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Description: Don’t forget to write directly you get mine – Don't forget the address. Junior army and navy club Whitehall. Can’t write any more darling little Gin. Just as excited as you. Lots and heaps of love from Your ever loving little Jack

Description: I don’t know how they missed me & tried to get to another company, & I fell into a lot more Boers, they were swarming everywhere & then I found 4 more riding close behind me, and they got me all round then. Gretton [?] my adjutant I had sent on a message & he got caught the same way. We neither of us had a revolver on us. I suppose he will blame me, but it will be rather rough if he does. If only they had got the intelligence telegram a bit sooner it would never have happened. The men who were not surprised fought beautifully, but I lost 5 officers which is sickening – Brindley (Manchester Rgt.) was splendid. He, his subaltern & Co. Sgt. Major & 25 men fixed bayonets and tried to charge. The first 3 were killed or died that night & [?] of his men – chiefly Lancashire Fusiliers. I should like to write & tell Brindley’s people but I don’t know their address. I wonder if you could find out & tell them. He would have deserved anything if he had lived. I am thoroughly sick of this war. I do so wish I could get away for a bit. The Boers that I saw were all well clothed & looked well fed and well mounted. We are halting here a day or t wo and have got Xmas sports on this afternoon. This is my 3rd Xmas out here now. Young Sidney Hamilton is going home with enteric. He was awfully ill when I went up to Pretoria some time ago. I had no idea he was bad, but he will get home now & is much better & wants me to go & see him off. I hope I shall be able to. I will stop now. Give my love to them all. Your affectionate son. The tent arrived the day before the catastrophy, [sic], it is splendid. We all had our Xmas dinner in it last night. I had my new knife on me when I was caught. They took it and my boots & coat. My feet are so sore at present. I can hardly walk but am getting much better. It is rather like Gough’s?? disaster last October but I am thankful to say I had no guns to lose. The guns that were lost then belonged to the Battery I was attached to at Limerick 10 years ago now when I first saw Mary. The only consolation I have is the 14th did most awfully well after the first surprise & everybody tells me so.

Description: There is Atlay here too, a trouper is one of the Ideal [??] Corps they have raised. He came up & spoke to me during the battle last Monday. I asked him to come & have dinner with us last night, the 5th Nov.[??], which consisted of bread & cheese & 4 bottles of beer I had got. I can’t get any more now. He met Roland in S. America. We had a great buck last night, he and Crichton and I. He is that chap that used to be such a fool and walk about in a corduroy suit. He is a very different fellow now, rather nice. We were congratulating ourselves on meeting again, for his corps and my M.I. had had a very hot time the day before. We were rear [?] guard and they did let us have it. Our Brigadier is a very nice chap. Hamilton is his name. He has got an A.D.C., Lord Ava, a son of Lord Dufferin. He must be a second cousin of Mary’s, I suppose. I think Roland ought to come out here. If we have any luck, there ought to be some very good things going if we ever get to Pretoria. He could get into one of these local corps too. I think it would be well worth doing for a fellow that has lurched about a bit like he has. I have given you the military news. I will stop now to write to mother. I don’t know when this will go as the line at present is in charge pf the Boers. I hope better things will have happened before you get it. I hope you have had good shooting. I have got my gun with me, but have not been able to use it yet. Love to all. Many thanks for looking after Mary so well. She was evidently very fond of the County & said she had been very well taken care of. Your affect[ionate] son ...

Description: My dear Father, I wonder if you have heard of my disaster yet. I suppose you will have. I hope you won’t think me an awful fool for being taken prisoner but it could not be helped. They sent me out in the middle of the night with only 200 men to round up a few Boers living in farms and in the banks of the Vaal about 16 miles away from camp. After I had gone, a telegram came from the Intelligence to say there were a lot of Boers there. Anyway, we had had a long gallop directly after it got light after 2 lots of Boers who [??] as hard as they could go. I saw my right party in a good place after their gallop & then went off to collect my left party to get them altogether. When I got back I heard some firing & went down to see what it was, & when I got to within about 50 yards, a man in khaki fired at me which I thought was rather peculiar, and some of the men shouted to me. I grasped then that my people had been surprised & taken prisoners by Boers in khaki. I did not want to be captured, so I galloped for it.

Description: I was so delighted to get Mary[??] Romford/Rumford[??] from Molch the other day. I read it two or three nights, but now Tom Grenville has got it and reading it loud. Give my love to all the Hewitts. Will Dorothy be there when you get back I wonder. I hope she will,, it will be more fun for you. I hope you will get this soon after you get back. I have finished this letter after all. It has beeb rather funny. I have had another General staying with me to see how to do things. He is years older than me & very fat. I took him up [the] trenches this morning & I thought he would burst. I thought I would never get him back again. Now my darling little Cracknut, I must stop. Lots & heaps of love darling little Gin from your ever loving little Jack. This Jack very proud of its Gin. Taught it to hunt very well.

Description: Their guns are better than ours, & they put shells all over the place from 4 or 5 miles away. If it had not been for the Navy with 2 or 3 big guns, which they just got up in time before the line was cut, I don’t know what would have happened to us. We were to have been bombarded yesterday & today but they have been very quiet, we don’t know why. I heard this morning, I don’t know if it is true or not, that we have now got a strong force at Estcourt about 40 miles away down the line. I hope it is true & that part of the Army Corps is likely to arrive in Durban the end of this week. I am quite separate from the Regiment at present with my M. I. [??] & 2 very good Subalterns & we are fairly comfortable.

Description: My dear Father, I have not written to any of you before, as I gave Mary all the news & told her to tell you anything interesting. This is going to be a great experience for anyone that is lucky enough to get to the other end of it. I suppose we have seen more fighting now than anyone has seen since the Crimea. I don’t know what people in England can have been doing, but they must have very much underestimated their strength. They have been more than a match for our Generals anyway. We have licked them in actual fighting, but it has done us no good & now as I suppose you know in England we are cooped up in this place and are being besieged by about 20,200 Boers.

Description: [mullah??] to get into when the bombardment begins. One of the subalterns is young Crichton from Hay, a very nice chap and we have a servant from the same place & I have a sergeant from near Leominster, so we have great talks about the place.

Description: A drawing of Ladywell Farm, Much Birch, Herefordshire.

Description: Slide showing the interior (pews) of St Mary & St Thomas a Becket Church at Much Birch, Herefordshire

Description: St Mary & St Thomas a Becket Church at Much Birch, Herefordshire.

Description: Ash Corner, The Green, Much Birch, Herefordshire.

Description: A watercolour painting by D. Hawkins of St Mary & St Thomas a Becket Church at Much Birch, Herefordshire.

Description: A drawing by Henry B. Lewis of St Mary & St Thomas a Becket Church at Much Birch, Herefordshire.

Description: A drawing of St Mary & St Thomas a Becket Church at Much Birch, Herefordshire. Artist - T Raffles-Davison .

Description: A watercolour by Pilley of St Mary & St Thomas a Becket Church at Much Birch, Herefordshire.