The story behind the “Churchill Plaque”

        Coalfields District Dugout

     M.O.T.H. Retirement Village

                             Witbank, Mpumalanga

         Republic of South Africa Coordinates: 25° 52’ 5’’S and 29° 12’ 58”E.

 

            

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Eadie Trowel

 

Painting of Sir Winston Churchill

 

This booklet is a gift from the members of Crater Shellhole.

                      

Winston Churchill’s adventures relating to his escape as a Prisoner of War: Second Boer War 1899 to 1902.

The story behind the bronze “Churchill” plaque presently situated at the entrance to the M.O.T.H. Coalfields Dugout, Witbank, Republic of South Africa.

 A short resume requested by the members of Crater Shellhole of the Order, to serve as a free hand-out to visitors. To the readers please note:

(1)   The research, writing and compilation of this booklet was done in the spirit of the goodwill, the objective mainly to give an unbiased account in summary form of the famous events surrounding this subject.

(2)   The author is not a professional researcher or writer and in certain cases copied sentences directly from resources.

(3)   In the case of minor contradictions in some reference works, the author made the “most likely” deduction for this report.

(4)   This brochure is as a short summary only. For more reading, see the list of references.

Capture of the young war correspondent

On 12 October 1899, the Second Boer War between Britain and the Boer Republics broke out and Churchill, having just been defeated in a by-election as a Conservative Party parliamentary candidate for Oldham, obtained a commission to act as war correspondent for the Morning Post with a salary of £250 per month. He rushed his departure in order to sail on the same ship as the newly appointed British commander, Sir Redvers Buller. In November 1899, after some weeks in exposed areas, Churchill decided to join the English contingent on an armoured reconnaissance train heading towards Colenso North, where Boer patrols were reportedly spotted. Boer soldiers just north of Frere in Natal ambushed the train. A huge stone had blocked the line and when the train hit it, it was derailed. General PJ Joubert, upon the insistence of Captain Danie Theron, decided that Churchill had played too active a leadership role in the skirmish, so his claim to be only a war correspondent were ignored and he was taken to Pretoria to be imprisoned in a POW camp in Pretoria.                                                                            Photo W.C. 1900                                                                                                                                           

The great escape from Pretoria Prisoner of War Camp

During his imprisonment, Churchill and a two other prisoners, one of whom is referred to as Haldane, planned to escape, making elaborate escape plans including the digging of an escape tunnel. Much to the annoyance and later long running criticism of Haldene, the impatient and opportunistic Winston Churchill, on the night of December 12th, when the prison guards had turned their backs on him, he climbed over the prison wall. Extremely well dressed, wearing a brown flannel suit with £75 cash and four slabs of chocolate in his pocket, Churchill walked on leisurely through the night until he reached the Delagoa Bay Railway line. At 23h00 that night, a goods train thought to be destined for Delagoa Bay, steamed slowly past Winston and he jumped the train and inconspicuously clambered onto a railway wagon and hid under hessian coal bags. Thus started Churchill’s journey heading east towards Mozambique (P.E.A.) and hopefully to freedom. Naturally, the authorities were furious about this daring, opportunistic escape and General Piet Joubert placed a bounty of £25 on Winston Churchill’s head.  General Joubert was not overly concerned about Churchill's escape. "He is just a little bit of a newspaperman", was Joubert's opinion of the man who would later become the British Prime Minister.

Refuge in an underground coal mine

The following night at 03h30 the train slowed down going through Balmoral station.  Churchill, realising that the particular truck was heading for a colliery, which could result into his capture, decided to abandon the safety of the train by jumping off the train and he commenced to walk in the direction of P.E.A. staying close to the railway line. In this hostile area where, the farms were inhabited by the then “enemy” the Boers, Churchill decided not to draw attention to himself by taking shelter and hiding under Eucalyptus (blue gum) trees, and continuing with his journey at night time. On the morning of the 14^th, at 02h00 he reached Brugspruit Station (Clewer). He spotted lights to the North East of the station and started to head across the field, some 3 miles, towards the “lights”, to discover that he was walking right into a working coalmine. He retreated and then spotted a house, close to the mine and decided to knock on that door. Luckily, on this occasion, fortune definitely favoured the brave, for the first door Churchill chose to knock on was that of John Howard. Howard was an Englishman and Manager of the Transvaal and Delagoa Bay Colliery. Upon knocking on his door, Mr. Howard’s response to Winston Churchill plea for help was “Thank God you have come here! It is the only house for twenty miles where you would not have been handed over” But we are all British here, and we will see you through.” 

Howard decided to hide Churchill in the underground stables of the colliery. In the early days of coal mining, mules and on some collieries Clydesdale horses, were used to pull coal tubs along tracks in the underground workings. The mules were only brought to the surface over weekends, remaining in the underground stables in the off shift during the week. Still later John Howard and his seven accomplices hid Winston behind some packing cases in the colliery offices. The Boer forces were searching high and low for him.

Where Exactly was Winston Churchill Given Shelter?This question took up a lot of research time as Colliery plans of redundant underground workings for those days are not readily available. Also keeping in mind that  naming a mine shaft after Churchill at Transvaal and Delagoa Bay Colliery  (T. & D. B.) only took place many years after the war. The romance around the fact that Sir Winston Churchill hided in a colliery near Witbank caused  “word of mouth” stories to become very colourfull and somewhat removed from the real facts over the past 109 years. Luckily great assistance as to the exact location of the hiding place came from a Witbank citizen; John Bird, who has spent many years researching Churchill’s history and locating the Howard house and the Churchill shaft. His findings now are beyond any doubt. The author pays tribute to John Bird, for his relentless search to solve the location problem. In addition, John also gave valuable information regarding the Churchill Plaque and the silver-plated trowel located at the M.O.T.H. Coalfields District Dugout.

The present location of the Churchill plague now in safekeeping at M.O.T.H Coalfields District Dugout, M.O.T.H retirement Village, corner of Remembrance- and Rhodes street, Witbank, Mpumalanga, Republic of South Africa. Coordinates: 25°52’ 5’’S and 29°12”58”E. Rand Mines handed this plaque to the MOTH Order when rehabilitation commenced in 1966.

John Bird, researcher and writer, standing at the remnants of the Churchill shaft (left)and the remains of two chimneys and the stairs of the Howard’s residence (right)

 

Schematic map, showing the location of the Churchill shaft, Howard’s house and other mine buildings at T. & D. B. Colliery, in relation to Brugspruit Station and the Delagoa Bay railway line.

70 miles from Pretoria        Balmoral (16 miles)                                    Brugspruit

 Brugspruit Station                                        3.2miles           Howard residence

 

                                                                              Churchill  Shaft                              Screening plant                                                                                                                           

                                                        Railway siding                                                  Mine buildings

                                                  

                                                                                    Dwellings                This schematic plan

                                                                                                                       Is not to scale

                      WITBANK                NORTH

Line to P.E.A. 232 miles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Onwards to Delagoa Bay and a glorious future!!!

John Howard and his close accomplices were of course taking a deadly risk by hiding Churchill and organizing his continued journey to freedom. Most of the benefactors grew quite fond of Winston during those days. John Howard gave Churchill a revolver, ammunition, whisky and as much food as he could fit in his knapsack. They organized and assisted him to hide between bales of wool under a tarpaulin on a train wagon destined for Delagoa Bay (later Lorenzo Marques and now Maputo), Portuguese East Africa, and now Mozambique. He eventually reached the safety of the British Consulate in Portuguese East Africa, to discover that his escape was making news headlines throughout the world.

His escape made him a national hero for a time in Britain, though instead of returning home, he rejoined General Buller's army on its march to relieve the British at the Siege of Ladysmith and take Pretoria. This time, although continuing as a war correspondent, he gained a commission in the South African Light Horse Regiment. He was among the first British troops into Ladysmith and Pretoria. He and his cousin, the Duke of Marlborough, were able to get ahead of the rest of the troops in Pretoria, where they demanded and received the surrender of 52 Boer prison camp guards.

In 1900, Churchill returned to England on the RMS Dunottar Castle, the same ship on which he set sail for South Africa eight months earlier. He then published London to Ladysmith and a second volume of Boer war experiences, Ian Hamilton's March. Churchill stood again for parliament in Oldham in the general election of 1900 and won (his Conservative colleague, Crisp, was defeated) in the contest for two seats.

Because Churchill did not wish to compromise Howard – who 'as a burgher of the Transvaal Republic would be guilty of treason in harbouring him, and liable to be shot if caught at the time, withheld full details of his escape and helpers until many years later. Upon arrival in Delagoa Bay, he telegraphed a fictitious account of his escape to the Morning Post in London even including an elaborate story of a vulture that followed him.

 

 Much later, back in England, Sir Winston Churchill arranged for the extraordinary bravery of Howard and his team to be rewarded. He ordered eight gold engraved pieces, being seven Oldham miner’s gold watches and a gold brooch, to be sent from the United Kingdom via the Standard Bank, Cape Town to his benefactors namely: John Adams (Mine Secretary); Don (Daniel) Dewsnap (Resident Engineer Dr. James Gillespie (Mine Doctor); and miners Joe McKenna; Joe McHenry; Charles Burnham. John Howard’s revolver was returned, suitably engraved.  Howard also received a silver whisky hip flask. In 2002 this revolver fetched £32000 (GBP) and the Dewsnap gold watch sold for £12000(GBP) These pieces can be viewed in the Churchill museum in London.

A 9 mm. six-shot double-action pin fire revolver retailed by Crane circa 1863–76, in a fitted ebony case, Engraved to John Howard from Winston Churchill, To be sold along with other items relating to Churchill's escape in the Boer War.

Published: 12:01AM BST 02 May 2002; “ A REVOLVER carried by Winston Churchill in his escape from his Boer captors in 1899 was back with his family yesterday after it had been sold at an auction for £32,000”

 

 

Important notes for visitors;

The following M.O.T.H. Crater Shellhole members may be contacted for assistance

·         1 District Old Bill MOTH Len Bowker          +2782 896 1578

·         2 District PRO MOTH Neville Lynn  +2782 458 2150

·         3 MOTH Chris Sonnekus Author                +2782 651 3844

·         4 MOTH Brian Engelbrecht             +2782 414 3956

 

 

 

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Sources, Research Work and Acknowledgements

1.      By Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill ; “London to Ladysmith via Pretoria” Published May 1900

2.      By Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill; “Ian Hamilton's March”, published October 1900.

3.      From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia : “Winston Churchill”

4.      By Eric Bolsmann:” “The mystery of the eight watches”

5.      By Charles Starmer-Smith and Stewart Payne: “ Churchill's escape gun fetches £32,000”

6.      By JB Breytenbach: “ Geskiedenis van die Tweede Vryheidsoorlog 1899 -1902”

7.      By Celia Sandys: “Winston Churchill wanted dead or alive”

8.      By Martin Gilbert: “Winston S. Churchill”

9.      By Elizabeth Longford; “Winston Churchill’

 

 

 

 

Websites http:

·         www.winstonchurchill.org/

·         www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/churchill_winston.shtml

·         www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/churchill.html

·         www.sahistory.org.za/pages/people/bios/churchill-w.htm

AcknowledgementsI wish to express my sincere appreciation for the assistance given during the compilation of this booklet to the following persons;

·         MOTH Andy Myron for assisting in locating extremely valuable resources via family members.

·         To John Bird, for the use of his research work, on Churchill, in this brochure.  This includes sharing his knowledge as to the location of the real Churchill shaft, the Howard’s residence and other mine buildings.

·         MOTH Brian Engelbrecht for the Churchill quotations from his private copy of the book “Famous Winston Churchill Quotations”  By Simran Khurana.

·         District Old Bill, MOTH Len Bowker for his assistance with resources from the Rose & Thistle Lodge.

·         Me Gussie Dick for her patient editing of this work.

·         Paul Horsfall, Richard van Niekerk and Enid Graham for sharing their family’s booklet with me.

                                              From,    MOTH Chris Sonnekus Author of this brochure/booklet

 Churchill Trivia

·         Quotes from Churchill

1.      “There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at without result.”

2.      “Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others.”

3.      “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

·         Churchill and Field Marshall Jan Smuts from South Africa became life-long friends. Jan Smuts, born on a farm near Riebeeck Kasteel in South Africa was the first person outside the United Kingdom to be awarded a Field Marshall Commission from the Crown. General Jan Smuts was also appointed acting Prime Minister in Churchill’s war cabinet when Churchill left with the D Day convoy for Normandy.

·         The late MOTH Frank Cooke, Crater Shell Hole, served on the H.M.S. Belfast, one of the destroyer ships in the Normandy Convoy. Photo of the now demolished Howard residence behind Mrs. A.M.Volschenk, the last resident, back in March 1986.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                              1                                    2                                3

1.      South African postage stamp showing a sketch of General Jan Smuts

2.      An England Churchill Crown (5 shillings) belonging to MOTH Andy Myron

3.      Postage stamp, showing Sir Winston Churchill in dress uniform.

 

 

 

·         Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, historian, writer, and artist. He is the only British Prime Minister who has ever received the Nobel Prize in Literature and only the second person to be made an Honorary Citizen of the United States.

 

 

 

The inscription reads;

“Mrs. Robertz Eadie, Mayor of Witbank in commemoration of laying the foundation stone of the WITBANK WAR MEMORIAL

September 28, 1921”

The story behind the silver -plated trowel in the Coalfields MOTHS District Dugout

In 1921, a completely different designed Witbank War Memorial was erected opposite the Trust Bank, Witbank. The mayor, Mrs Robert Eadie, unveiled the corner stone by adding the last bit of mortar with the particular trowel. This trowel was later silver-plated. Between 1921 and 1947, a vehicle crashed into this monument and the remains were later vandalised to such an extent that the Witbank authorities designed a new monument in 1947, which was erected in King George’s Park. Around 1974 and 1975 this monument was relocated from the particular site to its present location, now inside the MOTH Village opposite the Coalfields Dugout and at the same time the silver plated trowel were also donated to the Dugout. To this day controversy still exist as to who gave permission to move the monument to its present location.

                      Members of the Coalfields Dugout at the WITBANK WAR MEMORIAL.

MOTH Len Bowker, District Old Bill,

Standing next to the Churchill Plaque.

          17^th August , 2009.                                                        The M.O.T.H. Charter of Crater Shellhole