 Title page for Ian Hamilton's March (1900) | |
| Author | Winston Churchill |
|---|---|
| Publisher | The Copp, Clark Company, Limited |
Publication date | 1900 |
| Pages | 113 |
| Preceded by | London to Ladysmith via Pretoria |
Ian Hamilton's March is a book written by Winston Churchill. It is a description of his experiences accompanying the British army during the Second Boer War, continuing after the events described in London to Ladysmith via Pretoria .
Churchill had officially resigned from the British army in order to pursue a political career, but on hearing of the outbreak of war in South Africa between the British colonies and the free Boer states of Transvaal and Orange Free State, immediately made arrangements to take part. He arranged to act as correspondent for The Morning Post , and by playing them off against the rival newspaper, the Daily Mail , obtained a salary of £250 per month. He also persuaded the Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain to write him a letter of introduction to the High Commissioner for Southern Africa, Alfred Milner. He sailed from Southampton aboard the Dunottar Castle on 14 October 1899 and reached Cape Town on the 31st. [1]
The book is an edited collection of reports originally published in a newspaper. Returning from the war, Churchill arranged to publish them as a collection and the book appeared in May 1900 published by Longmans and eventually sold 8,000 copies. In 1930 Churchill produced an autobiography, My Early Life , which also had several chapters devoted to his Boer War experiences.
The book describes General Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton's campaign from Bloemfontein to Pretoria. [2] Hamilton travelled four hundred miles from Bloemfontein to Pretoria fighting ten major battles with Boer forces and fourteen minor ones.
General Sir Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton, was a senior British Army officer who had an extensive British Imperial military career in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Hamilton was twice recommended for the Victoria Cross, but on the first occasion was considered too young, and on the second too senior. He was wounded in action at the Battle of Majuba during the First Boer War, which rendered his left hand permanently injured. Near the end of his career, he commanded the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force in the Gallipoli Campaign of the First World War.
Ladysmith is a city in the Uthukela District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It lies 230 kilometres (140 mi) north-west of Durban and 365 kilometres (227 mi) south-east of Johannesburg. Important industries in the area include food processing, textiles, and tyre production. Ladysmith is the seat for both the Alfred Duma Local Municipality and Uthukela District Municipality.
Major John Strange Spencer-Churchill, known as Jack Churchill, was the younger son of Lord Randolph Churchill and his wife Jennie, and the brother of former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Sir Winston Churchill.
George Warrington Steevens was a British journalist and writer.
The siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 2 November 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal.
My Early Life, also known in the US as A Roving Commission: My Early Life, is a 1930 book by Winston Churchill. It is an autobiography from his birth in 1874 to around 1902. The book closes with mention of his marriage in 1908, stating that he lived happily ever after.
General Sir Archibald Hunter, was a senior officer in the British Army who distinguished himself during the Boer War. He was Governor of Omdurman, in Sudan, and later of Gibraltar.
The Battle of Diamond Hill (Donkerhoek) was an engagement of the Second Boer War that took place on 11 and 12 June 1900 in central Transvaal.
Marshall's Horse was a South African cavalry unit formed in 1899 at the start of the Second Boer War to provide military support for the British campaign. The unit was created from the Uitenhage Rifles and 1st City (Grahamstown) Volunteers. They formed in Grahamstown, initially comprising 244 members before rising to 500 in late 1899. The unit's first commanding officer was Major George Marshall CMG.
Jan Willem Boudewijn Gunning, was a Dutch physician, who served as the director of both the Staatsmuseum and what was then known as the Pretoria Zoological Gardens.
Winston Churchill, in addition to his careers as a soldier and politician, was a prolific writer under the variant of his full name 'Winston S. Churchill'. After being commissioned into the 4th Queen's Own Hussars in 1895, Churchill gained permission to observe the Cuban War of Independence, and sent war reports to The Daily Graphic. He continued his war journalism in British India, at the Siege of Malakand, then in the Sudan during the Mahdist War and in southern Africa during the Second Boer War.
London to Ladysmith via Pretoria is a book written by Winston Churchill. It is a personal record of Churchill's impressions during the first five months of the Second Boer War. It includes an account of the Relief of Ladysmith, and also the story of Churchill's capture and dramatic escape from the Boers. The book was first published in 1900, and dedicated to the staff of the Natal Government railway.
General Sir Arthur Singleton Wynne,, was a senior British Army officer from the Anglo-Irish gentry who served as Military Secretary.
21st Brigade was an infantry formation of the British Army first organised in the Second Boer War, when it took part in Ian Hamilton's March from Bloemfontein to Pretoria. Reformed in World War I it served under the command of first 7th Division and then 30th Division, fighting in most of the major battles on the Western Front from the First Battle of Ypres to the Armistice. It was briefly re-raised in the Sudan early in World War II before being transferred to the Indian Army.
Major General Sir Geoffrey Barton, of the 7th Regiment of Foot, served the British Army from 1862 until 1904. Although he saw service in Ireland, Hong Kong and India, the majority of his campaigns were on the African continent. During the Second Boer War he was put in command of the 6th Brigade of the South Natal Field Force, taking part in the Relief of Ladysmith and the Relief of Mafeking. When he retired to Scotland he took an interest in local politics, the Red Cross Society and the Boy Scout Movement.
The Natal Field Force (NFF) was a multi-battalion field force originally formed by Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley in Natal for the First Boer War. It was later re-established for the Second Boer War (1899–1902) and commanded by Major-General Sir Redvers Buller VC GCB GCMG.
The South African Light Horse regiment of the British Army were raised in Cape Colony in 1899 and disbanded in 1907.
The early life of Winston Churchill covers the period from his birth on 30 November 1874 to 31 May 1904 when he formally crossed the floor of the House of Commons, defecting from the Conservative Party to sit as a member of the Liberal Party.
The Battle of Zand River, also known as the Battle of Sand River was an engagement between the British forces under Lord Roberts that faced a Boer defensive position, led by Louis Botha. The Boers had set up defensive positions at the river, extending around 20 miles, in order to prevent the British from advancing on Kroonstad and Pretoria.
The Advance on Pretoria was a military operation during the Second Boer War. From May–June 1900, Lord Roberts and his force began a strategic offensive from Bloemfontein to Pretoria, with the goal of capturing the Pretoria, the capital of the South African Republic (Transvaal) in hopes of ending the war, and forcing the Boers into surrendering. After the clearing of the South East of the Orange Free State, Lord Roberts began his offensive on 3 May 1900, gathering a force around 40,000-50,000 strong. The Army formed three lines of advance. On the far left, a force commanded by Lord Methuen advanced from Boshof, in the center, Lord Roberts led the main army up the railway from Bloemfontein to Pretoria, and on the right, Redvers Buller led an army up through Northern Natal from Ladysmith to Pretoria. The military operation was a success, with British Forces entering Pretoria on 5 June, and the Boers surrendering the capital shortly after. On 8 June, the country was annexed, and formed into the Transvaal Colony in 1902. Methuen managed to clear the Orange Free State, and had a force relieve Mafeking whilst doing so.