 General Notes:
Francis was known as Frank and prior to getting married worked for the Colesberg Advertiser. During the
Anglo Boer War he served in the Rimington Guides, was captured and sent to the Waterfall Concentration
Camp in Pretoria.
Upon his release from the concentration camp he returned to Colesberg and the following article appeared
in the Boerenvriend Newspaper on Friday, July 27, 1900.
" A Captive's Experiences - Life at Waterfall Camp
Mr. F.A. Weakley, of Rimington's Guides, arrived in Colesberg on Monday evening. He is able to tell many
anecdotes of interest regarding his capture and imprisonment by the Boers. He was taken at Strauss' farm
Klipkrantz, by Koert van Zyl, covered by eight choice Colesberg rebels. The capture was carefully
arranged. Koert van Zyl was dressed in khaki uniform and waved his hat to him and on his approaching
close to him suddenly covered him with his rifle and called upon him to surrender. It was only then that Mr.
Weakley discovered that the khaki-clad one was the enemy. On his mentioning that the Khaki uniform had
deceived him, van Zyl replied that it was donned for the occasion.
When in the hands of his captor, Mr Weakley remembered he had a long despatch which he had written a
few minutes before on various matters of intelligence and also his note book with all the items against the
Colesberg rebels, whom he had watched, unknown to them several times during the preceeding month. He
very artfully concealed these in the following manner, seeing there was but little chance of escape he asked
van Zyl if he required all papers. The reply was in the affirmative, Mr Weakley started carefully removing all
papers from his pockets, but at an undetected moment managed to slip the note book down the inside of his
trousers to just above his putties. This done all other papers handed over, Mr Weakley inquired if anything
else was required. He was told that everything loose on him was to be given up. He then produced his
purse containing the large amount of 5/6, his pocket knife and bunch of keys, van Zyl took these and thought
he had everything. It is needless to say the despatch and note book remained in the possession of the
captive.
Behind a rise were Hendrik Lategan, Roelf Lategan, Danie Oosthuizen, Ockers Oosthuizen of Ratelpoort,
Botha (the magistrates clerk), Jan Schalkwyk and Ben Kotze, all armed. Hendrik Lategan wanted to shoot
him but Mr Weakley reminded him that shooting in cold blood was murder and would be visited as such
upon the heads of the perpetrators.
On arrival at De La Rey's camp an interesting interview with that general took place, but he obtained no
information from the prisoner who carefully mislead him.
On the way to Norval's Pont Mr Isaac van Zyl of Van Wyksfontein was very kind to the captive, insisting on
his being allowed to supper, sleep and breakfast in his house, which was a great comfort to him.
From Norval's Pont the journey was by train and not particularly eventful. Arrived at Bloemfontein, special
precautions were taken to prevent the prisoner's escape, and he was lodged in a cell in a common goal with
a companion in like plight. This place was swarming with "Norfolk Howards" and of a night the principal
employment of the occupants was painting the walls red. Permission was given for the prisoners to obtain
food from restaurants and with the assistance of the Rev. Mr. Franklin, Wesleyan Minister, this was
arranged.
Once placed in the Bloemfontein Goal, Mr Weakley thought out many plans of trying to escape, and a very
risky one was decided on. He gave the majority of the prisoners to understand that he expected to get out
on parole to Kroonstad but Mr Thos. Jackson photographer of Colesberg and Mr P Gower Poole of the
Rimington guides were taken into his confidence and the matter was well explained and discussed with
them. The plan was to deceive the Boer authorities by giving them to believe that he had done sufficient for
the British and was willing to assist the enemy. He wrote a short note to the President and the Landdrost
was sent up for an interview. Mr Weakley told the Landdrost that if he would send him out in the Colesberg
district with a patrol of six boers, he would bring in three British spies, one Transvaler, one Free Stater and
one man from the Western Province. He gave their names as Dawie van der Vijver, Koos Engelbrecht and
P van der Merwe. Mr Weakley requested that Koert van Zyl should be one of the patrol. Had the plan
worked no doubt some of the worst rebels would have been in the hands of the British now and not along
with Botha. The Landdrost told Mr Weakley to keep in readiness but fortunately the relief of Kimberley and
the surrounding of Cronje took place and the boers had to retire, and therefore his plan was upset.
Shortly before the British reached Bloemfontein the prisoners were removed to Pretoria and sent to
Waterfall. Here about 4 000 prisoners were housed, if that word may be used, in a series of open sheds,
consisting of iron rooves supported by poles, the sides being left open. A partition down the middle served
as a windbreak. These sheds were in a camp 600 yards long by 100 broad connected with a large
paddock, surrounded by a treble fence of barbed wire, in which the prisoners were allowed to exercise
during the day. Sentries were stationed round the fence while prisoners were out, but were withdrawn
when they returned to the camp in the evening. Many were the plans made to escape. By carrying earth
away in their pockets, the prisoners succeeded in making a hole in the middle of the paddock large enough
for three prisoners at a time to conceal themselves in, lying down. It was roofed with boards and soil made
so unnoticable that guards have even been known to drive over it without suspicion. This hole was the
means of twenty seven prisoners escaping. They hid themselves in it, three at a time of a day and when
the prisoners and their sentries had retired for the night, they emerged and, climbing the fences, made their
way northward and eastward into the bushveld and then eastward to Delagoa Bay. At last it came to Mr
Weakley's turn to take his place with two others in the hole. Perhaps they were all three extra "fine and
large", but whatever the reason, no sooner were they safe beneath the boards than the sand from above
began to pour through onto their heads. To save themselves from being buried alive, they were obliged to
bob up and the result was a discovery of the hole by the guard and an end to that means of escape.
Then they began to cast round for some new plan. There was a small room in the paddock used for placing
dead bodies in. A number of coffins were kept in this room. The door was kept locked, but a duplicate key
was constructed and this room was used as a place of concealment in the same way as the hole had been.
Several prisoners escaped by entering this room by day and getting away by night. Then the guards took to
looking into the room before retiring, but the runaways got into the coffins and drew the lids over them and
so escaped unnoticed. Next two sentries were stationed to guard the room at night, but the first night they
were there three men got away. They appeared suddenly at midnight and so scared the superstitious
guards that they ran away, one of them dropping his rifle as he fled. However, that was the last time use
was made of the "dead house" as a means of escape. After this several escapes were made thus, there
was long grass all round the camp under the fences and under its cover the lowest strand of barbed wire in
each of the three fences was cut through, leaving a clear passage for a man to wriggle through on his
stomach. To enable their comrades to avail themselves of the exit, several prisoners would engage the
sentries by attempting to sell some articles to them, such as water bottles, leggings, etc., and while the
bargaining was going on a few men would throw themselves down in the grass, and they would manage to
crawl, snake like, under the wires and get away.
For a long time before the British got to Pretoria a tunnel was in process of excavation. It had been driven
60 yards and 9 yards of it was beyond the fences when the British force arrived and it became unnecessary
to go on with it.
Life in the Waterfall Camp would have been unbearable if it had not been for the vermin which infested the
sheds and the miserable food supplied. Mealie meal of the very worst description, such as had been
condemned as unfit to feed the burghers on, and potatoes which were decidedly bad, were the staple
articles of diet. These the men had to cook for themselves and fuel was desperately scarce. At last the
men, rather than eat raw food, commenced chopping up their wooden stretchers to burn.
When it came to Mr. Weakley's turn to chop up his stretcher he went to the Camp Commandant and asked
for wood. He was told he could not supply it. Weakley said in that case he would have to chop up fencing
poles, and sure enough that night fourteen poles disappeared and no Dutchman could tell where they went,
or who took them, but the food was well cooked next day and there was a supply of wood over for some
days after.
Now and then there was someone came to sell provisions. Exhorbitant prices were charged. Butter was
4s. 6d. per pound and other luxuries in proportion. A certain Dutchman was a source of amusement one
day. He took his seat on the ground with a supply of tobacco on one side of him, some sausages on the
other side and some tomatoes in front of him. A crowd soon collected and to keep his sausages safe he
covered them up with his handkerchief. While he was doing so, the tobacco disappeared. Discovering this
he directed his attention to the men on that side of him seeking signs of his lost goods. Meanwhile the
sausages also disappeared. This he presently discovered, but instead of becoming enraged he exclaimed
'Now boys, you may as well have the tomatoes also. Here they are.' And with that he got up and left the
camp.
Some thousands of pounds were subscribed by friends of the prisoners, enough to give them 5 Pounds
apiece, but the Boers were afraid to put them in possession of so much wealth all at once, so they allowed
them 2s. 6d. per week each, which the prisoners flatly refused to receive. The Boer Government then
decided to make an allowance of 10/- per week. Mr. Hay, the American Consul accompanied by Mr. Wood,
the Natal Bank Manager, came out and distributed the 10/- two successive weeks. But the relief column
arrived before the rest came and, no word has been heard since of the 4 Pounds balance by the ex-
prisoners. No doubt the authorities have the money and know what best to do with it.
Owing to the fact that the Boers despised pennies and would not accept them in payment for commodities,
that humble coin was plentiful in camp and it provided the means of gambling among the soldiers. Much
ingenuity was displayed by them in the invention of games of skill and chance, the stakes in every case
being a few coppers.
When the Queen's birthday came round the prisoners intended to heist a union Jack which they had
managed to manufacture, but the Boers turned 'max m and a pom-pom on to them and threatened to fire on
them if the flag went up so they desisted and contented themselves with singing "God save the Queen."
The Commandant entered the camp while they were singing and when they had finished he began to
express his disapproval, so they immediately commenced again and sang a bit louder than before. After
this the Commandant spoke very wrathfully but his voice was once again drowned by a tremendous outburst
much louder than before. Exit Commandant! The Commandant then gave Lieut. Nesbit permission to
gather the prisoners in the paddock and sung their National Anthem to their hearts content.
Among the sentries was an old Colesberg boy, Louis von Malitz. Though doing his duty as a sentry, he was
very kind to the prisoners, and especially to the Colesbergers. He told them that he had objected to fight
against the British and had succeeded in escaping services in the field. If it had not been for the necessity
to protect his vested interests, he would have left the country before the war. This was not a statement
made after Pretoria was taken, but while the Boers were still in full possession.
There was a great deal of sickness in the camp from time to time. About seventy deaths took place. Mr.
Duncan Reid tell that Mr. Weakley proved himself a good nurse and his efforts the recovery of several
sufferers may be ascribed. With the ???of funds supplied by the Rev. Mr. Godin of Pretoria, he managed to
obtain such luxuries as maizena and bovril and provided variation from the everlasting mealie pap.
Everything ???st robust of the poor undernourished prisoners soon acquired a loathing for mealie pap
though obliged to eat it to live. Once or twice a calf was captured by the captives and soon found itself
stewing over numerous camp fires, and then the captors ????? and an enjoyable feast. The ration of fresh
meat used to be a quarter of a pound (including bone) per man, twice a week. As the British troops
approached this was increased to half a pound thrice a week. Nevertheless, the men were so emaciated
and weak when they were released that many of them could not walk to Pretoria. As the stronger among
those who last left camp passed over the road they found them lying about all along the road quite knocked
up.
The arrival of the relieving force has been described before, - the bon fires, the singing and shouting and the
Boer bombardment, - but it has not been mentioned that an attempt was made by a Boer force to recapture
the whole camp, and that it was frustrated by a number of the captives, including Mr. Weakley, running to
where the sentries had laid down their arms and using these, opening fire on the enemy - (there are a further
6 lines to the article but the newspaper was badly creased and the photosat of very poor quality. In the above
text somequestion mark occur - these letters ar not decipherable because of the quality of the photostat)"
After his marriage he farmed in the Colesberg area.
Francis was one of two non military men who received a Queen's South Africa Medal with the usual 8 bars
for his service to the British troops during the Anglo Boer War..
Birth Notes:
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=ahoneybun&id=I7313&style=TEXT
Death Notes:
National Archives of South Africa
DEPOT TAB
SOURCE MHG
TYPE LEER
VOLUME_NO 0
SYSTEM 01
REFERENCE 5742/48
PART 1
DESCRIPTION WEAKLEY, FRANCIS ALWIN.
STARTING 19480000
ENDING 19480000
REMARKS SURVIVING SPOUSE MARY HILARIE DAISY WEAKLEY.
And
https://ancestry24.com/search-item/?id=C2582331
Name: WEAKLEY, FRANCIS ALWIN
Date Of Death: 19480000
Passport Number: 469826
Source Location: National Archives, Pretoria (TAB)
Reference: 5742/48
Source: Master of the Supreme Court, Pretoria (MHG)
Collection Name: Transvaal Deceased Estates Index 1855 - 1976
Sources of information or noted events in his life were:
• Criminal. In the South African National Archives there is a criminal case in 1926 - Rex Versus John Cassels Wallace And Francis Alwin Weakley.
• Military Service. From "The Cape Rebel of the South African War" by Hilary Anne Shearing page 68
" There were not many accounts of the rebels in action. On of the most detailed was about Hendrik Lategan of Driefontein's plan to capture a Rimington Guide. He suggested that Van Zyl (probably Jan Van Zijl) wear khaki uniform as a disguise. In this way, Frank Weakley, was trapped and captured. Weakley said Lategan threatened to shoot him, but changed his mind when the Guide warned him about the penalty for murder. He was sent to the prison camp at Waterfall."
And
During the Anglo-Boer War served in the Rimington Guards.
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jilljapp&id=I1800
• Occupation. http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jilljapp&id=I1800
Farmed after his marriage. Prior to this he worked at the Colesberg Advertiser.
• Web Based Info. http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=ahoneybun&id=I7313&style=TEXT
Francis married Mary Hilarie Daisy Norval, daughter of Henry Norval and Elizabeth Sarah Cawood, in 1901 in , Orange Free State, South Africa. (Mary Hilarie Daisy Norval was born in 1876 and died on 26 Sep 1948.)
Sources of information or n events in their marriage were:
• Web Based Info. http://barlowd.tripod.com/index-27.htmll
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