_________________________________

"The service which the South Africa Force has performed is, I venture to think, unique in the annals of war … For months together, in fierce heat, in biting cold, in pouring rain, you, my comrades, have marched and fought without halt and bivouacked without shelter from the elements. You frequently have had to continue marching without your clothes in rags and your boots without soles. When not engaged in actual battle you have been continually shot at from behind kopjes by invisible enemies to whom every inch of the country was familiar … You have covered with almost incredible speed enormous distances, and that often on very short supplies of food. You have endured the sufferings inevitable war to sick and wounded men far from the base, without a murmur and even with cheerfulness. You have, in fact, acted up to the highest standard of patriotism … Is it any wonder that I am intensely proud of the Army I have commanded, or that I regard you, my gallant and devoted comrades, with affection as well as with admiration, and that I feel deeply the parting from you." - Lord Roberts' Farewell to the Troops, December, 1900.