Craig Stockings - Letters from the Veldt: The imperial advance to Pretoria through the eyes of Edward Hutton and his brigade of colonials

Letters from the veldt

The imperial advance to Pretoria through the eyes of Edward Hutton and his brigade of colonials

Copyright Craig Stockings

First published 2020

Copyright remains the property of the author and apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission.

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For Cataloguing-in-Publication entry see National Library of Australia.

Creator: Craig Stockings

Title: Letters from the veldt: The imperial advance to Pretoria through the eyes of Edward Hutton and his brigade of colonials

ISBN: 978-1-922265-97-5

Letters from the veldt

The imperial advance to Pretoria through the eyes of Edward Hutton and his brigade of colonials

Craig Stockings

For Emma, Georgia, Charlotte and Thomas Stockings

Table of Contents

My very strong points constitute my weakness: a war on the veldt, imperial implications, and a multi-faceted window through which to view them

Since the time of Alexander I doubt if a more ambitious and unscrupulous warrior ever lived: our correspondent: snippets from Huttons early life

Such a splendid lot of bronzed men: Huttons arrival and the establishment of 1st Mounted Infantry Brigade, 3 March - 29 April 1900

The glint of battle was in their eyes we understood one another, they and I: the advance to the Vet River, 30 April 5 May 1900

Alas! Alas! If we had only been in greater force!: working with the cavalry, 6-29 May 1900

We were all off like shots from a catapult: The fall of Johannesburg, 30 May 22 June 1900

Bothas attack against me was intended to be the great coup: the defence of the Witpoort area, 23 June-12 July 1900

I should certainly, had I been French, have pushed on at all hazards: the advance east from Pretoria, 23 July - 4 September 1900

Certainly the most critical, if not the most important : the capture of the Kaapsche Hoep plateau and the end of Huttons war, 5 September-15 October 1900

A calm somewhat stern face, and a cold resolute demeanour inspired confidence wherever he went: reflection on Huttons Boer War

Notes on Sources

Much of the primary source material used within this book, including original copies of all letters sent by the then Major General Edward Hutton from South Africa back to his wife, Eleanor Mary Hutton, comes from the Hutton Papers, held by the British Library. This large, 37-volume collection was donated by Eleanor in two parts in 1926 and in 1948. The Hutton Papers are divided into seven lettered classifications and internal call numbers as follows: A. Royal and special correspondence, 50078-50089; B. Family correspondence, 50090, 50091; C. General correspondence, 50092-50099; D. Military books, 50100-50106; E. Diaries and letter books, 50107-50109; F. Literary Manuscripts, 50110-50113; and G. Lists, 50114. Footnote references to the Hutton Papers held in the British Library in this book use the acronym HP [Hutton Papers], followed by a volume and folio identifer. For example, Draft Memoirs of Lieutenant General Sir Edward Hutton (hereafter Memoirs), H P, F-2.

The entire Hutton Papers was purchased in microfilm form by the Library of the University of New South Wales Canberra in 1986. The collection is entitled: Hutton, E. (1996). [Edward Thomas Henry Hutton (1848-1923) Manuscript Collection], and its microfilm call number is mfilm 1173. Footnote references to the microfilm version of the Hutton Papers held within this library also use the acronym HP [Hutton Papers], followed by a reel number. For example, Hutton to Minto, 14 April 1900, H P, Reel A-1.

A typeset and bound copy of Huttons letters back to Eleanor exists within the National Library of Australia under the following title: Hutton, Edward T. H. 1900, Letters and press cuttings 1900-1904 [manuscript] MS 1215. Wherever possible, references to Huttons letters from South Africa will point to this particular bound collection. This is on account of the ease of access to these versions of Huttons letters, and the legibility of their typeset print. This bound value is incomplete, however, and where reference is made to a letter Hutton chose not to place in this collection then either of the above sources is referenced as appropriate.

The reader, like the historian, must bear in mind that the Hutton Papers, including his letters from the veldt, are an edited collection. Hutton himself carefully constructed their form and structure before he died, for the specific purpose of posterity. No one will ever know what, if anything, was excluded or destroyed. Similarly, care must be taken when making use of a later pen edit upon an original document by Hutton, who was ever conscious of future history.

Huttons letters from South Africa to Eleanor need to be read in this context. These were never the private conversations between partners that might be assumed. Nor were they the confidential or personal ruminations of a man seeking only to chronicle his thoughts and feelings. Rather, Hutton used his letters to deliberately create a record of events through his eyes, full of his observations and conclusion, for the purpose of his future memoirs or the pens of future historians. He was not shy of this fact. I am beginning a letter to you, Hutton wrote to Eleanor almost as soon as he arrived in South Africa, as I wish to make my letters as full as I can, so as to form a diary of events hereafter. That there are precious few private thoughts or tenderness for Eleanor within the letters ought not be understood as the absence of such feelings such was not the point of his letters. Eleanor knew that.

None of the afforementioned context makes Huttons South African letters less important or insightful. Rather, they are a particular and in many ways peculiar source in its own right.

The letters appearing in the following pages have not been altered in any manner, save for minor corrections in spelling, grammar and the removal of anachronistic military abbreviations and acronyms for the comfort of the 21st Century reader.

Major General Edward Hutton, circa early 1900, in Canada, prior to his deployment to South Africa. Pen ever poised and ready, Huttons correspondence to his wife, Eleanor, provides a unique window into the war on the veldt. Source: AWMP03875.002.

Eleanor Hutton, Edwards wife and the recipient of his voluminous correspondence from South Africa. Source: Library and Archives Canada, PA-057332.

Acknowledgements

First and foremost I owe a great debt of gratitude in the production of this book to Emeritus Professor Peter Dennis. Peter you have been not only a friend and mentor for more than 20 years, but I am honoured to call you a colleague and co-conspirator. Peters editorial skill and patience in helping craft my roughly jotted thoughts into sensible prose knows no bounds. Thank you. Thanks also to Dr Tom Richardson for all of the useful discussions about operational and tactical problems associated with the Boer War your takes, Tom, have invariably been red hot. May I offer my thanks also to Keith Mitchell, along with the folks at Big Sky Publishing who are responsible to the first-rate maps contained herein.