8. Harry Spanier

The plaque for the first Jewish fatality of the Anglo Boer war on the Boer side.

49. The fight in the donga

Reitz said that at about 1 o’clock they heard the English on top of the hill crying ‘Hurrah!’ They sent word to Zeederberg, the Field Cornet, who soon arrived at the Malherbe picquet with some burghers of the Pretoria Commando but after the gun had been blown up. Reitz and his companions heard “the crash of musketry followed by wild bursts of cheering”. It was then that Malherbe shouted “Come on boys” and he and eight members of the
corporalship ran towards the sound of the firing. The nine were Isaac Malherbe, Hennie, Jan and Kenne Malherbe, Pauljie and Arthur de Villiers, Sampie van Zijl and Joubert and Deneys Reitz. Zeederberg and the remainder of the corporalship returned to the laager and took up positions on Bell’s Kop. Five or six men of the commando did not obey Zeederberg’s command and came after Malherbe’s men a little later. Among them were Désiré de Villiers, Johnny Niemeyer and Harry Spanier, a man called Solms and John Pott.

55. Harry Spanier

The other two “who were not with us originally” were Harry Spanier and Johnny Niemeyer. Harry Spanier was the first person of Jewish origin on the Boer side to become a casualty of the war. He was 60 years of age, came from Columbus, Ohio to the Transvaal in 1896, and was a railway lawyer and speculator. Spanier had not obeyed Zeederberg’s instruction to remain behind the wall on Bell’s Kop. Somewhere on the field he was challenged, but replied in English with a request not to shoot. As this was a frequently used ruse, he was fired at and shot by his Boer comrades. Falling wounded, he was bayonetted by the Riflemen. His body was recovered the next day with the one rifle wound and the four bayonet stabs administered afterward. His funeral in Pretoria was attended by ZAR President Paul Kruger.

56. Father Baudry's letter to Mrs Emma Spanier

During the time that he was in Ladysmith, Harry Spanier shared a tent with a Catholic priest from Pretoria, Father Baudry. They became good friends and Spanier even attended mass. His wife was a Catholic which may explain this. Spanier had requested Father Baudry to write to his wife in America in the event of him becoming a casualty, which he did. This is the first page of his sensitive letter to Mrs Emma Spanier in Columbus, Ohio.

57. Harry Spanier's headstones

The original headstone in Church Street cemetery in Pretoria did not indicate his Jewish origin and in recent years a new headstone was erected with the Cross of David and a Hebrew inscription. The original gravestone had the old inscription polished away and re-engraved with the new. The South African Jewish Ex-Servicemen’s League initiated the change.