Remembering the Foreign Volunteers
REMEMBERING THE FOREIGN VOLUNTEERS – 4
Jennifer Bosch
President Kruger’s Jew: Jacob Arnhold
The boy was just fourteen when he first donned a cadet’s uniform in Potsdam. Jacob Arnhold, born in Leipzig in 1871, had already known loss—his parents were gone, and his childhood felt like something borrowed. Discipline and duty were to become his guardians. Two years at the famous Cadet School shaped him into a soldier, but the true turning point of his life came not in Germany, but thousands of miles to the south.
In 1887, a burly South African arrived in Potsdam, seeking recruits for the Boer forces. Jacob, restless and eager, volunteered. South Africa offered him both escape and belonging—or so he thought. He had an elder brother already living in the Transvaal, but when Jacob arrived in Pretoria, he was met not with an embrace but rejection. His brother dismissed him as “too much of a German” for his liking. Stranded in a new world, the orphan turned once again to soldiering.
He went to Krugersdorp and enlisted with the Volunteer Corps under Com. Ben Viljoen. Later, in 1894, his path led him into the Staatsartillerie—the Boer Republic’s artillery regiment, feared and admired as “the President’s own.”
It was in December 1895, during the thunderous episode of the Jameson Raid, that young Arnhold found himself at the center of history. Visiting Viljoen when the alarm came—carried by none other than President Kruger’s grandson, Sarel Eloff—he rushed back into service. As a runner, Jacob ferried vital reports between Eloff, the commanders, and the President himself. It was in those frantic days that Paul Kruger first noticed the German-Jewish artilleryman. The friendship between the old patriarch of the Boer Republic and the young outsider grew into a bond unusual for both.
Among the burghers, Jacob became known with a half-jesting, half-respectful nickname: “President Kruger’s Jood”—Kruger’s Jew. He was one of the very few Jews in the Transvaal’s army, and the only one in the artillery.
When war broke out in 1899, the tall German correspondent turned Boer soldier fought with the gunners across all four provinces. He stood under fire at Milner’s Pass, served loyally until the long retreat, and, at Machadodorp, marched as part of Kruger’s personal guard as the old President prepared to leave for Europe. At that farewell, Kruger turned to him with paternal affection, bestowing both a blessing and a new identity:
“From now on, you will call yourself Johannes Stephanus Jacobus Arnhold.”
The war dragged on without the patriarch’s presence. Jacob fought to the bitter end, surrendering finally at Kestrolhoogte near Wakkerstroom, alongside General Botha and other stalwart commanders of the Boer cause.
The end was far less glorious than the storms of battle. He was detained, questioned about hidden caches of Boer weapons, then shunted to a refugee camp in Volksrust. Finally, starving but free, he was sent on his way with army biscuits, tins of corned beef, a sack of sugar, tea, coffee—and a railway ticket back to Pretoria.
EXTRACTED FROM (and re-worded) – “President Kruger’s Jood” By L. Rabinowitz
Jannie Roggeband
At the outbreak of the war, medical equipment, doctors, nurses and volunteers poured in from countries such as France, Holland, Germany, Ireland, Scandinavia and Russia. Roggeband was one of the many selfless volunteers who offered their service, not only nursing the Boers, but also the British.
Jannie Roggeband, a Dutch citizen, was a field ambulance volunteer during the Anglo Boar War (1899-1902).
Roggeband had a powerful accolade published in the Ficksburg community newspaper on 4 January 1923.
He was arrested on seven occasions by the British but released every time and on one occasion, he was escorted back to a Boer camp by 50 British soldiers.
Roggeband describes how after each conflict General George Brand would get off his horse and visit not only the sick and wounded but he also gave specific attention to hospital and field ambulance staff. General Brand was one of President Brand’s children.
To the confusion of the British, Brand also instructed Roggeband to attend to wounded British soldiers.
An accolade written by Roggeband of George Brand can be found at the source link below.
SOURCE:
Carol Hardijzer ‘s full article here- http://www.theheritageportal.co.za/…/dutch-accolade…
Photograph taken by Dutch photographer JJ van Melle based at Roosendaal
Hermanus Jacob Coster (1865-1899)
Herman Coster was born on 30 June 1865 in Alkmaar in the Netherlands. He went to school at the H.B.S. in Alkmaar, and the Stedelijk Gymnasium in Leiden. After, he studied law at the Leiden University where he became president of the student corps. His uncle, a Hague-based doctor, T.H. Blom Coster, was the patron of his studies. As a student Herman Coster sympathized with the Young Flemish Movement. He completed his PhD in 1890 writing his thesis on Public Voluntary Auctions.
He moved to the South African Republic after his family experienced bankruptcy. Here he became a lawyer, and between 1895 and 1897, at request of President Paul Kruger, he served as state attorney. After Kruger insulted the ‘Hollanders’, Coster resigned his position and returned to working as a lawyer.
During the South African War (1899–1902), Coster joined the Hollanderkorps: a voluntary unit of Boer foreign volunteers consisting of 130 men and which had been established a mere month earlier.
The Battle of Elandslaagte was both the first and last battle that the Corps participated in. Coster, then a lieutenant, was killed at the Battle of Elandslaagte, along with fellow officer Cars Geerts de Jonge and seven soldiers: P.J. van den Broek, H. van Cittert, J.A. Lepeltak Kieft, Jan Moora, J Th Rummeling, M. Schaink, and F.W. Wagner.
Coster inspects part of the Hollander corps
Hollanderkorps memorial at Elandslaagte. The monument was destroyed by vandals in 2014.
35 others were taken prisoner, among them Willem Frederik Mondriaan (brother of the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian).
The names of the deceased, including Coster, were inscribed at a monument at the location of the battle.
Hollanders on Commando
Coster’s grave after battle of Elandslaagte
After his death, Coster was lauded as a hero in the Netherlands and several hagiographies were published.[1] In 1900 the Herman Coster Fund was established in Leiden for Afrikaans and Dutch students. In November 1901 a plaque commemorating Coster was added to the Leiden Academiegebouw.
-Wikipedia-
Grave of Hermanus Jacob Coster – Church Street Cemetery – Pretoria
Cornelis Plokhooy – Foreign volunteer and courier (1877-1964)
Son of a brave nation – Awarded the DTD
Plokhooy was an enthusiastic teacher who went to Transvaal from Netherlands in 1897. He taught at the Oost-Eind School in Pretoria from 1897 to 1899. When it became clear that war would break out, he did not hesitate for a moment and joined the newly established Dutch volunteer commando, the Hollander Corps which numbered about 450 men under under Cmdt J.P. la Grange Lombard.
Since the Boer leaders doubted the military qualities of the Dutch, most were used for garrison service and only a third could fight at the front. Plokhooy was part of this group of chosen people, who confidently crossed the border of the British colony of Natal on 11 October 1899. Only ten days later the Hollander Corps got its baptism of fire at the railway station of Elandslaagte. He was part of a Boer force of 800 men who faced a British army of 7,000 men with 20 pieces of artillery.
The Boers, who used a ‘hit-and-run’ tactic, retreated when the British started their advance after a violent bombing. But the Dutch held up. Plokhooy, who was hiding behind a stone because of his ‘cannon fever’, spoke courageously. In his book he remembered it as follows: “You are a Dutchman; a son of a brave nation – keep the honor of Holland high! ”
After the disastrous battle at Elandslaagte, the decimated Hollander Corps was immediately dissolved. Plokhooy joined another Boer commando and fought until he was captured in June 1900 by the British during the battle of Donkerhoek and deported as an undesirable back to the Netherlands. There, he again volunteered and was one of the first of several couriers sent out on secret missions by Dr W.J. Leyds.
In a handwritten report, he recounted how he had gone to Paris in December 1900 and there received a bundle of letters for the Boer leaders in the field reporting on the situation in Europe and £ 10 to pay for the journey from Johannes Pierson. By the time he arrived at the port of Lourenço Marques, Plokhooy was penniless and fell ill with malaria. To make matters worse, he had a quarrel with the local Boer representatives, thereby depriving him of all support. When he heard that the journey to the Transvaal had become very dangerous because the British were extensively patrolling the borders with Mozambique, Plokhooy decided to call off the expedition in order to prevent the letters from falling into the wrong hands. He was interned as a Boer refugee and deported to Portugal and interned in the camp at Caldas da Rainha. He managed to escape, and returned to the Netherlands via Lisbon, Genoa, and Trieste.
Despite this ill-fated adventure, Plokhooy volunteered for another mission early in 1902. This time he did reach the commandos via South-West Africa after an arduous journey during which he was allegedly chased by enemy spies. However, by the time he arrived, peace had been signed.
He was awarded the DTD. Plokhooy, penned his adventure in a book titled Met den Mauser.
SOURCES:
[https://www.nrc.nl/…/zoon-van-een-dappere-natie…]
[https://pure.uva.nl/ws/files/1043102/72539_thesis.pdf]
[https://www.angloboerwar.com/…/19244-plokhooy-cornelis…]
[https://antiquarianauctions.com/…/met-den-mauser…]
[Met den Mauser by Cornelius Plokhooy –
https://archive.org/details/metdenmauserper00plokgoog][A War of Words Dutch Pro-Boer
Propaganda and the South African War (1899-1902) Vincent Kuitenbrouwer – https://tinyurl.com/y9v6o3bv]
Captain Oliver John Hindon – Scotland
Captain Oliver John Hindon—widely known as “Dynamite Jack”—was born in Stirling, Scotland, on 20 April 1874. At the age of fourteen, he began his military career as a drummer in the British army. After being posted to Zululand, Hindon faced mistreatment from a sergeant-major, which led him and several others to desert. By 1888, he had made his way to the Transvaal, settling in Wakkerstroom and working as a mason. Immersed in local life, Hindon increasingly identified with the Boers, and he voluntarily took part in the 1895 campaign against the Jameson Raid. Following this, he was granted full Transvaal citizenship and joined the Middelburg commando before entering service with the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek Politie as a mounted policeman.
Hindon was active in the early battles of the Second Anglo-Boer War, fighting at Talana on 20 October 1899, and later participating in skirmishes at Bulwana and Chieveley. In November, he severed telegraph lines near Estcourt and demanded Weenen’s surrender, although the effort was not followed up by Boer command. On 20 January 1900, Hindon gained recognition for occupying a strategic hill in the Tabanyama Mountains with a small group, enduring fierce British artillery fire. His reconnaissance at Pietershoogte in late February further demonstrated his tactical skills. When the Boer forces retreated to Biggarsberg, Hindon shifted south and, in June, joined Danie Theron’s scout corps in the Orange Free State.
His attempt to attack a British convoy between Kroonstad and Lindley on 18 June was thwarted by General P.D. de Wet’s delay. Subsequent combat near Lindley and Bethlehem marked a transition in Hindon’s wartime role. He was appointed to lead a corps specializing in sabotage, particularly targeting British rail infrastructure. Throughout mid-1900 and into 1901, Hindon orchestrated numerous train derailments, disrupted communication lines, and delivered key intelligence between Boer generals. Among his most notable actions were derailing a train carrying Lord Kitchener in January 1901 and cutting Colonel W.P. Campbell’s telegraph lines to aid a Boer assault in February.
Hindon’s campaign continued along both the eastern and northern railways, where he clashed with British forces near Naboomspruit and successfully looted supplies and ammunition. His attack on a train between Waterval and Hammanskraal on 31 August 1901 resulted in significant Boer gains and the death of Lieutenant-Colonel C.F.S. Vandeleur. British countermeasures, including blockhouse fortifications and threats to use Boer civilians as human shields, prompted Hindon to launch retaliatory raids—most notably on African communities accused of harassing Boer families, such as the mission at Botsabelo.
In early 1902, Hindon’s unit remained active despite being relentlessly pursued by British forces. His involvement ceased when he contracted a severe fever. Post-war, on 23 February 1903, Hindon married Martha Pauline Coetzee, an Afrikaans woman. Though they had no children, the couple spent years living in the United States and Holland. Tragically, Hindon became paralysed in his later years and died in poverty in 1919, cared for in his final moments by Gerrie Wassenaar, the wife of his wartime comrade, John Wassenaar. (Source: Geni)
Hindon after 1914
The firing mechanism used
Design used by the Boers and Hindon against British trains
Doings of the Destruction Commando – Hindon at your service!
The Jack Hindon Medal
