This July marks 110 years since the Battle of Delville Wood, at which St John's College boys and staff of that time were actively involved.
To commemorate this, the Speaker of the City of Johannesburg, the South African Legion, the Memorable Order of Tin Hats (MOTH) and the South African Delville Wood Commemorative Museum Trust invited representatives from the College to lay a wreath on Sunday 12 July for those who fell during the battle. Mr Peter Wright, Mr Paul Emant, Mr Lee Mattiuzzo and Dr Michael Boyd were in attendance.
The Battle of Delville Wood was fought between 15 July and 3 September 1916. During this time, the 1st South African Infantry Brigade endured extraordinary hardships and suffered casualties exceeding 80% of the men, as a result of relentless artillery bombardments and repeated counterattacks.
Two particularly significant aspects relate to St John's College. The first is the extraordinary story of Father Eustace St Clair Hill, who served as chaplain in the battle. Father Hill ministered courageously to wounded and dying soldiers under heavy enemy fire. Sadly, he records in his diaries how he sat with St John's boy Vernon Adams in his final moments. Hill was later awarded the Military Cross for his gallantry and subsequently lost his right arm while tending to wounded soldiers at Butte de Warlencourt in November 1916. Father Hill later served as Headmaster of St John's College from 1922 to 1930 and was responsible for the building of the Memorial Chapel.
The second is that, following the Battle of Delville Wood, a memorial service was held for the fallen, and crosses were erected by the regiments where their dead lay. These crosses were eventually returned to their respective regiments. Colonel E. F. Thackeray expressed the desire that the cross of his regiment should be entrusted to St John's College. Today, it still stands in the All Souls Chapel at the College, one of only five in existence.
The commemoration was a moving service, which took place at the Anglo-Boer War Memorial, situated outside the Ditsong Museum of Military History. It was a bright winter's day, and many walkers and visitors to the Johannesburg Zoo surrounded the occasion. Yet, with the lone bugle call of The Last Post, and the sombre laying of the wreaths by various associations, companies and regiments, a silence fell over the service, as those who lost their lives were remembered. It was particularly poignant when Father Hill was mentioned, his significance to both the College and the battle suddenly made brilliantly clear. And, with his memory, so were the St John's boys recalled: those who lost their lives in the battle and were never to return to the College.
Maurice Paoli, the Gauteng Provincial Chairman of the South African Legion (SA Legion), spoke of Father Hill and how 'heroism is found not in taking life but in preserving dignity and offering compassion', adding, 'As we remember the fallen, let us also learn from their sacrifices. Let us stand together in service to one another, strengthen our communities and continue building a future worthy of the price they paid.'
The service was followed by a short presentation by Mr Paoli about the Battle of Delville Wood, displaying the devastation of the fighting, in contrast to the memorial built at the site of the battle today.
As part of the ceremony, Mr Peter Wright, Deputy Headmaster at St John's College, placed a wreath at the steps of the memorial, and then later laid it at the foot of the Delville Wood Cross in the Chapel, in remembrance of those we lost.
