Monday, 21 October 2013

Grandad Williamson meets General Allenby



The wet season on the veldt hampered us greatly in this chase after the enemy.  We had to have some transport to carry food, ammunition and blankets, one blanket a man.  The rain would make dried up watercourses raging torrents in no time and even when the rain let up the steep banks of the watercourses were extremely difficult for transport.  When it got stuck the party of infantry with the main body used to heave and tug, collect stones ie rocks and brushwood to get the wagons up the slope.  I was in charge of a party doing this one day and a colonel rode up to me.  Did I know where Colonel Campbell was? (that was our camp commander).  I said “No sir” and saluted.  He looked at me and then he said, “If you see Colonel Campbell tell him I am looking for him.”  I replied “Who are you sir?”  “Colonel Allenby”, he said.  He too was in command of a similar column, that is one battalion of infantry, a regiment of cavalry and a battery of artillery, which was of a similar composition to the one I was in.  I thought what a fine looking officer he was – he proved that later on.

These many small columns never looked like bringing the war to an end.  We advanced at foot marching pace, (the wagon infantry idea had been abandoned), and the enemy retreated at a canter.

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