Empire Cricket Booklet

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R.M. POORE

members of the Carbineers were arrested and on his return from leave Morant was also picked up. A court of enquiry into their activities was held, evidence was taken from a number of witnesses about the conduct of the Carbineers (Poore interviewing many of the officers and acting as 'chief detective', according to Bleszynski) and by the end of the month charges were brought. In December, it was announced that they were to be tried by court-martial, which took place in January 1902. The main charges were that Morant had incited men under his command to murder twenty people, against which Morant maintained he had been following standing instructions to take no prisoners. He added that he regarded the killings as just reprisals for the death of Hunt. It is here that Poore's contribution to the continuing debate becomes central to the story and much has been made in recent years in Australia of the observations in his diaries. On 7 October, Poore wrote: 'If they had intended doing this they should not have accepted their surrender in the first instance. A German missionary was close by so to prevent his saying anything they shot him too. I have just given the outline of the case to Lord K but the case is a bad one especially as it's officers who are implicated.' 45 A recent book on Morant by Bleszynski provides evidence that there was a standing order from Kitchener to shoot Boer commandos caught wearing khaki. This point had been vehemently denied by the prosecution during the court martial. Poore specifically noted: 'Most of De Wet's men were dressed in our uniform, so Lord K has issued an order to say that all men caught in our uniform are to be tried on the spot and the sentence confirmed by the commanding officer.' 46 To Bleszynski, Morant and Handcock were scape goats and Poore's diaries support the view there was a cover-up. As he puts it: 'Poore, in effect, admits the existence of a take no prisoners policy. Had this been an unguarded comment by a lowly field officer, then it could be dismissed as speculation, but the source is unimpeachable and the inference clear.' 47 Others have taken a different view, interpreting Poore's comments as simply his personal opinion and not quoting unwritten rules from Kitchener. They argue that Poore actually considered Kitchener weak and unwilling to take the necessary action to beat the Boers. 48 Instead

performing to Kitchener's satisfaction and capturing more prisoners. In April, he reported that 'the corps is a pretty good one: with many of the men knowing the country well. 44 The guerilla campaign was fought viciously and there were many atrocities on both sides. Boer commandos ·_ without their own uniforms and often wearing increasingly ragged clothes - regularly stripped captured British prisoners of their khaki uniforms and used them for disguise, for example, during attacks on trains. The British in turn destroyed Boer farms and interned refugees and prisoners of war to try to reduce their civilian support. The Carbineers - with Lt Morant commanding one of the units - were poorly disciplined, looting and seizing livestock, as well as appropriating liquor and stills from farms. The events leading to the Morant shooting began in August 1901, although there is considerable varia tion in the accounts. A raid on a Boer farm resulted in the death of Captain Hunt, one of the Carbineers' commanders. His naked and brutalised body was found later. Appalled at the death of his friend, Morant determined to exact revenge and take no prisoners, and led further raids which resulted in the capture of Boer prisoners, who were brought in under guard and shot, citing a proclamation by Lord Kitchener that there should be no prisoners. Other killings took place in August under Morant's instructions and in September he led a raid on the Boer unit led by Field-Cornet Kelly, for which he received commendation. Subsequently, things began to turn against Morant. Poore's diary entry for 7 October reported that Captain Bolton, an assistant provost marshal, arrived with some papers 'about some rather bad things which have been taking place north of Pietersburg'. The news was that the Carbineers had accepted the surrender of eight Boers (reportedly travelling to make an oath to accept British rule) and after taking them along for several days had shot them. This, together with reports of the shooting of a German missionary (who had reportedly spoken with the eight Boers), along with pressure from the civilian commissioner for Native Affairs, led to the decision to end the unit's activities. On Poore's instructions,