British Army brigades had traditionally been
ad hoc formations known by the name of their commander or numbered as an integral part of a division. However, units deployed to the
Second Boer War in 1899 were organised into sequentially numbered brigades that were frequently reassigned between divisions.
21st Brigade was formed in South Africa in April 1900 under the command of
Major-General Bruce Hamilton. Bruce Hamilton (described as a 'superb fighting general') had begun the war a substantive
Major and
Brevet Colonel serving as
Assistant Adjutant General of
2nd Division, and had been wounded in the action at Venter's Spruit on 20 January. His new brigade comprised three
Regular infantry battalions together with the famous
City Imperial Volunteers (CIV), recently arrived from Britain.
Order of Battle 1900 The composition of 21st Bde in April–June 1900 was as follows: • 76th Battery,
Royal Field Artillery (RFA) – arrived in South Africa from
Ireland in January 1900 as part of X Brigade-Division,
Royal Field Artillery, in
6th Division and had served at the
Battle of Paardeberg. • 1st Battalion
Royal Sussex Regiment – arrived in South Africa from
Malta in March 1900. • 1st Battalion
Cameron Highlanders) – arrived in South Africa from Egypt in April and had been in the operations near
Bloemfontein. • Infantry Battalion,
City Imperial Volunteers (CIV) – arrived in South Africa from England in February and had seen some action at
De Aar. • Bearer Company and Field Hospital,
Royal Army Medical Corps.
Bloemfontein to Pretoria 21st Brigade began operations as part of
Lord Roberts' force and was then assigned to
Lieutenant-General Ian Hamilton's Winburg Column. This force operated on Lord Roberts' right flank during the advance into the
Orange Free State. Hamilton's Column left Bloemfontein on 22 April and took part in the following general actions in a march of over in 45 days: • Israel's Poorte, 25 April • Houtnek, 30 April–1 May •
Welkom, 4 May • Passage of the
Sand River, 10 May: 21st Brigade crossed the river covered by artillery fire and deployed on a wide front before advancing, the Sussex and CIV coming under heavy fire. • Affair of
Lindley, 20 May •
Doornkop, 29 May: Hamilton attacked a force of several thousand Boers occupying a group of
kopjes east of the town. While the cavalry worked round the left flank the widely-dispersed infantry advanced against the Boer centre at 15.00, with
19th Brigade on the right and 21st on the left. The CIV led Bruce Hamilton's attack, which according to
Winston Churchill (observing as a war correspondent) was 'pressed with vigour, and directed with skill', the CIV advancing 'with great dash and spirit'. During the advance the two brigades diverged, but the Sussex and an artillery battery were pushed forward into the gap. After exchanges of rifle fire, the CIV clearing Roodepoort, the Boers began to pull back and were shelled as they retreated. The British casualties were not heavy except in 19th Bde. Advancing on to Florida, the force found sufficient supplies to continue the advance while the convoys caught up. • Six Mile Spruit (
Pretoria), 4 June •
Battle of Diamond Hill, 11–12 June: The Boers made a stand beyond Pretoria, and after a fierce action involving the cavalry and mounted infantry (MI), Bruce Hamilton was ordered to advance against a scrub-covered ridge in front of the main Diamond Hill ridge. After an artillery preparation the Sussex established themselves on the northern end of the ridge while the CIV and MI held the Boers frontally and slowly rolled up other end. The Boers began to withdraw, but in crossing the open ground before the main hill they came under heavy rifle fire from Hamilton's men. Next day (12 June) the advance was resumed: once
1st (Guards) Brigade had come up in support, 21st Bde began the attack at 13.00. The Derbyshires (Sherwood Foresters), who had been skirmishing in the morning, now advanced up a flat tongue of land to the right, the CIV in the centre, and the Sussex on the left. The advance was exposed to enfilade fire from
pom-pom guns but the infantry made lodgements along the rim of the Diamond Hill plateau. Here they were exposed to fire from another kopje and casualties began to mount. 82nd Battery, RFA, was brought up to suppress this fire, and by 16.00 the Guards and more batteries were up. Fighting died down at sunset, and the Boers withdrew during the night.
Guerrilla warfare After Diamond Hill and the occupation of
Pretoria and
Johannesburg the war resolved into a lengthy
guerrilla campaign conducted on the British side by
ad hoc columns, often mounted. The CIV and Derbyshires left 21st Bde on convoy work, but the other units participated in the battle of Retiefs Nek (24 July) and the capture of the main Orange Free State force at the Brandwater Basin (30 July). Having covered since 28 April, 21st Bde began a new march on 28 August. Its task was first to relieve a surrounded force of MI and
Imperial Yeomanry, during which it captured Commandant Olivier and his force, then to rescue a force of
Royal Marine Light Infantry and Yeomanry, to rout Commandant Fourie's force on 4 September. Thereafter its units continued to participate individually in the efforts to catch
Christiaan de Wet and the other Boer forces still at large – Bruce Hamilton still had the Sussex and Cameron Highlanders with him during the autumn campaign – but the brigade organisation had disappeared. ==World War I==