PIET BOUWER AND ADOLF VAN EMMENES – PERDESTAL COURTHOUSE

Note: The construction of the memorial was organised by David Scholtz. This is his story:-

Memorials unveiled on 27 August 2011 over the grave of the Boer “Joiners”, Piet Bouwer and Adolf van Emmenes, on the farm Hartbeesfontein near Villiers and at the remains of the “Perdestal” where the court martial of Bouwer and van Emmenes took place

We first learnt of the “Joiners”, Piet Bouwer and Adolf van Emmenes, who were captured by the Boers, court martialed and executed during the Anglo-Boer War, when we read Ian Uys’s book Heidelbergers of the Boer War, which was published in 1981. In the chapter headed the “Witkop Commando” Ian tells the story in some detail.
Much of the account in Ian Uys’s book is based on an interview that he had with a certain Jac Kriek. Kriek had been a teenager at the time of the Anglo-Boer War and was a very old man when Ian learned that he was still alive and living in Heidelberg in 1974. Kriek had been involved in the capture and execution of the “Joiners”. More recent research has been undertaken by Albert Blake for his book “Boereverraaier: Teregstellings tydens die Anglo-Boereoorlog”, which devotes a chapter to the two young “Joiners”.
In about 2010 we contacted Ian and asked whether he could give us directions to the grave of the “Joiners”. By this time Ian had left Heidelberg. He told us that he had been taken to the grave many years ago by the old Boer, Jac Kriek. Ian was unable to give us exact directions to the grave but suggested that we contact Brigadier Kamffer, who used to farm in the area. Brigadier Kamffer in turn advised us to contact Mr Ludwig Ankiewicz, who farmed on the farm Barnardskop near the town of Villiers. He knew the site of the graves and the whole story.
We duly contacted Ludwig, who took us to the grave of the “Joiners” a few km outside Villiers and also took us to the remains of the “Perdestal” where the court martial of the “Joiners” had taken place. This was a few km from the grave. Ludwig’s grandfather, Piet Roos, had actually served in the commando which had captured and executed the “Joiners”. The grave consisted of a pile of stones, which was heavily overgrown with grass and weeds. Once the overgrowth had been removed, we found the grave to be a soil mound covered with rocks. These must have been collected from the vicinity and placed (possibly by members of the families) so as to prevent the mound from being completely eroded and its location being lost. Alongside the grave was another grave, the border of which was marked with stones in the shape of a coffin. Ludwig advised us that this was the grave of a certain Koot Bierman, who had committed suicide in 1930.
We knew that the local Afrikaners would never have erected a memorial over the grave of Bouwer and van Emmenes lest they were suspected of being sympathetic to the “Joiners”. We nevertheless suggested to Ludwig that the story of the “Joiners” should not be lost and that we should erect a memorial over the grave and also at the site of the “Perdestal” where the court martial had taken place. We suggested that the memorial over the grave should contain inscriptions in both English and Afrikaans and give a short account of the capture of the “Joiners”, their court martial and subsequent execution. Ludwig readily agreed to work with us on the project.
We then proceeded to engage a stonemason to create the granite memorials and erect them at the relevant places. The memorials over the grave and at the stable site were erected on 25 July 2011. A granite border was laid around the grave. The rocks were replaced over the grave within the granite border and the memorial was erected at the head of the grave. At the stable site the memorial was erected facing the road passing by the remains of the stable.
On 26 August 2011 the memorials to the two “Joiners” were dedicated in a ceremony attended by a number of interested people. Ludwig Ankiewicz, in a short speech, described how these two young men came to be executed by their own people. Nigel Mason, an Anglican lay minister, delivered a short burial service, something Piet Bouwer and Adolf van Emmenes were not given on the day they were executed and interred. The ceremony took place two days after the 110th anniversary of their deaths and was testimony to the fact that the passing of time has caused much of the bitterness towards the “Joiners” to dissipate . May these two young men now rest in peace, perhaps knowing that their story will not be forgotten!
Some time later we also erected a memorial over the grave of Koot Bierman who had committed suicide and was buried alongside the “Joiners”.
The name Van Emmenis is incorrectly spelt on the memorial. The name should be spelt as Van Emmenes.