Burgher R.W. Schikkerling 

After the battle of Helvetia on 29 December 1900 when the famous “Lady Roberts” was captured, rain was a major factor limiting the removal of the prize. Schikkerling and a comrade, Kenny Malherbe, were temporarily separated from their friends.

“We found them struggling in the rain, on the steep and slippery road, with the 4.7 which was being drawn by eighteen oxen and was skidding to and fro in the mud. Up to now this is the biggest gun taken in the war and as I admired it I reflected: ‘But for these vile guns I would myself have been a soldier’ ) Shakespeare.”

The rain and the mud did not dampen the flush of victory which he saw fit to punctuate with a witticism from Shakespeare.

Throughout his diary Schikkerling managed to palliate the stress with his two strongest resistance resources. The first was his inclination to humour and wit and the second his strong feeling of compassion and loyalty towards his comrades and to others. His ability to see the amusing side of events and people was a GRR that braced him on frequent occasions.

But his kindly predisposition towards others, his sensitivity and empathy go hand in hand with his humour. An example of this is his remark about a middle aged mess mate, Boetdan de Villiers, whose main task it was to mind the horses.

“Of the good things, fate had dealt him only 6/8 in the pound. He is nevertheless happy; either because he is too philosophic to be unhappy, or, because he had at one time become so submerged in wretchedness that his point of view had shifted ...”

He continued to liken this man to Cervantes’ Sancho Panza, saying:

“... every man is as God made him, and some a great deal worse”.

The anecdote of “Swart Lawaai” who because of his greediness was pecked by a breeding hen is one of the classic tales of humor of the war. He firmly believed that he had been bitten by a snake and that he was about to die. He begged his comrades to read to him from the Bible in his saddlebag before he died. Like any good yarn this one also had its punchline - the pages with the most appropriate words for a “dying” man had been torn out of the Bible to roll a cigarette.

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