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Account of the action on Spion Kop
Letter from Private John Cosgrove, C Company, 2nd
Battalion, King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment.
Letter from the Front
The Fighting on Spion Kop
Described by an Ashton Man
Springfield Camp, South Africa
2nd February 1900.
To the Editor of the Reporter
Dear sir, - Just before I left Ashton my workmate, Mr J Orme, driver,
O.A. & H. Electric Tramways Co., gave me a small diary, and requested me
to take notes with a view to having some published in the Reporter if
God spared me to return home. I accepted the diary, and have taken notes
ever since, and I’ll off them for publication when I return.
I daresay you have had a full account of the fight by the Lancashire
Brigade at Spion Kop on 24th January, but fearing that some of my
friends, to whom I have sent a brief account of the fight, may let you
have my brief account, I am sending you a fuller account.
On the evening of the 23rd, as soon as darkness came, six companies of
my regiment were marched away from where we had been resting all day,
but most of us thought that the whole of the regiment were on parade. We
did not know why we were moving, nor where we were moving to. When we
had been marching about an hour we came to a along valley, through which
we marched with great difficulty for several hours, as there were many
holes and stones in it. We had to march as silently as possible, and a
dog got strangled for barking. I have been told since that all who
interfered with that dog got shot on Spion Kop, but I cannot vouch for
the truth of that statement. At length we came to the foot of a large
hill, the top of which we could not see, owing to the darkness, and to
the mist which always rests on the hills during the night. As soon as we
arrived at the hill we were told to climb it. While we were marching
through the valley, it was generally believed that we were ‘doing a
quiet move towards Ladysmith at which the troops were pleased. Because
Sir Archibald Hunter, who is with Sir George White, belongs to my
regiment, and knew that we were part of the relief column. In fact,
three weeks ago he sent the following message to us through Sir Charles
Warren: “With God’s and the King’s Own’s help we cannot fail.” However,
while climbing the hill we knew we were going to take possession of it,
and we then learned that we had with us two companies of the Lancashire
Fusiliers and two companies of the South Lancashire Regiment. There were
so many rocks and stones on the hill that we soon got scattered while
climbing. We got to the top of one hill and advanced about a hundred
yards, and found that we had another to climb, and the men kept
expressing their wonder, sometimes in strong language, as to when we
should get to the top. After climbing five hills in this manner, and
hearing men say we should soon be in heaven if we went much higher, I
said to a comrade close beside me, “I wonder if this is the top,” and I
had hardly uttered the words when I heard someone in front shout
something in a foreign language, and immediately about a dozen bullets
went whistling past me. With being tired, and having pains in my knees,
I thought I was one of the rear lot, but that little experience told me
that I was one of the front lot. So I immediately “bobbed down,” as
Tommy says, behind the first rock I could, fixed my bayonet, and
prepared to fire. But I soon learned that some men had retired further
than I had, and were firing; so, not caring to be fired on by both
friends and foes; I retired further, and we were then ordered to fall in
and prepare to charge. But before we could do so, we were ordered to
stand fast, and very soon the rest of the troops came up. As soon as we
were all together, General Woodgate, who was in command, requested us to
give three cheers, which we heartily did. The enemy, which only
consisted of a small outpost, fled as soon as they had fired on us.
After cheering, we advanced through the thick mist to the crest of the
hill, and made trenches, one along the edge of the hill, and one in the
centre of the hill. The front trench was lined with troops, and the rest
remained in the centre trench ready to reinforce when required to. At
daybreak the mist began to clear away, and as it did the enemy opened
fire on us. As soon as it was quite light the firing commenced in dead
earnest, and we soon learned that we were nearly surrounded and that we
were fighting against great odds, the enemy being numerically stronger
by at least ten to one. The firing had not being going on long when the
firing line had to be reinforced, and the centre trench was emptied. The
General and his staff stood in the centre of the hill directing
operations, and as soon as the enemy knew it they directed a most
galling fire towards them. The General got shot in the head, his
brigade-major Captain Virtue, got killed, and his “runner,” Captain
Carleton, of my regiment, got shot in the army. The colonel of my
regiment, Colonel Malby Crofton (6ft 4 in.) and the colonel of the
Lancashire Fusiliers were to be seen walking about the hill through a
storm of bullets, each with a stick in his hand, directing the troops,
what to do. After keeping up the firing for several hours we were very
hard pressed, and know that we must have reinforcements, as the Boers
were gaining considerably on the right side of the hill. Several
signallers attempted, amid a shower of bullets, to erect a signalling
station. And I have been told that a soldier of my regiment, named
Clements, who was a prisoner in the hands of the Boer on the right side
of the hill, pushed the Boer over a cliff and ran through a shower of
bullets, for reinforcements. After a while we were reinforced by the
rest of the Lancashire Fusiliers, and I believe, the South Lancashire
Regiment, and some of the Scottish Rifles. C Company of the Scottish
Rifles came to the left of the hill where I was, and under the command
of a cool, calm major did some splendid work. One of them, who was close
to me and the major, got ripped open with a shall, and a sergeant of my
regiment got a hole through his left arm with the same shell. The worse
cases were on the right of the hill where the right half of my company
were. And when the fray was at its hottest they were reinforced by a
company of the Imperial Light Infantry, who, I believe, did splendid
work. I am told that the Boers always shoot these men when they capture
them. for the next morning some Boers told a wounded corporal of my
regiment that they were sorry for him, as he had to fight, but that the
men of the ILI were doing it for money; and they showed their sympathy
for the corporal in a practical manner by making him as comfortable as
possible until the stretcher bearers arrived, and also give him some hot
cocoa. We left the hill during the night, and went to our old camping
ground. The 24th January 1900, will be ever remembered by many a
Lancashire lad. When we got away I called that hill “Butchers Hill” for
verily there was butchery on it that day. The dead and wounded were
lying about in large numbers, and many a poor fellow had to lie wounded
in the trench all day. The Volunteer bearer company did good work that
day, but they could not get half the ….. off the hill. Every time they
came for a wounded man they had to run through a shower of bullets to
say nothing of the shells which the Boers kept firing all day, for our
artillery could do but little for us, as we were under heavy cross fire,
and they were in danger of hitting us. In fact, some say that our
artillery did accidentally shoot some of our men. I might sum up by
saying that the day’s fighting was simply horrible, but I have also to
say that many of our men merited the Victoria Cross that day. A few days
ago General Buller had a parade to thank us for our behaviour and our
gallant conduct, and to read to us the Queen’s message of thanks, and
this morning Sir Charles Warren, who had been away on the other side of
the Tugela since that memorable day, had a parade to thank us for our
gallant conduct, but he said he could not find words to adequately
express his feelings of gratitude. Both Buller and Warren wish to
impress on our minds the fact that we did all that was required of us
that day, and that our efforts were not in vain. It is generally
believed that we were able to get a convoy through to Ladysmith whilst
the fighting was going on. I cannot at present detail all the noble
deeds that were done that day, but I’ll mention one as a sample. Joe
Bailey, a man of my company (C), was shot in about four places on his
legs and when the stretcher bearers came for him he referred them to a
man named Miller of my company, saying “Take him, he’s worse than me”.
Joe was called up with me from Manchester and is a guard on the London
and North Western Railway Company. I have since heard that he is
progressing very favourably. He is a humorous fellow, and is liked in
the company. The night we were climbing the kop Joe said, when we had
climbed about three hills. “Are there any more to climb, and when he was
told that there were he said “ I wish I’d banged that postman when he
brought me that blue paper!”
We came back here to Springfield two days after the fight, and we don’t
know what the next move will be. I have just heard that Tommy Doran, a
man of my company, who belonged to Ashton, has died of his wounds. Poor
fellow, I often say him when I was driving my car along Katherine
Street, and I tender to his parents my heartfelt sympathy. God help and
comfort them in their sore bereavement.
I remain sir, your faithfully.
John Cosgrove, Private
C Company, Royal Lancaster Regiment
Field Forces
South Africa
PS I hope you got the South African paper, dated 25th December in which
I marked the editorial…..
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