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Thank you Tunguska (and Zetef du Plessis).

An amazing survivor and presumably unique.

My Z.A.R. Staatsartillerie example was made by Christys' of London, and supplied by A. Johnston & Co., Pretoria. This type of shako was reserved for officers and N.C.O.s, with gold braid for officers and yellow for N.C.O.'s (as laid down in the 1890 dress regulations). The Christy's label indicates that it is from an earlier (c.1890-1894) batch than the Mauritz Tiller caps.

Johan Wolfaardt notes:

"Christies of London were the guys that delivered the pith helmets to the Transvaal in the 1890's. Therefore, this is a very interresting shako, as it is an earlier type than those seen in Boer War pics. Those with period histories dating from the late 1890's/Boer War are all marked 'Mauritz Tiller Hoflewerant Vien und Budapest'. The Johnstone label is of late 1880's early 1890's type. In these early labels, Johnstone's name was printed in floral script without the word 'Pretoria'. The labels from about 1894 are in Arial script (gold on black) with the words 'A Johnstone Lewerancier [Supplier] Pretoria'. The buckle to the chinstrap is slightly different as well: a bit bigger than the later ones. I date this shako to about 1890-1894, a very rare piece indeed, as most uniforms of this period were canabalised by the government or sold off to the Volunteer Corps".










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Heavy gilt cast-brass Z.A.R. horse harness badge. With stout rectangular vertically-aligned loop to reverse to take harness strap (Owen #2013).

It seems that a considerable quantity of these found their way into the hands of an artisan (or artisans) who used them as the bases for sugar basins, constructed from Mauser rounds and Pom-pom cartridges. These have various inscriptions, such as: "SOUTH AFRICA / 1899 -1902" and "PRETORIA 1901". The VSM cartridge cases are of British rather than Boer origin (with Vickers, Sons & Maxim headstamps).






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Transvaal Staatsartillerie Sabretache and Slouch Hat Badges.

The artillerists' sabretaches were adorned with brass crossed cannon and the letters “SA”, whilst their slouch hats had the two letters only. The “S” and “A” on each were identical, apart from the fact that those on the sabretache were cast as one piece.

Amongst the items that Master Herbert Packham, of High Beech Road, Loughton, displayed as a means of collecting funds for the Daily Telegraph Widows’ and Orphans’ Shilling Fund, was a sabretache with the correct crossed cannon but with substitute “S” and “A”. The latter letters were separate, indicating that they originated from a slouch hat. His collection of bits and pieces, taken from Johannesburg Fort, included 3 examples of the letter “S” and one letter “A”. All had their fixing blades broken, explaining why they had been left behind in stores.

Few of the individual letters appear to have survived. Period photographs of staatsartillerists in the field frequently show slouch hats with one or both letters missing, indicating that the fixing blades were not stout enough to withstand the rigours of active service. It seems likely that most of the badges were lost on the veldt, and that those left in the fort are amongst a very small number that exist today.

So, although the sabretache came to me with only part of its correct insignia, this was a blessing in diguise, as the two letters that young Packham had used as substitutes now constitute one of the most prized badges in my collection. I am not aware of another example.

















































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The Boer War is sometimes miss-named Transvaal War. This does injustice to the men from the Oranje Vrijstaat (OVS) who fought in that war. The Boer War was caused by the British desire to control the massive Transvaal gold deposits. Although much smaller than the Transvaal, the OVS -which had settled its own disputes with the British and maintained cordial relations with them- was pulled into the war on the basis of the “Offensive and Defensive Alliance” concluded with the Transvaal after the Jameson Raid (Dec 1895/Jan 1896). During the war the OVS proved in many respects the tougher of the two and even scolded its bigger brother when the latter was considering throwing in the towel after the fall of Pretoria. While Transvaal President Paul Kruger trained off to Europe, Free State President Marthinus Steijn stayed with his men in the field for the entire duration of the war. Of all the great Boer commanders in the field, Free State General Chris de Wet ranks with Louis Botha and Koos DelaRey at the very top and some historians even argue he was the better of the three.

The only uniformed unit of the OVS at the outbreak of the Boer War was a small Artillery Corps with 3 Batteries of 4 guns each. Under able command of Major Albrecht (a former NCO of the Prussian Army) and comprising just 5 officers, 13 under-officers and 100 troopers supported by some 300 reserves, the corps managed to inflict some remarkable damage on the enemy, right up to the battle of Paardenberg in February 1900.

Because of its diminutive size compared to the artillery units fielded by the British, badges and insignia of the Orange Free State Artillery are rather scarce. Among the rarest of these items is the OVS Belt Buckle (Not in Owen). The initials scratched on the side read as J.v.N and possibly relate to one of the 11 men named (J) van Niekerk who served with that unit.

Another example named in a similar manner. This one belonged to Artilleris J.A. Holtzhausen.



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One of the most striking OVS badges of the Boer War is the brass Artillery slouch-hat badge with laurels. The example below is the one-piece die-struck version (Owen 2065). Another 2-piece version of this badge exists where the central part is soldered onto the laurel (Owen 2066). On close inspection there are quite a few differences between the versions, both in the shape of the laurel wreath and the central part. The easiest way to distinguish between the versions is to look where the tips of the flags are attached to the laurels.

Owen 2065


Owen 2066


Below a detail of a magnificent photograph taken sometime before February 1900, showing Major Albrecht sporting a slouch hat with the badge. Albrecht is wearing the soldered 2-piece version.


Photograph courtesy Neville Constantine.