41. Colour Sergeant Jack Archer

There are several first-person accounts of what happened that night. Deneys Reitz wrote a short version in Commando. There is a much more detailed account in the diary that he wrote during his time in exile in Madagascar. This diary is now in the Oppenheimer’s Brenthurst Library in Johannesburg. Dietlof van Warmelo also
wrote about his experiences. Lieutenant Hugh Dawnay wrote a report entitled the Attack on Surprise Hill for the Rifle Brigade Chronicle of 1900. Colour Sergeant Jack Archer wrote a letter to his mother in the form of a diary and including a sketch of the action. This document is in the Liddel Hart Centre for Military Archives in London. Captain Johnny Gough and Major George Thesiger also wrote diary entries.

42. Jack Archer's map

This is the sketch map that Archer enclosed with the letter to his mother. At 9 p.m. on the night of 10th December the Rifle Brigade assembled at King’s Post. Rawlinson had gone up to King’s Post to see the show. Five companies ‘A’ ‘B’ ‘E’ ‘G’ ‘H’ and part of ‘C’ were told off for the attack, 558 officers and men, together with five men of the Royal
Artillery under Major Francis Wing and six sappers under Lieutenant Robert Digby Jones of the Royal Engineers. Their guides were Harry Thornhill, who owned the nearby farm, and Sydney Ashby who may have been employed at a farm in the vicinity.

43. Archer's map enhanced

There was an active Boer searchlight on Telegraph Hill as well as bright moonlight. The force marched slowly so as to avoid the searchlight and halted in dead ground when the moon broke through the clouds. They proceeded when cloud covered the moon once again. The railway line to Harrismith, which crossed the valley in front of their objective, was their first serious obstacle. There were barbed wire fences on each side which had to be cut and care was taken to do this as silently as possible. Half of ‘E’ company was left to guard the crossing. They advanced across the open and level ground between the railway and the hill and pushed on as fast as they could in the darkness. It was necessary to observe complete silence and Dawnay was concerned that they were walking into a trap as
“Bell’s and Thornhill’s kopjes loomed large and ominous on our flanks.” They reached the donga which runs across the valley and left the other half of ‘E’ company here.

52. Colour Sergeant Jack Archer's action

It could only have been Malherbe’s men who caused the majority of ‘G’ company casualties. Archer, in his letter seems to be clear about what happened: “We had not gone far when we received a lot of shots from the enemy who
had got into a donga between us and our camp.” Archer clearly kept his head in what was becoming a difficult situation. Captain Paley gave the order to charge, driving Malherbe’s men out of the donga. Some of the Riflemen were mixed up together but Archer got them into sections and kept in command until they reached camp. Sergeant William Danton also assisted in this effort. The other companies got into line at the foot of the hill and each one had to cut their way through to the railway. Thesiger said that “we managed to stick several of them. We lost pretty heavily but I fancy there are very few battalions who could have got out without a disaster.” Colour Sergeant Saunders was killed as well as Sergeant Robert Patterson, 2nd Lieutenants Davenport and Bond and Sergeant Ebner were wounded, 15 men were killed or died of wounds, 31 were wounded and 6 were listed as captured but were quickly released.

60. The Distinguished Conduct Medal to Sergts Archer and Danton

Both Archer and Danton received awards for their bravery. Archer’s entry for 26th December is a little sceptical about the possibility of the award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal (it was in fact awarded to him) but clearly
delighted to have been mentioned in dispatches, the next best thing to getting a medal. Sir George White’s report praised the way the Riflemen had managed to get back to the defence lines without being surrounded and cut off. This, he said, was due to “the good Company system that obtains in the Battalion, to the able way Company Commanders exercised their Commands and to the bravery with which the Riflemen closed with the enemy.”