The Lion of the Western Transvaal and his wife

In the vast, rugged terrain of the Western Transvaal, the lives of Koos de la Rey, one of the most celebrated Boer generals, and his resilient wife, Nonnie, became intertwined with the fierce struggles of the Anglo-Boer War—an indelible chapter in South Africa’s history. Their story, marked by hardship, sacrifice, and determination, offers a unique glimpse into the personal lives of those caught in the turmoil of war.

The homestead of Koos de la Rey, his wife Nonnie (née Greeff) and their children are part of the guest experience in the War Rooms at the Story of Emily. This family’s experience during the Anglo-Boer era became rather unique as Koos would earn the title Lion of the Western Transvaal.

The Boer general, Koos de la Rey, who became famous, was known to have carried his seriously wounded son for 10 miles on his back. His wife, Nonnie, managed to evade capture and the British concentration camps and survived with her children by fleeing into the veld during the Anglo-Boer War.

Nonnie was a true child of the veld. When she was a child, her parents moved a lot with their oxen and wagons and went on hunting trips. She was also exposed to the dire need for water in the dry South African landscape. Sometimes, they were without this life source for up to three days, and food was occasionally scarce.

Koos and Nonnie were married in 1876; she was 20 and he was 29 and together they had 12 children.. It took years of hard work to establish a farm of their own. They began with her family’s farm, Manana and later on Elandsfontein.

When the war broke out, Koos was appointed as field general; by this time, he was already known because he was a member of the Transvaal Volksraad (Parliament). Two sons, Adaan and Jacobus accompanied him to war.

Shortly after Adaan’s 19th birthday he and his father were in a battle at Tweeriviere. Koos was wounded in his shoulder by a bomb splinter but his son received the worst of it…Koos asked him: “Dink jy, jy sal hiervan sterwe?” (Do you think you will die from this?) He answered: “Ja, vader.” (Yes, father.)

Koos would not find an ambulance and he carried him 10 miles on his back, to a field hospital. They arrived at daybreak but an hour later, Adaan died in his arms.

He sent word to Nonnie, who travelled 400 km from their farm, to see her son’s grave and the clothes he had worn. Only on her arrival did she hear her husband had also been wounded.

She wrote in her diary: “Hoe weyneg west ik… dat ik hem moet grood maakt ver de koegel en nog te meer een vreesleike kanon kougel… acht wat is de mens tog niteg…” (How little did I know… that I should raise him for the bullet, and even more for a terrible a cannon bullet ..  oh, what is man, insignificant.)

Nonnie often visited her husband at his laager, and like some of the other Boer men, he visited his homestead. But as the war progressed and tactics changed to Guerilla Warfare followed by the Scorched Earth Policy, she decided to leave the farm for their house in the town of Lichtenburg.

By this time, Koos had divided the commandos, on the western front, into smaller units and placed the Rustenburg and Krugersdorp commandos under his personal control.

In 1901, several British commanders, such as Lord Methuen, were sent to capture de la Rey but without success. It was during this period that De la Rey developed his famous charging tactic, which resulted in many losses on the British side.

Instead of dismounting, the burghers developed shooting from the saddle during a charge into a fine art. They also captured 126 wagons loaded with clothing, boots and Christmas delicacies from the British at Buffelspoort.

By this time, Nonnie’s fear of being caught had overshadowed her sense of material loss. She went to the place where the sheep were kept on her farm and found one of her shepherds waiting faithfully for her. He managed to get back two hundred of their sheep and hid them in a safe place.

She was warned that she would soon be sent away. On December 1, 1901, she left with a packed ox wagon, a horse-drawn spider, sheep, milk cows, and chickens. Three farm workers, her elder daughter Ada, and six young children were with her. By the end of the war, there were more than 10,000 women and children roaming the veld in this way, escaping the concentration camps.

The ox-wagon alone did not provide enough sleeping space for Nonnie and the children, so a tent was pitched when they stopped. She said she was happiest when she could pitch the tent on green grass under the shade of trees. Often, they had to flee in the middle of the night, and then when they wanted to rest in the pitch darkness, the tent had to be pitched first, even though they could not see in front of them.

Sometimes, they slept in half-burned-out farmhouses, and other times, in caves. In September 1901, she planted and returned to harvest maize and started making candles.

After Nonnie left her home on their farm, Elandsfontein, the British used it as an officers' quarters. A division of British soldiers called "Paget's Horse" was stationed there from February to May 1901. Early in March 1901, when De la Rey intended to attack Lichtenburg, he sent some burghers to see if his house was still standing. They hid behind bushes, and when two officers stepped out of the house, the Boers shot them dead. Lord Methuen then decided to break the house down to prevent this from happening again. The War Rooms contain part of this pre-war homestead, recreated from a single pre-war photograph and drawing: the sitting room, stoep (verandah), garden, and kitchen.

The Battle of Tweebosch, which took place on 7 March 1902 on the Klein Harts River, was the last major battle of the  Anglo-Boer War that ended in a Boer victory. Lord Methuen was actively involved in the battle as noted in The Times history: “… he was a fighter by temperament, preferring to do a colonel’s work in the field rather than a lieutenant-general in the office.”

He was wounded and his dead horse fell on him, which also broke his leg. Koos was called to the scene where Methuen was lying next to him. With the help of a translator he told Methuen he was sorry to see him in such a state, to which the latter replied: “Oh, it’s the fortune of war.”

A doctor was called to help Methuen, who was now in the hands of the Boers. Nonnie heard of the events and realised it was the man who ordered the destruction of her home, she left to see him at her husband's laager.

He apologised for what had happened. Methuen requested that she send a telegram to his wife in England as soon as possible to inform her of the battle, which she did. Before he was taken to a hospital, she slaughtered and prepared a plump chicken and sent it to him with some rusks.

After the war, she and Koos returned to Elandsfontein to rebuild their house and farm, though all that was left of the house were the foundations.

Emily Hobhouse visited the family in 1903. She wrote: “Did I tell you of De la Rey’s farm – just a few acres of rubble? We poked aside the rubbish with my parasol and found the outline of the foundations – 75 by 45 feet. They feel it so dreadfully; Mrs. De la Rey cannot speak of it yet, much less look at it without tears, for there is no probability that they can rebuild it again. And the dreary rows of hundreds of stumps of fruit trees that both there and elsewhere I have to help weep over! They are endless. Now the De la Reys live in their Sunday house in the village, just two bedrooms opening off a dining room, all very rough and temporary.”

Sources

1. Nonnie de la Rey – Pionier van die Wes-Transvaal. Zelda Rowan.

2. https://wmbr.org.za/role-players-and-figures/#General-De-La-Rey