Empire Cricket Booklet

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BOER PRISONERS OF WAR IN CEYLON

Field Cometcy. After being wounded at Colesberg, he returned to Pretoria to recuperate at the home of his sister, Daisy Cooper. In his diary he recalls how one evening his sister's servant was scrubbing the stoep floor at dusk - with a candle burning to light the floor - when the next moment a number of British soldiers arrived at the house 'with fixed bayonets' and took him prisoner because 'he was sending Morse code messages to one of the Boer outposts in the hills round Pretoria'! 68 Tennant was an above-average batsman and scored 165 runs at an average of 11.7 in camp matches at Diyatalawa. Although one of the selectors of the Boer team, he missed selection, but accompanied the team to Colombo as umpire. A diary entry by his captain, De Villiers, reveals that Tennant was also commonly referred to by his Dutch-speaking camp mates as 'Stefanus Diederick'. De Villiers described Tennant as 'a young surveyor ... Swaziland way ... a thorough gentleman and very nice young fellow'. 69 Tennant's diary at Diyatalawa is a treasure trove of personal anecdotes and reminiscences. A land surveyor by profession, he settled at Ermelo after the war and farmed in the Eltham district until his death in 1940. 70 P. \I. Oosthuizen 71 Philippus Visagie Oosthuizen, the second-youngest member of the Boer team, lived in Pretoria and joined the Pretoria Field Cornetcy. He was captured in Pretoria on 9 August 1900. Oosthuizen, secretary of the Boer club, was a solid batsman and competent bowler. His 287 runs at an average of just under 17 was the fourth-highest at Diyatalawa. Although, like Tennant, he was a selector, Oosthuizen missed selection for the team but went to Colombo as scorer. After the war, he returned to Pretoria where he practised as an attorney. 72 C. Van Zij/73 Commandant Coert Theodore van Zijl was the only officer in the Boer team. 74 He was 28 years old when he was captured on 15 August 1900 south of Rustenburg. He was from Winburg in the OFS and served with the Winburg Field Cometcy. 75 A hard-

his ward (wyk) was rendering medical services to the OFS burghers. 57 In Ceylon, he served as a member of the camp's medical and nursing staff and became an active member of the Boer Cricket Club. 58 On 11 January 1902, he took six wickets in an innings for a Vice-Captain's XI against a Captain's XI at Diyatalawa. 59 On 24 and 25 January, he again caused mayhem, taking 6 wickets for 46 runs for the Diyatalawa Camp First XI against the 'South African XXII'. C.J. Otto 60 Cornelius Johannes Otto was born at Kroonstad in the OFS in 1874. 6 1 One of the Boer cricketers who played competitive cricket before the war, he made a name for himself as a member of the Jamestown Railway Cricket Club and the City and Suburban Cricket Club in Johannesburg. 62 At the outbreak of war, he joined the Bloemfontein Field Cornetcy. Like Sennett, he was among those who surrendered near Fouriesburg. 63 Otto was a versatile athlete and during his two years at Diyatalawa participated in many sporting events. He was certainly the star rugby player, representing the 'OFS and teams such as 'Ooms' ('Uncles' or 'Elderly'). 64 At the New Year Boer sports meeting of 1902, Otto dominated proceedings, finishing first in the sack, needle and walking races, second in the 440-yards obstacle race, and third in the one-mile handicap race. 6 5 Otto, a bowling allrounder, took 5 wickets for the Camp's First XI against a Second XVIII, and in January 1902 took 6 wickets for the Vice Captain's XI against a Captain's XI. 66 He was the best Boer bowler by far against Colombo, and almost single-handedly ensured that the Boers were not totally embarrassed. He died in 1937 in Johannesburg. S.0. Tennant6 7 Few of the names of Boer prisoners sounded more English than Sydney Dennison Tennant who, with P. V. Oosthuizen, was a secretary of the Sport Club at Diyatalawa and stalwart of the cricket club. Born in Rustenburg in the Transvaal in 1878 to John and Mary Ann Dennison Tennant, he resided in Pretoria at the outbreak of the war and joined the Pretoria