HISTORICAL LEGACY OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR, 1899 – 1902

HISTORICAL LEGACY OF THE
SOUTH AFRICAN WAR 1899 – 1902

Farley Wuth, Curator,
Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village

Tthe South African War of 1899 – 1902 was as a seemingly remote international conflict, yet a very bloody war for control over parts of the resource rich South Africa. Two Boer Republics fought against the forces of the British Empire with the latter winning a hard fought war effective May 31st, 1902. For the geographically far removed Pincher Creek area, nestling in the southwestern cotner of the Canadian Prairies, the war may have seemed physically far flung. But in terms of the patriotic British Empire, of which Pinchert Creek was a part, the threats half a world away seemed real enough. Many ranching pioneers in the Canadian foothills had strong British origins and favoured the traditions of the Empire. Within weeks, close to thiry local fellows enlisted on the British side of the war. Here are some of their stories. Many still have yet to be told.

CASUALTIES

Pincher Creek native James Frederick (Fred) Morden was killed in action on June 22nd 1900 during a decisive battle at Honing Spruit (Honey Creek), South Africa. The 26 year old veteran, born in 1874, was the son of ranchers Albert and Sarah (Mulholland) Morden whose 1880 agricultural spread was a landmark for a generation. A short distance away was the “Morden's Bridge”, a wooden foot-crossing of the Pincher Creek. The family was very active in social and church affairs. The deeply grieving community organized a memorial marker in Fred’s memory, for years on display at the Pincher Creek United Church and now preserved at the Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village.

Also killed in that fateful June 1900 battle was Morden’s colleague Robert James Kerr. Born circa 1862, Kerr enlisted on December 30th, 1899. A Pincher Creek rancher, Kerr’s brother-in-law was N.W.M.P. Constable Alfred Wilson. Kerr was an active member of St. John’s Church of England. Following his death, this veteran’s name was remembered in the Municipal District of Robert Kerr, active in the 1920s and 1930s as wll as the School District of Robert Kerr No. 878 which operated south of town from 1903 to 1958.

A third Pincher Creek casualty in the South African War was Ovide Smith. Two brothers who fought at Honing Spruit were Tom and Vere Miles. The siblimgs were badly wounded in the conflict.

COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS OF VETERANS

Other Pincher Creek veterans managed to survive the South African War and made great military contributions to the British cause. One included George Dore (1876 -- 1971) who homesteaded near our ranching settlement. He was also the stonemason who constructed several local sandstone buildings. His place of residence was the stone house on Kettles Street, later the home of Madeline and Ludgar Gareau. Dore was a member of the Second Canadian Mounted Rifles.

James Edward (Jack) Graham (1880 – 1968) too was a South African War veteran. The Canadian West had an appeal to him and he immigrated here in 1903, taking up work on local ranches. In 1928, he purchased his own spread north of Lundbreck. Graham was an enthusiastic member of the North Fork Polo Club which was active prior to the First World War. Later he was a member of the Pincher Creek branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.

Fellow rancher and polo player Harry A. Gunn (1874 – 1967) also fought in the South African War. He enlisted in November 1899 as a member of the Canadian Mounted Rifles. He participated in a battle only a mile distant from the Honing Spruit conflict that took the lives of Morden and Kerr. Back home north of Cowley, his cattle ranch proved to be a significant success. Gunn was a competitive polo player.

James (Jim) F. Saunders (1882 – 1963) too was a local South African War veteran. He participated in the Fifth Canadian Mounred Rifles. Back at home during the 1920s and 1930s, Saunders was highly received for his community role looking after Pincher Creek’s skating and curling rinks. These well patronized recreational facilities were locaated on the north side of the creek, part of the site of the Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village.

Pioneer businessman Thomas Herron Scott served two years with the Second Contingent of the Canadian Mounted Rifles during the South African War. His commercial interests in Pincher Creek were in the impressive Scott Block, a landmark on the south side of Main Street for nearly half a century. Like his brother James, Thomas Scott was very active in local affairs, serving on Town Council during the pioneer era.

Harry B. “Posthole” Smith (1882 – 1968) was active in the Imperial Yeoomanry of the South African War. Smith’s longtimne ranch north of Cowley was established back in 1903. Harry and his wife Mary were known for their western hospitality with their sturdy log house serving as the host of many a community dinner and social gathering.

One of the local legacies of the South African War was the Memorial Hospital constructed just beloiw Pincher Creek’s North Hill, along the east side of what is now John Avenue. This massive two-storey frame structure, complete with an impressive verandah, served as the settlement’s first hospital. Constructed shortly after the war’s end in 1902, it was still in use in the late 1910s. The hospital was financed with community fundraising in memory of the casualties of the war.