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An educated "Body Snatcher" in the Boer War 7 years 8 months ago #55482
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Edward Southwell Bearcroft
Leader, Natal Voluntary Ambulance Corps – Anglo Boer War - Queens South Africa Medal with clasp Relief of Ladysmith to LR. E.S. Bearcroft, Natal Vol. Amb. C. Edward Bearcroft was both a cultured and a sophisticated man. Born in Bridgwater, Cambridgeshire in early 1848 he was the son of the Reverend Edward Charles King Bearcroft and his wife Mary Amelia, a woman twelve years his senior. Reverend Bearcroft had swotted at Cambridge University taking his degree there over the period from Lent 1847 until 1850. He was thus a theological student when Edward junior was born. At the time of the 1851 England census Reverend Bearcroft had obtained a Living and was the Curate of the Parish of Bridgwater (St. Mary’s). The family lived in Salmon Lane and, aside from his parents, joining a young Edward in the house were his brother’s sister Matilda (30) and two servants – Jane Ackerman and Elizabeth Gilbert. 
Ten years later at the time of the 1861 England census the family had moved. Rev. Bearcroft now had the Living of Downham Market in Norfolk. Edward was now a scholar aged 13 – the family was still a small one with only a domestic servant, Mary Ann Hughes completing the picture. The 1871 England census revealed that Edward’s mother had passed away in the intervening years. Reverend Bearcroft, now 49 years of age, had learned his lesson and married a younger woman, Harriet Sarah who was 31 and a mere 8 years older than Edward at 23. Harriet had given Edward a step-bother, Ernest Neville who was 5 months old at the time of the census. Edward the younger was recorded as having “No Occupation”. Ten years later when the 1881 England rolled by a 34 year old Edward was an Art Master at the S & A Department in Kensington. The word “Kensington” was going to play a pivotal role in his future as we will see. He seems to have had digs of his own at 37 London Street, South Lyn, Norfolk and was being visited by a George Barnston, a Solicitor’s Clerk at the time. Three years later, on 16 April 1884 at the Parish Church of St. Mary’s in Hornsey, Middlesex he tied the knot with Priscilla Allinson, daughter of Anthony Allinson, a Surgeon (deceased). Claiming to be an artist by profession Bearcroft was 36 years old (the same age as his wife) and resident at Camborne in Cornwall. Earlier mention was made that Kensington would play a large part in Bearcroft’s future and this proved to be the case – a system of teaching art in schools was developed which became known as the “South Kensington” system and it is a dissertation for a Master’s Degree by a Rhoda Krut in Johannesburg in 1983 that we have to think for what we know of Bearcroft’s future movements. The following extracts emanate from that work: “Following the move by the Natal Collegiate, an Art Committee for the Council was appointed on January 1st, 1889. Negotiations were entered into with the Crown Agents in London and an Art Master appointed. A testimonial sent to the Crown Agents on October 29th, 1889, stated that Edward S. Bearcroft had been a student at the National Art Training Schools and had obtained the teacher's certificate there in 1880. He had been Master of the Art School at Lynn in Norfolk and then at Truro, until the failure of the Cornish mines 'had brought ruin on everything in the town'. Since then he had been teaching at Dartmouth 'with more or less success'. The testimonial stated that Bearcroft was a conscientious man, able to organise and 'a good average teacher who has intelligence enough to throw himself into the new duties that will be required of him' Mr. Bearcroft, his wife and two children arrived in Natal on January 18th, 1890, bringing with them the apparatus, models and copies that were necessary for his work. Government Schools of Art were opened in July 1890 and February 1891 in Pietermaritzburg and Durban respectively. Mr. Bearcroft was in charge of the two schools and an assistant was appointed Durban. Classes were held from 10-1, 2.30-5 and 7-9 on ‘Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Pietermaritzburg and Thursdays and Fridays in Durban. The schools were open daily for private study from 10 - 5. The instruction advertised in the press included elementary and advanced freehand drawing, elementary and advanced model drawing, elementary and advanced shaded drawing from casts, painting from the living model, elementary principles of design and drawing from memory, plant drawing from nature, painting in oil and watercolour from s till life and copy - the typical Science and Art programme. Mr. Bearcroft also offered 'copper-plate' etching an aspect of art which had become so popular that it was even practised by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria. It was considered to combine 'science and art'. It would appear that the initial attempts at establishing the Schools of Art were not successful. At the Education Commission of 1891, the President of the Natal Society admitted that the cost of introducing the Art Master and the annual cost of the undertaking had been underestimated and that no suitable building had been available for use by Mr. Bearcroft. Mr. Bearcroft then discussed some of his problems with the Education Commission. On arrival, acting on instructions from the Council, he had visited all the primary schools in Pietermaritzburg and Durban. At Durban he found that no notice of his appointment had been made to the Schools and that his authority on visiting the school was questioned by the teachers. Subsequently, the Council had advised him that he was not to teach in the elementary schools, but he did begin teaching at the Maritzburg College in March. Although he had reported favourably on a building in Chapel Street, Pietermaritzburg, no building had been made available to him as a studio before July 1890. The conditions under which Mr. Bearcroft worked appear to be extremely unsatisfactory. He taught at Pietermaritzburg, where he lived, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then took the train in at 1.50 on Thursday morning to Durban where he taught on Thursday and Friday at the School of Art and privately on Saturdays. The classes were very large and included the fee-paying students as well as the pupils, pupil teachers and teachers; often all were taught simultaneously. Mr. Bearcroft found that the equipment was inadequate for the large classes 'often as many as fifteen students to a class, there was no press for etching and government expenditure did not allow the purchase of further equipment. Despite these problems the schools seem to have made a place for themselves in the community. In a few months the roll had risen to 18 or 19 in Durban, while at a corresponding time there were 32 on the roll in Pietermaritzburg. In 1892, 69 pupils passed the second grade examination and 6 passed in the third grade of the Elementary Drawing Certificate of the Science and Art Department examination. Pupils entering these examinations came from the two government Art Schools, the Maritzburg College, the Girls' Collegiate and the Boys' Model School, and the Berea School from Durban. In 1893, 70 students were successful in the annual South Kensington examinations, passing in elementary freehand, advanced freehand, elementary model, advanced model, plane and solid geometry and machine and constructional drawing. With large classes, the responsibility for the tuition in the two major centres and the d iv e r s it y of methods required in teaching adults and children in the same class, it is no wonder that Mr. Bearcroft could not satisfy everybody. The large classes taking the Elementary Drawing Course needed more individual attention than he could give them and there also seems to have been some problem caused by bad discipline. While the bulk of his work was concerned with elementary drawing work, this 'primary work' was considered by the mature fee paving students a method 'that entirely dispels all ideas of art and the schools were seething with dissatisfaction. When the Council dismissed Mr. Bearcroft at the end of that year, however, his personal popularity among the mature students was such that three students representing the mature student body personally presented a petition to the Governor in order to campaign for the retention of his services. His students praised Mr. Bearcroft's zeal, patience and ability and stated that they wished to record their high appreciation of his services. They stated that the presumed failure of Mr. Bearcroft’s teaching was not due to his methods or personality but was due to the adverse conditions under which he had to work. However, despite this intervention, Mr. Bearcroft, after four years of devoted service under impossible conditions, was not retained as a teacher when the schools were reorganised in 1895. (The agreement between E.S. Bearcroft and the Crown Agents expired on 10.1.1893, but his services were retained until 31.12.1894, when the Natal Government agreed to give him 3 months salary in lieu of notice and stated that they were prepared to provide him with a free passage for himself and his family. Bearcroft, his wife and one 6 year old child left on 23 January 1895.) In 1898 Mr. Bearcroft seems to have returned to Pietermaritzburg as it is recorded that he gave Science lessons at the Art School. It was commented that the boys 'on the whole seem much interested in the subject'. However, in the following year, Mr. Bearcroft started a class for Theoretical and Practical Chemistry on September 5th, which was closed on November 1st 1899, the 'conditions under which the class was authorised to be held not having been complied with'. He had been teaching courses in inorganic chemistry at the Pietermaritzburg College in 1898 and a class for practical and theoretical chemistry at the Government Art School. Perhaps the fact that Bearcroft was now at a loose end was providential? It certainly freed him up for what was to come a month later. The various colonies that made up South Africa had been at war with the two Boer Republics to the north since 11 October 1899 and the fight was very much centred on the northern and western parts of Natal in the initial stages. Ladysmith was under siege from the beginning of November and Buller was making his ponderous way upcountry to relieve the town and its people. Things were dire for the British forces who experienced one reverse after another and it soon became apparent that a body of men would be required to carry the dead and wounded from the field of battle to the hospital stations and tents away from the fighting. Bearcroft answered the call and enlisted with the newly created Natal Volunteer Ambulance Corps as a Leader on 11 December 1899 – four days before the Battle of Colenso. For an in-depth account of the N.V.A.C. and its movements I turn to an authoritative work by Brett Hendey who wrote on the subject as follows, “This account of the Natal Volunteer Ambulance Corps (NVAC), is based largely on reports in the Natal Advertiser, a forerunner of the present Daily News, Durban’s evening newspaper. Most of the information came from a serving member of the NVAC, who started his reports after his arrival at the front and shortly before the Battle of Colenso on 15/12/1899. There are many local newspaper reports of these events, and the ones covered below, so a far fuller history of the NVAC is possible using these resources. The name of the Natal Advertiser correspondent was not recorded, but he is believed to have been Charles Matthew Finlayson, an “Uitlander” from the Transvaal, who held the rank of ‘Leader’ in the NVAC. After the earliest set-piece battles of the Natal theatre of operations had taken place during October (Talana, Elandslaagte), and November (near Ladysmith), it was realised that the British army had inadequate medical services in place, and better provision needed to be made for the timely and efficient removal of casualties from the battles that were still to come. Colonel T Gallwey, Principal Medical Officer of Natal, was tasked with raising an ‘Ambulance Corps’ with volunteers drawn from able-bodied men who had thus far not been taken up in Natal’s volunteer regiments (e.g. Natal Carbineers, Durban Light Infantry), and the various irregular units that had been raised locally (e.g. Imperial Light Horse, Thorneycroft’s Mounted Infantry, Imperial Light Infantry). Although Natal had provided sanctuary to many refugees from the Boer Republics, by December 1899 the number of men who were best suited for military service must have been considerably reduced. While those remaining may have lacked previous military service, and may have been neither skilled horsemen, nor marksmen, there were still enough able-bodied men prepared to aid the war effort. In a matter of days, between one and two thousand had joined the newly-formed non-combatant NVAC. To the refugee volunteers were added some residents of Natal who were without other military obligations. The men came from all walks of life, from gentlemen to labourers. They were commanded by officers who were seconded from Imperial regiments already in Natal. While the NVAC was charged with removing casualties from the battlefield, the NIAC under Mohandas Gandhi was raised to fill a complementary role in evacuating casualties to places of safety and field hospitals further behind the lines. A report in the Natal Advertiser, gave the numbers involved at the Colenso front as 1200 for the NVAC, and 600 for the NIAC. Soldiers named these men “the Body Snatchers”. They were to save the lives of many wounded men, and they also eased their pain by carrying them on stretchers, which were a more comfortable mode of transport than ambulances. Atkins (1900) described the NVAC as an “oddly assorted body of men”, wearing an assortment of clothes, including “canvas shoes”, “yawning boots and clothes that must have seen service in the streets of a town”. Pakenham (1979) added that they “dressed in tattered khaki tunics, and a strange assortment of hats, helmets, bowlers and tam-o’shanters.” In spite of appearances, and the fact that the pick of the young men in Natal had been taken up by fighting units, the “body snatchers” were tough and acquitted themselves well. The Natal Advertiser correspondent described the NVAC’s move towards the Colenso battlefield as follows: “Many found the 10 mile march we performed that afternoon trying in the extreme, not as easy as lounging about West Street [in Durban] by a long way. Nevertheless, only one fell out from sunstroke.” Most of the NVAC enlistments took place in Durban on 9 December 1899, with other men joining up until 13 December. The first to join soon left for General Buller’s camp at Frere, arriving there on Monday, 11 December. At noon on Tuesday, the NVAC joined Buller’s advance on Colenso by way of Chieveley. The Natal Advertiser correspondent reported that at “sundown, at a picturesque spot, where a beautiful stream ran through a large, tolerably level, grassy expanse, we rested for the night.” This was the calm before the storm that was to give men of the NVAC their first experience of the tasks they had undertaken to fulfil. On Friday, 15 December, the long-awaited assault on the entrenched Boer line along the north bank of the Tugela River took place, and the Battle of Colenso was fought. The attack soon ran into fierce opposition, casualties mounted, and Buller’s army was effectively routed in a matter of hours. The Natal Advertiser carried the following report on the activities of the NVAC: “Now our work began in earnest. At 10 o’clock the first ambulance arrived from the battlefield with wounded men, and shortly afterwards the sections of [the NVAC’s] different Ambulance Companies were ordered to advance, with their stretchers. It was a long walk, varying from three to four miles to the firing line. I went out four times to the front, superintending the removal of the wounded. Some of these were badly hurt, but the majority of those who fell to my lot to bring in were shot through the extremities, the arms and legs …..” “My section carried off a number of Thorneycroft’s men, and a pluckier set of fellows it would be difficult to imagine. Although wounded badly, they never uttered a sound, and one splendid fellow, badly shot through the liver, insisted on sharing his water with the bearers. Thorneycroft’s wounded behaved with great fortitude.” The defeated troops began to retire at 2 pm, “but it was not until far into the night that the ambulance and stretcher parties left off work.” Amongst the last to return was Lord Robert Manners, who commanded one of the NVAC companies. In his account of the events of the following day, the Natal Advertiser correspondent wrote: “I was instructed to take charge of a party to go to the field to bury the dead. A guide took us the shortest way to do our gruesome work. While we were busy at one spot a party of four from the other side rode up, comprised of a clean-shaven Englishman from Johannesburg, two Boers, and a doctor. I asked about the Boer loss, which he told me was very small, only four killed and twenty wounded.” These figures were later revised to eight killed and 30 wounded. By contrast, the British lost 143 men killed, 756 wounded, and 240 captured and missing. The report concludes: “As night fell and our work finished, we slowly wended our weary way back to camp, a glorious moon lighting up our road.” The Natal Advertiser later reported that the NVAC, “justified its existence at the battle of Colenso. Not only was it specially thanked by General Buller, but various military officers expressed their admiration at the courage and coolness displayed by the corps under fire.” The NVAC returned to Durban, where it undertook a re-organisation of its ranks, and much of the equipping that had not been possible in the frantic week between its first enlistments and its first battle. Their commanding officer, Major Montague Stuart Wortley CMG DSO, “procured what looked almost like a pyramid of boots, from which any size from 6’s to 11’s could be selected by those needing them.” Time was also occupied “in the supplying of knives, forks, water bottles, etc.” A smaller and better equipped NVAC returned to Frere, where their camp was “situated a few yards away from the scene of the armoured train incident, where Winston Churchill showed his bravery.” The men were kept busy with long marches, regular drills and stretcher exercises. They were told that in future battles each stretcher was to be accompanied by eight men, rather than the 12 used during the Battle of Colenso. Another innovation was to be the creation of a mounted ambulance corps to accompany mounted infantry and cavalry regiments. There were many volunteers for this unit. Recreation included games of football. A promise of a ration of beer disappointingly turned out to be two barrels to be divided between 1 000 men. The end of the 19th Century was celebrated relatively quietly, and the 20th Century started with stretcher drills at 6 am and 11 am.” But by this time Bearcroft was 51 years old and the conditions were beginning to tell on his health. He took his discharge from the N.V.A.C. on 21 December 1899 after literally ten action-filled days of service. Returning to his home he was, in 1901, described as a science master and in 1904 as an analyst. For his efforts he was awarded the Queens Medal with the Relief of Ladysmith clasp. Having found no further gainful employment for himself with which to support a family he returned to the United Kingdom where, according to the 1911 England census, he was a Lecturer’s Assistant (Physical Chemistry) at a University. He lived at 34 Boondale Road in Mosley Hill, Liverpool with his wife. His two children had sadly passed away at some point. His wife was an Assistant to a Dispenser. There is an Edward S Bearcroft who passed away in 1926 but this may not be him. 
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An educated "Body Snatcher" in the Boer War 7 years 8 months ago #55483
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An educated "Body Snatcher" in the Boer War 7 years 8 months ago #55489
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An educated "Body Snatcher" in the Boer War 7 years 8 months ago #55494
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