The monument at Langverwacht.

Some years ago I started investigating the Anglo Boer war battle on the farm Langverwacht in the Free State, some 30 kms south of the town of Vrede. Twenty-three men of the 7th New Zealand Mounted Rifles were killed there in a clash with the commando of Christiaan de Wet. When I first saw the monument, it had been smashed by a fallen tree. That was in 2003. Two weeks ago the monument was rebuilt, complete except for the white marble plaque containing the names of the fallen, mostly young men from the South Island of New Zealand.

For me, an emotional experience. The New Zealand government arranged for the rebuilding and it is wonderful that this act means that these young soldiers, fighting for what they felt was right, are not forgotten.

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