STAFF INSTRUCTOR BLACKMORE.

Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 34, 18 November 1893, Page 6

STAFF INSTRUCTOR BLACK—MORE.

Having entered the Army at an early age, Mr Blackmore was fortunate enough to be sent on foreign service with his regiment, and in 1852 was stationed at Portsmouth. In the winter of this year the regiment was underorders for active service in Cape Colony, and was rapidly recruited to 1200, all ranks told. A great proportion were on furlough at thetime and of course had to rejoin at once. In. the meantime Sir Harry Smith had put down, the Kaffirs under Sandilhi and Macomo.. This caused a countermand, and in January, 1853, the destination of the regiment was< Mauritius. Not a man was absent from embarkation, all having entire confidence irt. their chief, Colonel Manly Power. Shortly after they got on board ship it was found that the regimental colours had been left behind in the Clarence barracks. Of course this was. kept quiet from the colonel. The QuarterMaster (Sergeant Rogers, whose brother now resides in this town) was detailed with six corporals to leave the docks and smuggle the colours aboard. He did so, and the omission, was never discovered by the colonel. Rogers got the thanks of the whole of the regiment.. The first year of soldiering in this beautiful but unhealthy island was marked by the Asiatic cholera, and the corps lost 150 men in a very short time. It was quite depressing to see young fellows carried off aftera few hours’ sickness and packed off to the' cemetery of Pere La Chaise. The epidemic appeared again in the following year, but the. men’s blood being thinner, about 50 only were lost. In June, 1356, Sir George Grey, then Governor at the Cape, sent H.M.S. Penelope (Commander, Sir William Wiseman), to the Mauritius for as many troops as could be spared, as the Kaffirs were about,to renew the war. The regiment had only a little oven 24 hours’ notice to pack baggage and be off. The night before leaving Port Louis (continued Mr Blackmore) the sth Regiment, who. were also in garrison, kicked up a row with ours simply through jealousy and their not being sent to the Cape. It was pretty hot for an hour or so in the streets of Port Louis. However, order was restored by armed pickets®

of both corps parading the streets. The next morning General Sutherland ordered a parade of the whole garrison on the Camp de Mars, and severely lectured the two regiments on Iheir behaviour on the previous evening. The old General said good-bye to the regiment,and the regimental band and drums of the sth played us down to the place of embarkation, and the sth gave us three hearty cheers. So we parted good friends. After lauding at Port Elizabeth we remained in camp till orders were received to proceed to the front. On the second day’s march the company to •which I belonged passed the advance guard, and as it was open country, we were simply a dine of skirmishers with one half company in support. This day we noticed a small body of Cape mounted riflemen and a few buck waggons coming towards us at a smart pace. It was His Excellency Sir Geo. Grey. He was making a tour of inspection of the eastern provinces. A halt was made. The advance guard simply stood at attention, jind the Governor’s party passed in to the icgiment, who were drawn up in line at open or ier. The colonel received His Excellency with the vice-regal salute, and we resumed our march. Meanwhile troops rapidly arrived from the Mediterranean, one of the regiments being the 30th, of which the late Mr Purdue, who was well-known here, was sergeant. He was very friendly when 1 resumed my acquaintance on my arrival in Southland in 1875. The large number of troops brought into the country censed the rebel chiefs to think twice before making further trouble, and when the Indian Mutiny broke out. in 1857 Sir George Grey instantly .sent reinforcements to aid the Indian Government. He also dismounted the Cape Mounted Eifles, consisting of 12 companies ■of 100 each, and sent their smait little torses to India as remounts. As everybody knows this bold stroke on the part of Sir George Grey largely helped the Indian Goverment to hold its grip on that vast ■empire. My regiment had just been reinforced by 200 men to fill the gaps made in the Mauritius, the father of Mr R. Nash of this town being among the new arrivals, and a very good man he was too. We had to xemain at the Cape, and in 1858 we were distributed on the frontier, and did what was xeally police work over a large area. No Raffir could pass the lines unless he had a permit. It was generally carried on the point of a stick, fastened in a slit. It really served the purpose of a flag of truce, and often saved the poor natives from being fired upon. The next year we were ordered lo Natal, which is close to the Zulu country. Umpanda was then King of Ihe Zulus, and Cetewayo his son was then a fine young fellow of about twenty-four. This nation of semi savages is, I think, the Bravest of all the tribes which the British liave come in contact with. Politically, it is or was a democracy pure and simple. The chiefs were elected by the elders, and were liable to be removed. The land belonged to the State only. Its code of laws, civil and criminal, were unwritten but good, and every .able-bodied Zulu was well acquainted with them. The following lines from a work by Rider ’Haggard will give some idea of its military system. He says —“ The Zulu military organisation, perhaps the most wonderful that the world has seen, is already a thing of the past. It perished at Ulundi. It was Chaka who invented that organisation, building it up from the smallest beginnings. When 3xe appeared at the commencement of this century, it was as the ruler of a single small tribe. When he fell, in the year 1828, beneath the assegais of his brothers, all Southeastern Africa was at his feet, and in Lis march to power he had slaughtered more than a million human beings. Of this colossal genius and most evil man it may be said that he was a Kapoleon and a Tiberius in one.” Nothing particular occurred during the stay of the Regiment at Natal, although the war party in the Colony tried to makA a bad case out against Prince Cetewayo. In this they failed, but every precaution was taken by the authorities, for no less than three columns marched to the Tugela River, and our column, with Governor Pine, occupied the right bank of the river. There is no doubt that a large impi was close to us. It was wise that we did not interfere with them, for had we crossed the river I don’t think a single man would have got back again. Cetewayo explained afterwards that he had bis warriors out simply on a grand hunting bateaux. It is a well-known fact that they destroy game and wild animals in immense numbers by driving them into a corner. The impis throw ou their horns and lick in the game- —not unlike the affair at Isandula. We erected a strong fort on the hanks of the river and named it TortEuckingham in honour of the county title of the regiment. It is now, under the territorial system, the 2nd Battalion Shropshire Regiment. Our period of foreign service expired in 1863. The regiment was landed at Hover and the men •were at once furloughed for two mouths, nearly all hands taking advantage of the holiday. Not having a war medal, I sometime hack made my claim for a higher distinction, and based it on my service in South local papers were good enough to notice my getting an honour very seldom given, and then only to the rank of sergeant and upwards, but under the commissioned rank. I might add that the army of South Africa so promptly brought into the country by His Excellency earned the name by the colonists of “ Sir Vj eorge Grey’s Schoolmasters.” We may add to the foregoing that since coming to this colony Mr tflackmore has done good service as an instructor —a fact well-known to all who have had anything to do with volunteering.