Weston Agricultural College: Unveiling of memorial and remembrance ceremony |
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TO: HORSES, MULES OXEN, AND ANIMALS WHICH PERISHED IN SERVICE
The Weston Farm and the 'Weston Common' on which Weston Agricultural College today stands, was the site of Number 6 Remount Depot established in 1899 for the South African War of 1899 - 1902. The Depot also served the 1906 Bhambatha Rebellion.
Although today's beautiful red brick, original College buildings were erected in 1914, many of the other wood and Iron buildings were built for the remount depot. The following Remount Depot buildings are still in use on the farm:
The officers' mess
The doctors' house
The Commanding Officers' house
(All national monuments)
The dining room which used to serve as an operating theatre
One 200 horse stable block
Officer's stables
Old feed sheds
The old toll house/post office (built in 1854), now the farm stall.
It is estimated that 30 000 horses and Mules died or were destroyed and buried on the farm.
The students at Weston have helped to recover horseshoes and weld them together to form an Obelisk, which is to be mounted onto a decorated plinth which forms the base of this Memorial.
The Unveiling Ceremony will take place over the weekend of Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st May 2009, to coincide with the end of the war. (31st May 1902). The ceremony will begin at 14:10 to replicate the time of the final meeting during which agreement was reached at Pretoria (Treaty of Vereeniging).
There will be a Traditional Regimental Formal Ball held at the College on Saturday evening at 18:00. Tickets are available from the College at R120pp.
The College will host the Ceremonial proceedings assisted by the Cavalry Association representing Traditional Mounted Regiments. On this occasion Natal Mounted Rifles and Umvoti Mounted Rifles will be the assisting Regiments.
The NMR and UMR have been invited by the College to advise on the unveiling ceremony and outdoor church service to compliment the occasion. Sanction from their Higher Authority to participate is in progress.
Any organisation or individual, who wishes to pay tribute to animals that died in service at this time, is invited to 'Dress' an original horse or mule shoe. (See hand sketch attached - a picture of the completed item will be forwarded before the end of January) This will be pre-mounted on the wall of remembrance, which is part of the memorial, and unveiled on the day. The laying of a wreath on the day will be appropriate.
There are a number of related activities planned prior to the ceremony, including a talk by renowned Tour Guide Extraordinaire, Ken Gillings, a demonstration by the Dundee Diehards and the UMR Tent Pegging Team, a tour of the College, the Museum and significant sites on the property.
Parties wishing to place a Tribute Shoe Plaque and lay a wreath are asked to respond to this e-mail in order that a formal invitation can be sent.
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