Burgher R.W. Schikkerling 

The psychological impact of the guerrilla war on the Boers was not always as extreme as some of some would suggest.There were many thousands of burghers and officers who experienced the stress of the guerilla war (and suffered the hardships caused by stress ) but who coped with the situation, who relied on their resistance resources and stayed on commando until the peace was signed. One such burgher was a young man from Johannesburg, Roland William Schikkerling.

When Schikkerling left from Braamfontein station for the Natal front on 4 October 1899, he was only 19 years old. He remained a member of the Johannesburg Commando until the end of the war. Before considering the impact of guerrilla warfare on him, it might be worthwhile taking a closer look at the youth Roland Schikkerling.

He grew up with his mother and sisters in Johannesburg and enjoyed only two years of formal schooling, but was knowledgeable on a wide range of subjects. His love of books and reading (particularly the works of Shakespeare which he often quoted in his diary) played a big role in his life, presumably contributing greatly to his knowledge in other fields such as geometry and astrology.

One example that demonstrates his insight of the world around him was his attempt to construct a sundial with the help of a piece of mahogany and a brass pin. This venture was prompted by his growing interest in the stars:

“I have fallen into primitive ways, and can tell the time by the stars to within a few minutes. I know when Orion, the Pleiads and several other heavenly bodies, rise and set, and the time the Southern Cross dips ...”.

He also knew that salt could be produced by reacting bicarbonate of soda with hydrochloric acid, and he enjoyed describing the colourful lowveld birds and the delicate role of insects in the pollination of flowers. It is obvious that Schikkerling possessed an above average general knowledge for such a young man. His understanding of life and its mysteries would have been a significant resistance resource in times of stress.

Schikkerling had a leaning towards philosophical comments, a feature that became more pronounced as the war wore on and the situation on commando became more gloomy. Even at the beginning, when it was clear that war was unavoidable, he professed:

“I must confess I saw very little hope of  (for us ) a successful issue. But why need there be hope? And who of so little spirit as to regard the odds, when so much was at stake?”

One could argue that this was a typically bold statement from an impetuous young man, however, it is clear that from the outset he had a highly developed sense of loyalty towards his country and a firm resolution to stand by that allegiance. Kobasa claims that the firm belief in the truth and the value of what one is doing are key components for a hardy personality.

Schikkerling’s commitment and his inclination to become philosophical might furthermore have gone hand in hand. In April 1901, when the burghers under General Viljoen were pursued in the course of General Bindon Blood’s drive in the northeastern Transvaal, Schikkerling, with two of his comrades and an old gentleman, Mr. Cogill, were fleeing from the enemy over mountainous terrain. They carried on until after dark, but when they became lost and hungry they simply slept at the roadside. His comment on the event was:

“Old Mr. Cogill, though stricken in years and in sorrow, had made the gruelling ride with us. If one has not known utter exhaustion, the pangs of natural thirst and hunger, or has not been soothed to sleep by the wind and the stars, one has not lived.”

This is only one of many philosophical remarks related to his determination and commitment that he made in his diary Towards the end of May 1901, Schikkerling entered into a lengthy discourse (partly technical and partly philosophical ) on the military strategy of the Boers as compared to that of the British. He clearly recognized the Boers’ strengths, such as their field-craft, their mobility and ability with the long-range magazine rifle, but he did not hesitate to criticize their lack of discipline and excessive individuality.

His sound approach can be closely associated with Antonovsky’s opinion that rationality, meaning accurate, objective assessment of a situation, is a major component of coping. Twenty months after his arrival on the Natal border in October 1899 he had experienced both victory and defeat and lived through some very harsh realities of war. Schikkerling’s lucid and comprehensive discussion strongly suggests that at this stage of the war he had begun to develop the “dispositional orientation” that Antonovsky describes as a SOC.

As in the case of Jan Smuts the phrase Strümpfer uses, namely “ ... habitual patterns of appraisal, based on repeated experiences of sense-making that have been facilitated by [one’s] GRRs ...” fits in completely with Schikkerling’s circumstances.

By suggesting that Schikkerling may have had a well developed sense of coherence, it is by no means implied that he did not undergo the usual forms of stress encountered by the guerrilla fighter. He too longed for his loved ones, looking for social support from home.

“Every day comes the longing to see dear ones who may be no more, for much may have happened during the year and a half in which I have heard no word from them.”

This was written at a stage of the war when the “watershed” had already been reached.

Schikkerling’s mood of despondency was also evident when he wrote on 9 September 1901:

“A losing cause and a lingering war blunt one’s courage and every battle takes a little off the edge. I have seen men of steel tempered down to hoop iron ...”.

Many of those “men of steel” had crossed his path during the months of the guerrilla war, and he had witnessed the death of such men. His deep distress at the death of some of his comrades and close friends who were

“... all touched by Death’s purple finger ...” 

Schikkerling came face to face with death several times as the months of guerrilla warfare passed. He managed to avoid being present at the execution of the traitor, Drosky, on 26 June 1901, but on that same evening his bedfellow, Field Cornet Meyburgh, was shot dead at his side during an attack on a blockhouse. However, it does seem as if it was the death of a young boy, Japie Olivier, during an early morning attack on three wagons on 24 October 1901, that disturbed the by now seasoned Schikkerling more than usual.

“When we came up to our companions we saw one leading a horse to which Japie’s body was strapped, his lifeless arms and purpling hands dangling limply against the horse’s flanks ... we buried Japie on a bleak prominence where he will await the Day of Judgement. He was a youth of outstanding bravery.”

Of significance here is that a traumatic experience of stress does not require that the person involved must be directly exposed to the stressor, such as a battle during war. According to Baum, et al. merely being exposed to the consequences of an event such as the grotesque death of a person or learning about violence against somebody close to one, could be severely distressing to a person. Perhaps it was the fact that the war had gone on for so long that heightened his grief at this particular stage. The repeated contact with death, either that of his comrades or of the enemy, certainly did cause stress in the young burgher’s mind, but at no time did it appear that he was unable to cope with his stress.

Food played an important part in the daily thoughts of the young Schikkerling, as it probably does in the lives of most young men between 19 and 21. Shortage of food or of certain ingredients, and the monotonous diet of burghers in the field has a particular impact. However the subject is mentioned so frequently in Schikkerling’s diary that the procurement of food in general and of certain basic ingredients, such as sugar and salt, seem to have been more than a mere hassle to him. In the later stages of the war it became a personal stressor, although not a private one, as it was shared by all his comrades.

He was, however, not disinclined to be involved in the preparation of food - in fact he confidently described how best to prepare a sheep’s head in the embers of a fire. While looting the camp of the 5th Victoria Mounted Rifles, following a large scale capitulation of the much-feared Australians, Schikkerling recounted that despite articles such as an overcoat and two blankets which he flung into his bag, he expressly looked for

“ ... jam and sugar, for I had almost forgotten what sweets tasted like.”

A few weeks later, on 24 July 1901, he described how he and a good friend, Sidney Rocher, and two others went under cover of darkness to steal eighteen pumpkins and some mealie cobs. The next day his entry begins with:

“We have pumpkin and chops for breakfast.”

By 18 January 1902, by the time when everything about the war had become gloomy, he recounted:

“All this for a breakfast of coarse porridge, without meat or milk or salt. We have today been twenty-six days without salt”.

There is no doubting that he was stressed about the issue of food on commando.

It should, however, not be assumed that the stress brought on by food shortages and the monotonous diet could not be coped with by the young burgher and his comrades. On the one hand young people tend to have short memories about their adversities, while on the other hand there were those special occasions when the hardships were temporarily set aside. On Christmas day of 1901, Schikkerling and three of his friends had Christmas dinner with the Munros in Pilgrim’s Rest.

“The feast, to me at least, with my now shrunken standards, beggared all description. Among other fare we feasted on plum pudding, tarts, custard pudding and jelly.”

Is it possibly incidental that he remembered to mention only the sweet dishes? On another occasion Schikkerling and his comrades came upon a farm with a variety of wild as well as cultivated fruit ranging from figs and pomegranates to medlar (mispel) and wild plums (stamvrugte). So there were times of good and abundant food as well as lean and trying times.

When studying the diary it becomes apparent that the topic of food became increasingly important to Schikkerling from the middle of the winter of 1901 onwards.

Perhaps Schikkerling’s balanced nature can be best summed up by his penultimate entry in his diary. On his way home, after the peace accord had been signed, he spent a last night near a British blockhouse adjoining the road,

“...occupied by a few of the 3rd Kings Royal Rifles. The half-dozen occupants were kinder than I am able to describe. They questioned me and listened with great deference, treating me like a long-lost brother. They walked up and down with me in the cool evening air and would hardly let me go. Two came with me down to the stream, H.T. Dell and John Cornish, and on parting asked, of all things, for my card. This guerrilla etiquette is overpowering."

Source: The Psychological Impact of Guerrilla Warfare on the Boer Forces, UP