Anthony , Peter Henry (P H)

14 Sep 1985: 80080898PC Sergeant Peter Henry Anthony from 8 SAI was killed when his Buffel Troop Carrier overturned near Etale Base. He was 25.

My father died on 14 September 1985 on my 8th birthday, they day he was suppose to return home from the border. I am turning 40 this year and always wonder what our lives would have been like if he survived. You left behind a very young wife, myself and little brother. You are our Hero Daddy and we miss you. You will always be in our hearts.

When War broke out, Henry’s younger brother, Archibald, enlisted and was sent out to South Africa too. He must have been about 18 years old then. On June 19th 1901, Archie wrote this letter to Henry (his brother): “7 Company, IMPL. Army, Field Force, S.A. My Dear Henry, Just a line to say where I am and how I am getting on. We landed here at Cape Town April 14. From there we went up to Norvils Pont and staid there five days, from there we went to Kroonstad and we staid there till last Sunday and now we have joined the column under Bethune. I have not met Baker but hear he is a swine, he is disliked by all the chaps. We are just going out on the track. I am, Y.L.B. Arch”. Less than a month after he wrote this letter, Archie was killed. This letter to his father from his Commanding Officer: Heilbron, July 12 th . Dear Sir, I am going to write to you to convey to you the sympathy of us all about the death of your poor boy. He was in my troop of the 7th Squadron I.Y. and on July 5th when the column was camping at Rust, we went out on outpost duty to some kraals a little over a mile from the camp. Your son was placed with five other men under a Corporal about a hundred yards away from the kraal and just before midnight, the sentries seeing someone running up towards them from their exposed side fired, and to their great distress found they had hit their friend and companion. Hearing shooting at the post, the troop Sergeant and myself were out immediately and everything possible was done, but he hardly spoke and the Dr. who was with us immediately from the camp said he could have done nothing had he been on the spot. How the poor boy got right in front of the Sentries I do not know. A full inquiry will of course be made, it has had to be twice postponed through stress of duty, but I think the Sentries would have been doing less than their duty had they failed to fire on anyone advancing from that direction. The funeral was with full military honours the next day at a place called Vaalbank. Captain Young, the Chaplain, reading the Service, and the site for the grave being chosen under a big evergreen at a farm a mile in rear of camp. His troop comrades all joined in subscribing to have a cross made, and I went up the next morning and saw that everything was fitting before we moved off. Captain