The Merebank Anglo-Boer War Concentration Camp, 12 kilometres south of Durban, was established by the British military in around September 1901.
It was divided into three parts, named Windermere, Hazelmere and Grasmere.
A white painted memorial, plus graves at Merebank, sadly tells the story of the at least 450 ‘Boere Afrikaners’ who died in that camp, and were buried at Isipingo, Jacobs, Claremont and at Merebank.
Right near the end of the conflict, a pre-dawn surprise attack on a 73-man strong Vryheid Boer Commando by 300 Zulu impi resulted in the death of 56 Boers.
Three were taken prisoner and 13 managed to escape.
The Zulu impi losses were reported as 52 killed, 48 wounded.
Years later, the remains of the Boer Commandos who were killed in action at Holkrans – between Vryheid and Paulpietersburg – were re-interred in a mass grave in front of the Dutch Reformed Church (Klipkerk) on Church Street, where a large monument was erected in their honour.
A memorial also stands at the site where they fell.
The remains of the Zulu impi would have been carried back to their military kraals, where their remains would have been buried.
There is a theory and some speculation about this specific impi platoon, with some believing it was made up of scouts employed by the British and sent into the area to push the Boer forces into an area advantageous for the British.
Gerhardus Marthinus ‘Gert’ Erasmus was born in Pietermaritzburg on December 4, 1889.
He was the son of Petrus Rasmus Erasmus, who was born in Ladysmith in 1848 and Margaretha Petronella Erasmus, who was born Smuts 1862.
Petrus and Margaretha married in Utrecht, and later in life farmed at Vaalbank near Vryheid.
Gert had four sisters, two of which were twins, and three brothers.
At the time of his own death, Gert had sadly already lost both his parents, three of his sisters and two of his brothers.
His siblings included Petrus Rasmus Erasmus Jnr, who was killed in action on May 6, 1902, together with his father and 54 other ‘Burghers’ during the Battle of Holkrans.
Hermanus Anthonie Erasmus was born in the Anglo-Boer War Concentration Camp at Merebank in February 1902, but died as an infant at only five months old.
Margaretha died of ill health on February 26, 1902, in the same concentration camp.
Gert never got to meet his baby brother.
In his civilian life, Gert was a fireman employed by South African Railways.
For the war effort, Gert enlisted at Potchefstroom in 1915, and then again at Roberts Heights in August 1917.
He served in the South African Service Corps, where his duty was that of a vehicle driver and mechanic.
His military experience was listed as including 10 months with the Rand Light Infantry, four years of service in the Natal Police, one and a half years’ service with the South African Mounted Rifles, service with the 2nd Rhodesian Regiment, and with the Union Defence Force during the South West Africa Campaign.
While on active service in Malawi, Gert contracted pneumonia and influenza, and after a short time in a sick bed, died at the age of just 30, on November 28, 1918.
He was laid to rest in the Zomba Town Cemetery in Malawi (Nyasaland).
His name is inscribed on the War Memorial in Vryheid.
Lest we forget.
Also read: Mystery solved – Local man unearths story behind grave garden discovery in Vryheid
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