Ancestor Details
Ancestor's Name: George William Black Proctor
Ancestor's date of birth: 22/06/1871
Ancestor's date of death: 17/06/1900
Cause of Death: Enteric Fever
Service Number: 3819
Colony or State of enlistment: Not applicable, Place of Enlistment: Scotland
Unit: 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Grey's).
Rank attained in Boer War: TPR, Date Effective: On enlistment.
Highest Rank attained (if served after war): Did not survive the Boer War
Murray Page: Not applicable, did not serve in an Australian unit
Contingent: Not applicable
Ship: Ranee or British Princess, Date of Sailing: 01/12/1899 (approx)
Memorial details: Monument to the Royal Scots Greys at Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh
Decorations: Queen's South Africa Medal with Paardeburg, Dreifontein, and Relief of Kimberley clasps.
Personal Characteristics: Detail not provided
Reasons to go and fight: Detail not provided
Details of service in war: George's regiment arrived at the Cape about 7 December 1899. For a time they were employed in patrol work and in protecting the lines of communication between the Orange and Modder Rivers. In February 1900, they took part in the relief of Kimberley, the fighting on the way to Bloemfontein, and in the advance to Pretoria. Outside Kimberley on 16 February the regiment was engaged very heavily. George came down with enteric fever (typhoid) and died in June 1900.
Two letters from George Procter to his father and mother. The first was dated 17 March 1900 and the second 10 May 1900 which may have been his last letter before his death. In it he mentions that he was feeling unwell, possibly the prelude to Enteric Fever. They give an interesting view of the campaign in South Africa through the eyes of a private soldier
In his first letter George writes the speech made by Lord Roberts congratulating them on the relief of Ladysmith Kimberley and Bloemfontein. Then he goes on to say:
"Lord Roberts has been with us all along. We have never had a reverse, they allow 10 men per squadron into town (Bloemfontein) every day I think I will take a walk through it on Sunday. Things are very expensive here, worse than Kimberley and that was bad enough. However they will get cheaper as the railway is almost ready. Many English here. I hear the Boers are coming into town in droves to surrender and give up their arms to Lord Roberts. I think you will get two letters together as the mail does not sail from Cape Town until next Wednesday. We are enjoying the rest after the fatigues the last few weeks. We got fresh bread this morning, jam and butter yesterday. I think the war will soon be over an hour as word has come through the Kruger and Steyn what terms for peace."
In his second letter from Jordan Siding, Kroonstadt, Orange Free State and dated 18 May 1900 he says:
"We are a good distance from Bloemfontein rests having left there on Sunday the eighth arrived on the following Saturday. This was where Steyn fled when he left Bloemfontein and the Boers would make a big stand there, they change their mind and fled northwards to the Vaal River on Friday night after blowing up the station and blowing up the bridge and railway. They also took away all the rolling stock. We are about two days march on the Vaal River but I don't know when we leave here nearly a week now and there is no order yet although some say we go on Thursday. We had a stiff fight at a place called Vredesherverd, I think this is the name it is given here and we had 100 killed or wounded in missing in the brigade. I had a narrow escape from stopping a bullet as a little more to the right would have done it. It passed clean through my haversack going through the writing paper, envelopes and letters, the only things it missed were the photos that Johnnie sent. I'm sending you this letter on a sample of its work. I hope I never have a nearer call than that. It made me feel a bit funny at the time. The Greys had a few men killed and wounded that day but I daresay you will have seen it all in the papers before this. We have no letter or papers are a fortnight now but expect the mail on Sunday. I don't know when this letter will leave as I don't think the railway is open yet. We have captured a number of Boers round here and the British sometimes catch a glimpse of one or two of them. They are worse than savages the way they abuse the white flag. At the last place we had a fight with them we had been marching towards a farm and small kopje that was flying two white flags when they opened fire on us with a big gun which was concealed in the farm buildings. Some of our advance parties reached a kopje on the other side before this and they dismounted with their carbines when they got round, but no sooner had they started towards the hill when the Boers started shooting the horses down. The men made a rush for the horses but a great many were shot down in the act of mounting. We could see the Boers running after our horses and leading them away and we could do nothing about them. It did make us wild. If I had anything to do with it, I would never take notice the white flag as they have done this thing so often that we ought to know better by this time. The only thing I respect about a Boer is his shooting. After we get on the move from here I think it we will soon be in Pretoria. Geddes was in hospital when we left so we had to leave him behind. I was not feeling very well for a day or two but am nearly right now again, I would not like to be laid up now as I have been in it all from the start and would like to be in it at the finish. It is terribly cold here at night and in the morning, very warm during the day. The Free Staters would have laid down their arms before this but Roberts' proclamation was kept from them and they thought if they were captured they would be sent to St Helena."
The first letter is written in red ink and perfectly readable writing being small and neat second letter appears to have been written in pencil one page is very faint. Once again the writing is small and neat. This letter have a bullet hole mentioned by George. A month later he was dead, a victim of enteric fever which raged among the troops and was probably grew due to drinking water which had been polluted.
Service and life after the Boer War: Did not survive the Boer War
Descendant Details
Name of Descendant: Heather Bree, Belmont North NSW
Relationship to Ancestor: Great Niece
