CAPT. ARTHUR MARTIN-LEAKE VC AND BAR-SAC

Note: The construction of the memorial was organised by David Scholtz. This is his story:-
Rita Britz, is the proprietor of a delightful country hotel at Val, located between Standerton and Greylingstad, on the Durban-Johannesburg railway line.  Rita pointed out a farmhouse on the farm Syferfontein or Cyferfontein, which had belonged to one of the heroes of the Anglo-Boer War, Kommandant Gert Claassen.  Rita advised that British soldiers, who had died during the Anglo-Boer War, had been buried on the farm.  The graves were subsequently reinterred in the Garden of Remembrance in Standerton.  On inspection of the Standerton graves, it was noted that that some of them had been killed in an engagement at Van Tondershoek on 8 February 1902. The following is extracted from The Victoria Cross and The George Cross, The Complete History, Volume 1, Page 581 – At the beginning of February 1902, the commander of the South African Constabulary around Heidelberg, south-east of Johannesburg in the Transvaal, was ordered to move forward a line of posts held by his men south-east of Heidelberg.  On 8 February Captain A Essex-Capell was sent with 130 men to reconnoitre the area east of the Waterval River.  Twelve miles north of Holmdene station (then known as Vlaklaagte) on the Johannesburg-Natal railway, Essex-Capell found and attacked a  Boer commando, four-hundred-men strong, at Van Tondershoek farm.  The Boers counter-attacked as Essex-Capell and his men withdrew along the Boesmanspruit through Vlakfontein Farm.  Surgeon Captain A Martin-Leake went to the aid of Sergeant W H Waller, who was shot in the leg, and then in need of help.  While he was tending Lieut. D O P Abrahams, who was mortally wounded, Martin-Leake was himself shot three times.  Together with the other wounded, he was captured by the Boers, who expressed regret that they had failed to identify him as a medical man and had fired at him.  The Boers did not take any of the enemy into captivity. Essex-Capell managed to hold off the Boers and withdrew after dark.  The London Gazette  of 13 May 1902, described the action as follows – During the action at Vlakfontein, on 8th February 1902, Surgeon-Captain Martin-Leake went up to a wounded man, and attended to him under heavy fire from about 40 Boers at 100 yards range. He then went to the assistance of a wounded officer, and, while trying to place him in a comfortable position, was shot three times, but would not give in till he rolled over thoroughly exhausted.  All the eight men at this point were wounded, and while they were lying on the Veldt, Surgeon-Captain Martin-Leake refused water till every one else had been served.   Reference to various maps indicated that the farms Syferfontein, Vlakfontein and Van Tondershoek adjoined each other and that Van Tondershoek lies near the hamlet of Charl Celliers.  On a visit to Charl Celliers one Sunday morning, the congregation of the Dutch Reformed church were emerging.  The Padre, after some discussion, provided details of the direction to take to get to the entrance gate of the farm, Van Tondershoek.  The Steyn family, owners of the farm, had little information on the details of the battle, but access to the farm allowed identification of the deep hollow containing a running spring which was the position of the Boer encampment.  It has not been possible to identify the exact spot where Martin-Leake performed his heroics, but it was decided to erect a memorial to Martin-Leake on the farm Syferfontein, where a large stone farmhouse had acted as the South African Constabulary base.  Ann Clayton’s book Martin-Leake Double VC does not have a detailed map of the location of the battle, but does have a map with an arrow pointing to Vlakfontein, which is considered to be the wrong Vlakfontein as the position shown is the location of the present town of Balfour some distance away.  As at September 2013, Martin-Leake was the first of only three persons ever to have added a Bar to his VC, won at Zonnebeke in Belgium in 1914 –  ( the others being Noel Chavasse in 1915 & 1916, and Charles Upham in 1941 & 1942).  Because of the overall significance of the event in 1902, it was decided to honour Martin-Leake by erecting a suitable memorial to him.  The unveiling of the memorial was officiated by Colonel Simon West, formerly of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders on 24 September 2013.   Robin Smith, in his book Practically Over, has documented a detailed description of the action, as well as the references to previous writings which helped to verify the location of the action and to turn the project into reality.