QSA/WW1 GROUP TO AN IMPERIAL YEOMANRY OFFICER, WOUNDED DURING THE
‘V.C. ACTION’ AT TAFEL KOP, 1901, WHERE ACCORDING TO KITCHENER HIS UNIT
SACRIFICED THEMSELVES ALMOST TO A MAN TO SAVE DAMANT’s GUNS
QUEEN’S SOUTH AFRICA 1899, 4 CLASPS, CAPE COLONY, ORANGE FREE STATE, SOUTH
AFRICA 1901, SOUTH AFRICA 1902 ‘LIEUT., IMP. YEO.’; 1914-15 STAR ‘CAPT.,A.S.C.’;
BRITISH WAR AND VICTORY MEDALS ‘CAPT.’
Lionel Wellesley Armstrong, born 18 June 1880. He served two years in the Queen’s Westminster Rifle
Volunteers and then over two years in the Imperial Yeomanry during the Boer War. Serving with the
91st Company (Sharpshooters), he acted as Transport Officer to Colonel Damant’s Column for the
greater part of his time in South Africa. Lieutenant Armstrong was wounded at Tafel Kop on 20
December 1901
In the action, a large Boer force, disguised as British infantry, infiltrated a smaller British force
composed of 2 guns 55 men under Colonel Damant, protected by 40 men of 91 Company Imperial
Yeomanry. In the action that followed, the artillery horses and limbers were saved but at a cost - Out of
the 95 men of the column, Damant’s Horse and 39th Battery RHA lost 43 killed and wounded
including Lt Col Damant himself who was wounded in four places. In this truly heroic action, 91st
Company Imperial Yeomanry had 32 hit out of 40, and, in the words of Lord Kitchener;
"sacrificed itself almost to a man to save Damant's guns".
Armstrong’s C.O. Captain Gaussen was killed and Shoeing-Smith Ind, R.H.A. won a V.C!
During the Great War Armstrong served as an officer in the Royal Army Service Corps from 20
September 1914 until demobilized in March 1919.
The following particulars of this gallant fight were obtained from the men engaged in it by the
correspondent of the Central News:
The columns under Colonel Damant and Colonel Rimington left Frankfort on the 19th inst. and
proceeded in the direction of Vrede. The force trekked all night through a most severe thunderstorm,
during which three of our men were struck by lightning and killed. On reaching the neighbourhood of
Tafelkop, Damant rushed a Boer piquet, killingone man and capturing- Commandant Gyter.
At daybreak the transport waggons were laagered, and were left behind in charge of
a small escort, while Damant with two guns of the 39th Battery, and one pom-pom and ninety-five men
all told, rushed forward. The little force deviated on the left flank, where a number of Boers had been
located. On reaching a ridge Colonel Damant observed a party of seventy men dressed in British
uniform busily engaged driving cattle in his direction. The strangers were at first taken to be a part of
Rimington's column which had gone out on the right flank. The mistake was soon discovered, however,
and almost immediately another body of the enemy was located further to the left of the British laager.
Our guns were speedily unlimbered, and quickly came into action. We had only been able to fire two
shots when the Boers in charge of the cattle abandoned them and galloped boldly forward towards the
British position. The enemy opened a galling fire on the gunners at a range of two hundred yards, and
simultaneously another party of 150 Boers who had remained carefully concealed in ambush in the
long grass at the foot of the ridge enfiladed the position. A large number of the gallant defenders fell at
the first few volleys, but the survivors fought tenaciously, and the enemy were only able to rush and
capture the position after all the men on the ridge had been either killed or wounded except three.
Previous to this, however, some of the gallant gunners and the escort had succeeded in getting away
the limbers of the guns, notwithstanding the heavy fire. The only gunner who had escaped the bullets
then effectually destroyed the breech-blocks of the guns and rendered them utterly useless to the enemy.
Out of a total force of 95 in action we had 75 killed and wounded, the 91st Yeomanry loosing one
officer and 14 men were killed and one officer and 16 men wounded. The Boers, who were under
Commandants Wessels, Ross, and M. Botha—the latter the son of the Commandant-General—also lost
heavily. They had Commandant Vandermerwe and 30 men killed. Three of the Boer dead were buried
by our men, and the remainder were carried away.
Later in the day a Boer came in under a flag of truce and asked for an armistice in
order to allow the enemy to attend to their wounded and bury their dead. The survivors on our side
state that the Boers behaved badly to our wounded on the ridge after the position had been rushed.
Every one who made a movement while lying on the ground was fired at. An officer of the Yeomanry
(Armstong??) asked permission from a Boer dressed in kharki to get water for our wounded. For
reply the Boer discharged his Mauser point blank at the officer's head, but fortunately missed him.
Several more of the enemy robbed and stripped our wounded and dead, and were only restrained from
perpetrating further outrages by their commandants. The Boers were terribly angry when they
discovered they were unable to move or use the guns which they had captured. Meanwhile Captain
Scott had got together a small force and came up to the assistance of Damant's men. Scott prepared to
charge the position, when the enemy, mistaking his men for Rimington's column, hastily retreated. The
fleeing Boers, however, fell right into the arms of Rimington's force, which was coming up to Damant's
support. Rimington opened fire, and the enemy lost a few killed, while five were captured. Rimington,
with the remainder of Damant's force, chased the flying enemy across the Wilge River. There appears
to have been lately a large concentration of the enemy under De Wet at Tafelkop. Large parties of
determined fighters under the immediate command of M.Botha, Meintjes, Tallvaard, Steenkamp, and
Bucknill are now laying in ambush about the district, waiting to attack small columns.
Condition GVF+, mounted as worn, with copied WW1 service papers, research on the action at Tafel
Kop and an original group photograph.