OVS Personality: Johannes Smith

Joined OVSAC: 3 August 1893 – Artillerist
Bombardier: 16 July 1895
Onderofficier: 5 October 1895
Sergeant: 2 October 1897
Sergeant-Major: 1 May 1898

At the outbreak of war Sgt-Maj. Smith was dispatched to the Colesburg area with two 75mm Krupp guns. Here he fought under Piet De Wet, De la Rey and other Boer generals. On the front he was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant.

Later he served with General Jan Olivier and the Rouxville Commando and fought at Lindley, Bethlehem and the Brandwater Basin. I suspect he escaped the Brandwater Basin fiasco with Olivier who broke out with some guns though Golden Gate. After Olivier was captured at Winburg Commandant Pieter Hendrik Kritzinger was elected in Olivier’s place and Smith presumably then operated under him.

On 23 September 1900 General Christiaan de Wet organised a meeting of commandos at Doornspruit, district Kroonstad. Among the men he involved in his planning was Smith. In December 1900 he was with Kritzinger’s commando who invaded the Cape Colony and, by then a Captain, was placed in command of the green puggaree section. Kritzinger insisted that Smith should have independent commando over the green section.

The British “Boer Army List” of 31-3-1902 described him as an average fighter, well armed and mounted, a man who could tuck himself away when the going got rough.

My sources are:

Muller, WH: Herinneringe van die Anglo-Boereoorlog van 1899-1902, Unpublished manuscript, Free State Archives, Bloemfontein (Muller was the last CO of the Free State Artillery and gives Smith’s initials as J.A.L.)

Shearing, T&D: Commandant Gideon Scheepers and the Search for His Grave, Cape Commando Series No. 2, Privately Printed, Sedgefield, 1999

In 1914-1915 Smith was again fighting for the Boer cause, this time in command of the Rebel's artillery (4x 77mm Krupp QF and 2 x 37mm DWM pom-poms given to them by the Germans). He was later arrested and stood trial and did time in the Johannesburg fort prison.