| Notes |
- The Life of Field Cornet Hermanus Stephanus Antonie Labuschagne, Boer War Veteran as told by Herman Labuschagne
(Bridging the Past)
About 30 kilometres up the valley and across the ridge from where I grew up lies the peaceful little town of Paulpietersburg. In this
town lived a distant relative of mine whom everyone knew as ?Oom Manie Labuschagne.? Oom Manie was well-known for several
reasons, and one of them was the fact that he lived to the age of 106 years and two months. I probably never met him, and if I had, I
would not have remembered, for he died one day before my 7th birthday.
Uncle Manie was a self-taught man in many ways, having had only here months of school education. Nevertheless, this was enough
to enable him to lead church services when the need pressed. When the Second Anglo-Boer War broke out he joined the Transvaal
forces and was promoted near Rondspring, Vryheid district, to the rank of field cornet.
His daughter, Tant Anna, told me when how Uncle Manie had once returned to his command to find that they had captured a British
officer whose thumb they had shot off. He found them busy putting on the officer?s clothing without taking care of his wound. Upon
this, Uncle Manie was incensed and ordered his men to return the officer?s clothing at once.
He then dressed the man?s wound, before sending him off on a train with the words: ?Ry boetie!? ? ?Ride little brother!?
After the war he bought a horse in Newcastle. Suddenly he received a message which state that there was an Englishman outside
who wished to speak to him. He replied that he would come, but only once had finished his meal.
Upon meeting the man, the stranger said he doesn?t know whether Oom Manie would still remember him, but ?you took care of my
wound and didn?t shoot me dead, and you then put me on a horse. And now I?ve brought you this pocket watch with your name
engraved on it??
Uncle Manie was a very brave man. He made a habit of sneaking into British camps, cutting their horses loose and driving them off
to the commandos. He became such a menace that orders were issued that he was to be shot on sight. It was said that when the
Boers were being pursued by the British, he would pull his horse around and charge at the British, which would put them to flight in
stead.
Uncle Manie was the first man who arrived upon the scene of the tragic massacre at Holkrans. He and his men had heard he shots
during the night, but unsure what they meant, and with the night being very dark, he was only able to leave near dawn in order to
investigate.
There he found a horror scene which must have haunted is memory for the rest of his life. One of the men who survived was still
hiding in the freezing cold stream. He had nearly died of the cold because it was winter and the veld was white with frost.
When Uncle Manie arrived the poor man clattered: ?The Lord has sent you to us!?
At the camp itself evidence of the terror of the night could be seen in all directions. One Burger was hanging from a gate where his
hand had gotten stuck ? probably as he tried to leap across. Another man had a spear wound to his stomach and was trying to hold
his entrails in with his hands. Uncle Manie recognized him as his brother-in-law?s eldest son.
A little later some one cried out to Oom Manie: ?There?s one hiding!?
He looked and found one of the Zulus who had attacked the camp that night who was still hiding nearby. Being wounded, he was
sitting between two boulders with his shield above his head to provide some shade.
Uncle Manie yanked him out, grabbed is spear, and told the man who had discovered him that he could kill the warrior with his own
spear. When the Burger struck him, the Zulu jumped up ?with a roar,? Tant Anna said, before falling dead on the ground. The
information that Uncle Manie received was that the magistrate Shepstone had sent the Zulus on their killing mission.
When Uncle Manie?s unit had to surrender at the end of the war, they were made to march down two lines of soldiers. At the end of
this procession, the Burgers smashed their own rifles before discarding them onto a heap, lest they should provide their captors with
working weapons.
Uncle Manie was very displeased with this undignified behaviour and warned his men sternly: ?Just ONE of you smash a rifle like
that and you?ll be dealing with me!?
Uncle Manie never drove a car. He rode a horse and still won a horse riding prize at the age of 80. He was a man who was greatly
honoured by his community and who become well-known for his selfless charity and his Christian values. He built a mission church
on a farm in the district, and overall, spent many years of his life in service of his fellow man.
There is more to tell about this remarkable fighter who represented the last of the bravest of the frontiersmen from a vanished
generation. Alas, I know but some of his stories, and I?m sure there must have been many more. I am fortunate that I went out of my
way one day to go and talk to his very sweet daughter. I only met her that one single time, but I heard that she still asked about me
for some years after.
It is important to realize that old people want to tell their stories, even if they say they don?t. I have noticed that with very old people,
their needs eventually become quite small. But there is one thing that they desire more than most ? and that is for someone to
sometimes just take the time to sit and listen to their ancient memories.
They know that their train is due to leave the station shortly ? but somehow they often just want to leave a little bit about themselves
behind with someone who seems to care. Tant Anna was 92 when we talked on that balmy afternoon while the honey bees were
droning amongst a million purple jacaranda flowers. Paulpietersburg seemed as if it had known peace for ever and the war seemed
so far behind us. But her stories made it all come alive again.
Old people are not supposed to miss their parents so much anymore. But Tant Anna?s eyes were shining when she told me about
him ? and when her tale was finished, her eyes were misty. She still loved and missed him, even after all those many years.
- SOURCE:
https://books.google.co.za/books?id=QCyiA5yBTSIC&pg=PA179&lpg=PA179&dq=Hans+Cordua&source=bl&ots=aYVZ6Jkb8V&sig=7exBOk5XP4_xxwHUIuGxg_akkKI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4YpmU8qSFMLe7Aa_8YGoDA#v=onepage&q=Hans%20Cordua&f=false
NameTjaart Andries Petrus KrugerBirthDec 9 1874
Rustenberg, Transvaal, South Africa
ttps://d.mhcache.com/FP/Images/spacer.gif
BaptismJan 3 1875
Rustenburg, South Africa
MarriageMarriage to: Helena Dorothea Stoop
May 19 1896
Pretoria, South Africa
DeathSep 30 1901
Pretoria, South Africa
Burial1901
Church Street Cemetery, Pretoria West, South Africa
Name
Helena Dorothea Kruger (born Stoop)
Birth
Oct 14 1877
Marriage
Marriage to: Tjaart Andries Petrus Kruger
May 19 1896
Pretoria, South Africa
Death
1967
Family members
Parents
Albertus Abraham Stoop
1845 - 1904
Helena Dorothea Stoop (born Struweg)
1850 - 1923
Husband
Tjaart Andries Petrus Kruger
1874 - 1901
Husband
Thomas Whelan
Name
Helena Dorothea Kruger (born Stoop)
Birth
Apr 1 1877
Marriage
Marriage to:
May 19 1896
Pretoria, Noord-Transvaal, Suid-Afrika
Marriage
Marriage to:
June 26 1910
Death
Feb 12 1968
"Rooipoort", Paulpietersburg dist., Suid-Afrika
Burial
Paulpietersburg, Suid-Afrika
Family members
Husband
Tjaart Andries Petrus Kruger B7c2d4e2f3g16
1874 - 1901
Husband
Hermanus Stephanus Antonie Labuschagne
1874 - 1980
Name
Hermanus Stephanus Antonie Labuschagne
Birth
Feb 10 1874
Utrecht, Natal, Suid-Afrika
Gedoop
Apr 6 1874
Marriage
Marriage to:
June 26 1910
Death
Apr 14 1980
Piet Retief, Suid-Afrika
Burial
Paulpietersburg, Suid-Afrika
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1874 - 1980 (106 years)