31. Gun Hill

Rawlinson claimed that Hunter “and David Henderson persuaded the Chief to agree to my plan for having a go at Bulwana Tom. I was very sick at not being allowed to go myself, as it was my idea”. White insisted that Hunter lead the raid on Gun Hill himself, taking with him a force of 500 men. The result, on the night of 7th December 1899, was a stunning success for the men of the Imperial Light Horse, the Natal Carbineers and the Border Mounted Rifles. A Creusot Long Tom and a 12cm Krupp howitzer were blown up.

64. Repair of the Boer Guns in the ZASM Railway workshops in Pretoria

As a result of the two raids on Gun Hill and Surprise Hill, the Boers now had two damaged Krupp 12cm howitzers and a Long Tom. Captain Sam Léon, the Creusot company’s adviser attached to the Boer army to assist with the operation and gunnery of the Long Toms, examined the Gun Hill Long Tom and the howitzer and reported, “I have inspected the big cannon and howitzer and regret to report that they are beyond repair”. Nevertheless, the Long Tom was taken back to Pretoria, the end of the muzzle cut off, the gun returned to service outside Kimberley and renamed gleefully by the Boers, “Die Jood” (The Jew). The Surprise Hill Krupp was likely even more damaged than that on Gun Hill since there was a charge in the muzzle, the first one with the faulty fuse that needed to be replaced, and a further delayed action charge in the breech that exploded a little later.