A rare document on a bygone war
 A rare possession such as a booklet, a journal or a monograph a
collection of diary entries, if carefully studied, may reveal some of
the material that could go into the making of a narrative of human
interest. When I read the document titled 'And We Never Saw Him Again'
subtitled as 'The Boar war memoirs of Daniel Jacobs Steyn Geldenhuys' I
conceived the idea that here lies some human factors that may lead to
more findings as missing links between the humans of two countries and
the worth of it not just from a historic point of view but also from a
broader psychological human point of view.
The writer or the compiler of these notes is one Heidi de Villiers
Lovelock who says in the preface the following:
"My grandmother died in 2005. Amongst her possessions were some old
letters documents and family photographs including a 19 page typescript
in African which turned out to be the Boer war memoirs of her father
Daniel Goldenhuys? There was also a copy of a letter hand written in
what appears to be a form of Dutch, dated 3 June 1904. And it described
the death of an old man named Geldenhuys in a town called Batticaloa on
the eastern coast of present Sri Lanka".
This looks a good starting point for one's research where a person
attempts to recollect the memoirs of significance to certain missing
links which may raise questions like, who is this person, why was he
brought to Sri Lanka and what are the socio cultural and socio ethnic
issues raised thereby.
 Furthermore this document attempts to address some of these questions
throwing light on the existing historical evidences on sociological
factors of a distant past. In fact this is a revelation of the stay of a
prisoner known by the world as a prisoner of war, POW, when a war breaks
in a particular country, the war prisoners are kept in certain other
countries. This may not be a common occurrence in all types of warfare
but this may be considered as a special occurrence. In this case it had
happened the prisoner concerned has written or kept a journal which he
may have visualized as a good source material for the posterity.
As such this type of books may be a rare document. A publisher may be
reluctant to publish for popular demand. This then is the result of the
compilers' fascination with these memoirs and the associated documents
the compiler has researched the events surrounding the life of a war
prisoner and the ethnic group to which he belongs. The flimsy document
runs to about 80 pages with known and unknown stories in the first
instance then followed by photographs linked to the centre. The reader
may find areas of mystery, reality, suspense and tragedy.
In order to find more accounts there are cross records drawn from few
other sources that envelope the central event of the war prisoner. As
such the narrative speaks for itself of the people places and events and
the tragic thread that runs across the war torn world where the families
and family members are made to be separated.
These memoirs deal with the second Anglo-Boer war or otherwise known
as Boer War of Independence. The first war was, it is recorded, won in
1881 at the battle of Majuba; the second war as recorded by the
historians, as recorded by the compiler of the document, had been a
transition from the traditional set piece battles involving battalions
and cavalry to more modern techniques such as musketry and guerilla
tactics. In this manner this document also throws light on the types of
war the humans created in order to destroy themselves either to become
victors or losers.
As I am not a specialist in the area I may not be the fitting person
to comment on the subject at length. May that be left for some other
person. The document too draws light on people such as of generals,
admirals, emperors and other associates of war to common soldiers whose
names may not sound as significant but in fact regarded as war heroes.
There are historical comments on the issue from various points of
view. It is recorded by the compiler Heidi Lovelock that the war finally
ended in 1902 after British had removed the commandos support structure
by destroying the Boer farms and deporting about 120,000 women, children
and old men into concentration camps where disease and hunger had killed
them - one in six inmates as recorded.
This indeed is terrifying news that one comes across in this
document. There may have been some steps taken to either bring about
solutions or to prevent more dangers. But some of these details have to
be hunted by other scholars interested in the subject. This document
could be regarded as a major cross cultural study source where the two
countries Britain and Africa are involved.
Those who are interested in cross cultural communication studies may
take an interest in this document and search more. Perhaps many other
documents may be available in the circles of the family members of the
war prisoners. The truth is stranger than the fiction. This is no
fiction. The document deals with the human living conditions. But there
is a vein of sympathy drawn to the war prisoners. Some have died in
isolation with linguistic and human and ethnic barriers in foreign
strands for instance the prisoner of war laid to stay in Sri Lanka had
no connection physically with his family in his native country. But as
the document records he had tried his best to survive with the natives
of the imprisoned country.
His main method of self expression had been the letter writings to
his wife who had preserved and collected almost all. But with the
passage of time the letters get wasted. One significant note goes as
follows:
"We received letters from our father in Ceylon in which he expressed
his joy that his five sons had fought for their country, to the bitter
end. At the same time he told us that he himself was not prepared to
make the oath of allegiance to the crown and become a British citizen
and that he would therefore have to stay in Ceylon. In response to our
pleas that he should return, we were admonished that a child should not
tell their father what to do..." [24pp]
The compiler records that less than five years after, the war ended
the Union of South Africa although still part of the British Empire, was
granted self governance under its first Prime Minister Louis Botha,
independence from Britain followed in 1961. The present document is well
categorized into a readable manner where the photographs play a vital
part. The dates and years of significance are listed with the relevant
names of people who matter.
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