Second Anglo Boer War: The Concordia Monument: “The men who would not march: Concordia Northern Cape: April 1902”
SECOND ANGLO BOER WAR: THE CONCORDIA MONUMENT: “THE MEN WHO WOULD NOT MARCH: CONCORDIA NORTHERN CAPE: APRIL 1902”
Compiled by Wolfgang Witschas
Historical Context
Concordia is a town in Namakwa District Municipality in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It was originally established as a Rhenish mission station in 1852, and copper mining began in 1853 through to 1983 in the area. The town is of historical interest because it is situated at the origin of mining endeavours in South Africa.
During the last part of the Anglo Boer War,
General Jan Smuts look his commando and proceeded from the north west to the desert like Namaqualand. His commando overwhelmed several of the mining centres and laid siege on O’kiep. The Boers used Concordia as their headquarters whilst the copper mine/town, O’kiep (some 6 km away), was under siege.
Background
The Cape Copper Company who owned mines in O’kiep and Nababeep, and managed Springbokfontein (now Springbok) the administrative capital, at Garies, and at the coastal town of Port Nolloth. The mining company established volunteer Town Guard in these towns.
The senior White company and civilian staff filled the officer and non-commissioned officer roles, whilst the miners and Coloured men filled the lower ranks. Initially each town had its own Town Guard; however, these were later amalgamated into the Namaqualand Town Guard.
Those who could ride and shoot, and knew the local environment, were arranged into the 1st Namaqualand Border Scouts (mounted) while the 2nd Namaqualand Border Scouts were a dismounted/infantry unit who protected the railway line to Port Nolloth.
Blockhouses, built of sandbags and readily available local rock, were built in strategic positions, while other defence works were constructed to guard the approaches to the town, and roads within it. A communication system was established and military stores allocated.
The Town Guards received rudimentary training in drill (for discipline) and shooting – although very few rounds of ammunition were expended on shooting practice. The men were allocated to defence positions under officers and non-commissioned officers.
Sergeants & Corporals of a Detachment of the Namaqualand Town Guard.
The Second Anglo Boer War (1899-1902)
After the proclamation of martial law in the Cape Colony on the second January 1901 to protect the considerable assets by the copper mines. The main defensive effort was concentrated in O’kiep. The 8 km perimeter was fortified by 13 blockhouses with outer and inner defences with entanglement of barbed wire. A number of British regular soldiers, 110 in all stiffened the 100 strong fighting force, at least 600 were coloured employees of the mine, the remainder (about 250) were white employees together with these, these two groups had been formed into the No 1 Company of the Namaqua Town Guards Battalion (NTGB). The armoury which included 9 pounder field gun, maxim machine gun. A military headquarters was established early in 1901 in O’kiep under the command of Hon. Lt Col. Shelton, a career officer. Royal West Surry Regiment.
Concordia in contrast had practically no defences apart from koppies near the village. The only defender comprised of the 110-town guard raised from the employees of the mine. Ninety present were coloured men, while white mine officials and Concordia civilians formed the corps of officers and NCOs. Infact the army never intended to hold the place which encompassing an area of about 24 square kilometers, would have at least required 1000 men to defend – that number was not available. The Concordia Town Guard was commanded by Captain Francis Phillips.
Shelton’s defence tactics were to send out mounted Namaqualand Border Scouts patrols, with instructions to scout for Boer activity, but not to engage with them, since the scouting patrols were small and few in number.
Skirmishes
A commando under General Ben Bouwer also ambushed a British patrol under Lt. William McIntyre at Groot Kau. Ten of the Namaqualand Border Scouts were lost as the patrol prepared to dismount, the remainder of the patrol fleeing. Lt. McIntyre was later caught by Denys Reitz in Springbokfontein.
Thereafter Springbokfontein was attacked and capitulated after only 17 hours, with each of the three blockhouses falling in succession. Two fatalities were suffered at the blockhouse located on the rise over which the old road to the town passed. They were Stewart, and van Coevorden, both shot through the loopholes of the blockhouse by Denys Reitz, at that time serving with General Smuts’ Commando. Reitz had crawled into position to the west of the blockhouse, under darkness, and taken shelter behind a quartz ridge. At dawn when he saw movement through the loopholes, he fired, and upon entering the blockhouse later, after the surrender, found both bodies with bullet holes through their heads. Van Coevorden and Stewart (a Clerk to the Resident Magistrate) are buried together close to where they fell. Once Springbokfontein surrendered, the Boers focussed their attention on Concordia and Nababeep.
Shelton had ordered the withdrawal of the small garrisons from both locations, since they would not have been able to hold out against Boer commandos several hundred strong. Nababeep responded by sending their men and families by train to O’kiep before the Boer Commandos arrived. Leaving Nababeep thus unprotected resulted in the mine being damaged by dynamite and the town, both businesses and houses, being ransacked.
The Concordia contingent (nos. 5 and 8 of the Namaqualand Town Guard) had also been ordered to bring their arms and ammunition into O’kiep. An ammunition wagon and a small escort did leave Concordia and arrived safely in O’kiep, but the members of the escort were then cut off from returning home and so were assigned to defensive positions within O’kiep.
The remainder of the Concordia contingent stood firm, and their CO, Captain Francis Phillips, indicated to Lieutenant-Colonel Shelton that the men would not leave their families, homes and mine unprotected, despite most rifles, ammunition and stores already having been sent to O’kiep. This defiant response was not well received by Shelton and his officers.
The Concordia contingent remained in their blockhouses and at their defence positions. A Boer commando led by General Smuts arrived at Concordia. Unbeknown to the Concordia Town Guard, Smuts’ party was on a scouting patrol and numbered only about 40 Boers. Smuts took a gamble and called on Captain Phillips and his men to surrender.While considering their course of action the officers and men of the Concordia Town Guard took the following into account:
• They were surrounded and outnumbered by battle-hardened Boers
• They had only rudimentary military and rifle training
• Ammunition was limited
• Their families might be massacred, and their homes and mine destroyed – as had happened at Lieliefontein
Captain Phillips and General Smuts negotiated a surrender, whereby the men, families, homes and mine would not be harmed during Boer occupation. General Smuts agreed and ensured that whilst the town of Concordia was occupied by the Boers that the agreement, a ‘state of peace’, was upheld.
Generals Smuts, Maritz, van Deventer and staff at Springbokfontein, Namaqualand 1902
The Boers instructed the Town guard to leave Concordia and proceed to O’kiep. The 110 men however refused to leave in order to protect their families which would be left defenceless. They twice ignored instructions (first the British then the Boers) in order to protect their families.
“The Heroes who did not want to fight”
The Boer Siege
The Boers moved on to O’kiep. The siege of Okiep started on 04 April 1902, and lasted for approximately four weeks, ending around 01 May 1902, at the end of the Second Boer War. The Boers used Concordia as their headquarters whilst Okiep end of km away) was under siege.
The siege lasted for a month, before re-enforcements arrived by sea through Port Nolloth, and thence by railway to the copper town. Because of the siege, all mining operations had ceased. The women and children were housed in the mine, mine buildings and school room. Food was rationed. Daily Orders communicated military activities as well as the decisions taken in order to regulate activities in the town.
Daily sniping commenced especially from the eastern ridges. The town’s single 9-pounder cannon, situated on Fort Shelton, was kept busy shelling these eastern ridges to clear them of snipers. Blockhouses, especially to the north-east of the town, were lost and recaptured as skirmishes took place, especially at night.
Several attempts to take the town were made by the Boers. For instance, after General Smuts and his small entourage (including Denys Reitz) had been recalled to the peace talks at Vereeniging, a train loaded with dynamite was sent into the town.
As is inevitable in war, both soldiers and civilians were killed during the siege. A siege burial ground was established to the south-west of Fort Shelton, the siege headquarters. Those who were killed were buried at low light or at night, the area being partly protected against sniping from the eastern ridges. The siege cemetery contained the bodies of soldiers, civilians and children. Their headstones were marked by simple rocks placed at the head of the grave.
Unique Monument in Concordia: “Hier was Helde Monument”
On 27 April 2017 a unique monument was erected in Concordia. Not a monument to commemorate dead or famous people: but for men who refused to fight.
On the monument the words:
= gel-geisens//gaumans The men who would not march
Facebook Group; Monumente, Gedenktekens en Interessanthede Suid Afrika
A big granite “Sun clock/Sun Dial” from Rustenburg rests on the double story round pedestal on which the clock is mounted, with the names of the 110 men inscripted on the two spheres
The hedge around the monument is made from the original railway tracks from O’kiep to Concordia.
Facebook Group; Monumente, Gedenktekens en Interessanthede Suid Afrika
Facebook Group; Monumente, Gedenktekens en Interessanthede Suid Afrika
Comment:
Lord Kitchener described this incident as: “The most disgraceful affair of the war.”
Epilogue
The Concordia Monument
• What it is: A monument that commemorates the “heroes of peace” who chose not to participate in the war
• Who it honours: 110 men of the Concordia town guard
• Its significance: It stands as a reminder of a different kind of heroism – the choice of peace over violence during the South African War.
• Its origins: Constructed by the local community.
References:
Face Book Group; Monumrnte, Gedenktekens en Interessanthede Suid Afrika – Kobie Ströh: 12 September 2025: “Concordia Monument”
https://samilitaryhistory.org/jnl201gv.html
The South African Military History Society. Military History Journal Vol 20 No 1 – December 2023
“The Men Who Would Not March”
How Concordia, Namaqualand, Regained Her Pride
By Lt Cdr Anthony-Glenn von Zeil
Book:
Good-by Dolly Gray
The story of the Boer War: Rayne Kruger
Page: 478
