOGNITION OF THEIR GALLANT DEFENCE OF THE TOWN UNDER LT. COL. SHELTON. D.S.O. AGAINST A GREATLY SUPERIOR FORCE OF BOERS APRIL 4TH TO MAY 4TH 1902". [3] [7]

Suspender

The medal has a floreated suspender, identical to that of the London-minted version of the India General Service Medal of 1936, but attached to the medal by a pin pressed into the upper edge to allow the medal to swivel. On the India medal the suspender is affixed by means of claws and a pin through the upper edge of the medal. [8]

Ribbon

The ribbon is 1¼ inches wide and dark brown with a ¼ inch wide green band in the centre.

Status

While privately instituted military decorations and medals do not enjoy official status, as a result of not having been formally instituted or sanctioned by the fount of honour at the time, and while none of them were therefore allowed to be worn with military uniform, some have become well-known and have acquired recognition in South Africa's military medal history. Four of these decorations and medals are considered to be significant. [3] [9]

Related Research Articles

Second Boer War War between the United Kingdom and two Boer Republics (1899–1902)

The Second Boer War, also known as the Boer War, Anglo-Boer War, or South African War, was fought between the British Empire and two independent Boer states, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, over the Empire's influence in South Africa. The trigger of the war was the discovery of diamonds and gold in the Boer states. Initial Boer attacks were successful, and although British reinforcements later reversed these, the war continued for years with Boer guerrilla warfare, until harsh British counter-measures including a scorched earth policy brought the Boers to terms.

Deneys Reitz

Deneys Reitz (1882—1944), son of Francis William Reitz, was a Boer warrior who fought in the Second Boer War for the South African Republic against the British Empire. After a period of exile in Madagascar he returned to South Africa, where he became a lawyer and founded a major South African law firm. In the First World War he fought for the Union of South Africa against the German Empire, and then was an officer in the British Army, commanding several battalions. In later life he was a politician. Deneys Reitz was educated at Grey College, Bloemfontein.

The following lists events that happened during 1902 in South Africa.

Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM was a prominent South African and Commonwealth statesman and military leader. He served as a Boer General during the Boer War, a British General during the First World War and was appointed Field Marshal during the Second World War. In addition to various Cabinet appointments, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 to 1924 and from 1939 to 1948. He played a leading part in the post war settlements at the end of both world wars, making significant contributions towards the creation of both the League of Nations and the United Nations.

Springbok, Northern Cape Place in Northern Cape, South Africa

Springbok is the largest town in the Namaqualand area in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It was called Springbokfontein until 1911, when it was shortened to Springbok. Springbok is located on the N7 national route which connects the Cape with Namibia, and at the western end of the N14, which connects it with Upington and Pretoria. It is the main town of the Nama Khoi Local Municipality, which also includes a number of surrounding towns such as Okiep and Nababeep.

Queens South Africa Medal

The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps were awarded, to indicate participation in particular actions and campaigns.

Okiep Place in Northern Cape, South Africa

Okiep is a small town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, and was in the 1870s ranked as having the richest copper mine in the world. The town is on the site of a spring that was known in the Khoekhoe language of the Nama people as U-gieb and was originally spelled as O'okiep.

Siege of Kimberley Event during the Second Boer War

The siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Cape Colony, when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the diamond mining town. The Boers moved quickly to try to capture the area when war broke out between the British and the two Boer republics in October 1899. The town was ill-prepared, but the defenders organised an energetic and effective improvised defence that was able to prevent it from being taken.

<i>Flowers in the Sand</i>

Flowers in the Sand (2011), the second novel by South African author Clive Algar, has been described by literary critics as "completely engrossing and superbly written" and "a great adventure story".

Concordia, Northern Cape Place in Northern Cape, South Africa

Concordia is a town in Namakwa District Municipality in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The distance from Concordia to Cape Town is approximately 600 km (370 mi).

Steinkopf, Northern Cape Place in Northern Cape, South Africa

Steinkopf is a town in Namakwa District Municipality in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.

Namaqualand 0-6-0T

The Namaqualand 0-6-0T of 1871 were two South African steam locomotives from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

Namaqualand 0-4-0WT Condenser

The Cape Copper Mining Company 0-4-0WT Condenser of 1886 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

Namaqualand 0-6-2 Clara Class

The Namaqualand 0-6-2 Clara Class of 1890 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

Namaqualand 0-6-2 Scotia Class

The Cape Copper Company 0-6-2 Scotia Class of 1900 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

Namaqualand 0-4-2IST <i>Caledonia</i>

The Cape Copper Company 0-4-2IST Caledonia of 1904 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

Namaqualand 0-4-2ST <i>Pioneer</i>

The Namaqua Copper Company 0-4-2STPioneer of 1901 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

Kimberley Star

In the Colonies and Boer Republics which became the Union of South Africa in 1910, several unofficial military decorations and medals were instituted and awarded during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The Kimberley Star is an unofficial private campaign medal which was instituted by the Mayor of Kimberley in 1900. The medal was awarded to all who took part in the defence of the diamond mining town during the four months in 1899 and 1900 while Kimberley was besieged by Boer Republican Forces during the Second Boer War.

Johannesburg Vrijwilliger Corps Medal

In the Colonies and Boer Republics which became the Union of South Africa in 1910, several unofficial military decorations and medals were instituted and awarded during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The Johannesburg Vrijwilliger Corps Medal is an unofficial private campaign medal which was instituted in 1899 by Lieutenant Colonel S.H. van Diggelen, the founder and Commanding Officer of the Johannesburg Vrijwilliger Corps, for award to the officers and men of his unit.

Sir Harry Smiths Medal for Gallantry

In the Colonies and former Boer Republics which became the Union of South Africa in 1910, several unofficial military decorations and medals were instituted and awarded during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Sir Harry Smith's Medal for Gallantry is an unofficial military decoration for bravery, awarded for actions following the siege of Fort Cox in December 1850, at the beginning of the 8th Cape Frontier War. The medal was privately instituted in 1851 by Major General Sir Henry George Wakelyn Smith Bt GCB, at the time the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Cape of Good Hope.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Bagshawe, Peter (2012). Locomotives of the Namaqualand Railway and Copper Mines (1st ed.). Stenvalls. pp. 35–39. ISBN   978-91-7266-179-0.
  2. 1 2 "Namaqualand.com : A history of Okiep". Archived from the original on 8 September 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 South African Medal Website - Unofficial Military Awards (Access date 27 April 2015)
  4. 1 2 3 4 "O'okiep - South African History Online". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  5. "Anglo-Boer War 2: The siege of Okiep in Namaqualand starts as Gen. Smuts demands the surrender of the town but is curtly reject - South African History Online" . Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 "Okiep - Medal" . Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 David Biggins. "Anglo Boer War website - Cape Copper Company Medal for the Defence of O'okiep" . Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  8. "O'okiep Siege Medal" . Retrieved 28 April 2015.