Dietlof van Warmelo

-

Full name: Dietlof Siegfried van Warmelo

Lifespan: c.1869/1872 Heidelberg - 1966 Pretoria

Occupation: Boer War soldier, author

Family: Son of  Ds. N.J. van Warmelo and Maria Magdalena Elizabeth Maré. Eldest brother of Johanna Brandt, Willem van Warmelo, and Fritz van Warmelo. Grandson (on his mother's side) of landdros Dietlof Maré.

  • Willem van Warmelo (1874 Heidelberg - 1948 Pretoria). Studied in the Netherlands, Served on commando during the 2nd Boer War.
  • Frederik ''Fritz'' van Warmelo (1878-1943). Served in the 2nd Boer War.

Dietlof studied theology in the Netherlands (that is where Johanna met her future husband, Louis Ernst Brandt, who was Dietlof’s roommate).

He fought on commando during the Anglo-Boer War (Pretoria Commando and later guerrilla units). He suffered from a persistent knee injury (originally a football injury) that was aggravated by climbing "koppies" while on guard duty. He was eventually captured and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp in Ahmednagar, India (and later Bombay/Ceylon).

On Commando: My Commando and Guerilla Commando Life

In 1901, while a prisoner of war, he wrote a well-known account of his experiences, 'Mijn Commando en guerilla commando-leven'.

His book is a firsthand account of a young Boer fighter during the Second Anglo-Boer War, written from memory without diaries. The memoir highlights the transition to guerrilla warfare and the extreme physical and emotional hardships of life on the run. The account captures the authentic "Afrikaner spirit" of resilience and documents key military actions, including the siege of the Rooirandjes and the Battle of the Tugela.

Other

Dietlof co-published or collaborated with Johanna on Brother and Sister Boer (a family account of the war).

Sources

  1. Schutte, G.J. (2023) Dear Cornelis! Letters from Johanna van Warmelo and Mrs. Marie M.E. van Warmelo-Maré to Mr. Cornelis Beelaerts van Blokland. Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe, Jaargang 63 No. 4: Desember 2023.
  2. On Commando (My life as commando and guerrilla commando).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

John O'Reilly

-
Image
Full name: John Robert "Diamond Jack" O'Reilly Lifespan: 1831 Grahamstown - 1904  Taung Occupation: Travelling peddler, hunter, diamond prospector, farmer John O'Reilly Timeline Personal details John Robert O'Reilly was the eldest son of James O’Neill O'Reilly (or James O'Neil O'Reilly) and Ida Hendriks (Yda Wilhelmina Hendrikz). His father left the family poorly provided for, prompting O'Reilly and his brothers to become traders and hunters. He first married Maria Greaves (1845 - 1884, British Bechuanaland) in 1868, in Colesberg. They had six children. After Maria's death, he married Henrietta Sarah Renou (1867 Port Elizabeth - 1947, Taung) in 1886. The ceremony was officiated by Rector William Thomas Gaul (1850–1927). They had seven children (totaling 13 for O'Reilly). The territory known as British Bechuanaland (annexed 1885, later incorporated into the Cape Colony and Union of South Africa) encompassed areas including Vryburg, Maf...
Read more

Rhenish Mission Church (Sarepta) - Kuils River

-
Image
Aka: Uniting Reform Church, Sarepta Built: 1843 Architect: Unidentified Status: Extant (Source: URC on Facebook) Timeline Location Notes The Rhenish Missionary Society (named after the Rhine River region in Germany) was one of the largest German missionary organizations, formed by amalgamating smaller missions dating back to 1799 and officially established on 23 September 1828. Its first ordained missionaries were dispatched to South Africa by year's end, where they began work in various towns, focusing on conversion to Christianity and community support. In 1829, the Society founded its first congregation in Stellenbosch, with Reverend Paul Daniel Lückhoff as the initial minister. Jana (Johanna) van den Berg (c.1800 - 1860), also known as Moeder Jana , was a formerly enslaved woman who, like many others emancipated in 1838, settled in the sandy dunes surrounding Kuils River - an informal community with little access to formal institutions. She became one of the earliest memb...
Read more

Coert Steynberg

-
Image
Full name:  Coert Lourens Steynberg Lifespan:  1905 Hennopsrivier - 1982 Pretoria Occupation:  Sculptor, medallist. Coert Steynberg. Unidentified photographer. Timeline Biography Coert Steynberg was a prominent South African sculptor and medallist. He worked in a variety of materials, including granite, marble, sandstone, glass, bronze, copper, and wood, and created both large-scale public monuments and smaller, more intimate private works. Early Life and Education Steynberg in Venice, third from left. Unidentified photographer. Born in Hennops River (near Pretoria) in the Transvaal Colony. At the age of four, his family moved to Bethal (Mpumalanga) where he matriculated. Steynberg studied art at Rhodes University in South Africa before advancing to the Royal College of Art in London, where he studied sculpture under Gilbert Ledward . Here he received the August Spencer trophy for best sculpture student. Steynberg spent six years abroad, during which time he toured Europe...
Read more