NATAL MOUNTED POLICE: GREYTOWN: THEY DIED FOR KING AND COUNTRY, FAR AWAY FROM HOME

Deon van Niekerk

Deon writes:

Here are some of the very old graves I photographed last year June 2025 in Greytown cemetery:

John Adams

John Buckley Baily

Unfortunately, as you can see, they are made of sandstone and are deteriorating badly. So, these photos saved on as many forums as possible will preserve their details. These and other photos already appear on the EGGSA Graves site under “Greytown”.

A Forgotten Chapter from Greytown’s Mounted Police Pioneers

Brig HB Heymans

In a quiet corner of Greytown’s cemetery, four weathered sandstone headstones tell a story few remember—but many ought to. Their inscriptions, though faint, whisper of young men from the ranks of the Natal Mounted Police (NMP), who served the Crown years before the thunder of the Anglo-Boer War echoed across the veld.

The photograph accompanying this article, dated from the 1880s, captures a moment in time: mounted officers in smart dress, stern yet proud, stationed in the then-frontier town of Greytown in Natal. These were not seasoned veterans of colonial campaigns, nor men with medals pinned to their tunics—but ordinary troopers posted far from their homelands, bound by duty, discipline, and quiet courage.

Their graves bear no grandeur. Time has softened their edges; wind and rain have worn their names. But they remain, steadfast in the soil of South Africa—a reminder that sacrifice did not start with the well-known wars. These men gave their lives in the line of duty at a time when Natal was still carving its identity in the tapestry of empire.

We do not know the details of their passing. Was it illness, conflict, misadventure? The archives may yet hold answers, but perhaps the greater truth lies in the fact that they are here—in South African ground—buried not as invaders, but as police officers who served with resolve in a strange and often unforgiving land.

Their legacy is humble, their stories largely lost. Yet in rediscovering their graves and remembering their service, we honour a deeper narrative: one of quiet valour in the shadow of great events.

We salute their memory – Lest we forget