16. King's Post

That there were not more casualties was the result of the civilian population digging themselves into shelters and caves along the high banks of the Klip River. The soldiers dug trenches and built sangars and were sheltered behind stone walls. The 2nd Battalion of the Rifle Brigade on King’s Post, in an exposed position and vulnerable to artillery fire from the hills to the west, north and south, built bomb-proof shelters and covered pits against shrapnel. Nevertheless, they had to seek rapid shelter when a shell was fired.

35. Surprise Hill

This is Surprise Hill, a steep hill to the north west of Ladysmith. It had born the name of Mdaka (or Vaalkop in Afrikaans) until, to the surprise of the British, the Boers dragged their gun to the summit and opened fire. Henceforth the hill was called Surprise Hill. It was almost 3½ miles from King’s Post and rose 700 feet above the valley between Thornhill’s Kop and Bell’s Kop.

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.