East London was directly involved in the Anglo-Boer War in several ways. Not only was the port used as a disembarkation point for British troops en route to the battle zone, but the town became the refuge for some 5000 Uitlander Refugees forced out of the Transvaal at the commencement of hostilities.

See also: Read further on this subject South African War Concentration Camp Rules Concentration Camp Buildings Concentration Camp Statistics

In addition, the port saw the establishment of a transportation camp, in which Boer prisoners were housed prior to their transfer to prisons overseas. And, just as the war was drawing to a close, East London saw the establishment of a concentration camp for Boer women and children.

Dr Keith Tankard

The South African War (1899-1902) brought to East London a sizeable contingent of prisoners and what the authorities euphemistically termed "Boer refugees". There is almost total silence on the former group in all the records, apart from a description of the prison camp on the West Bank but it is probable that the Boer male prisoners were housed there while they awaited transportation to overseas concentration camps.

The camp adjoined the old cemetery next to the sea on the West Bank and measured 300 by 70 yards. It was surrounded by a corrugated iron fence, was lit by 32 incandescent lamps and had water supplied by the municipality from nearby springs. The kitchen was an iron shed, open on the seaward side and capable of cooking 200 pots at a time. Latrines were provided in two iron sheds, holding 60 and 80 pails respectively. The camp could accommodate about 1 000 prisoners. Although situated on the municipal commonage, Council documents make no reference to it, presumably because the creation of the prison fell under the blanket permission which the councillors gave the imperial authorities to use the commonage in whatever way they saw fit.

The Boer "refugees", on the other hand, had a more marked impact on community life at East London because they were not treated as prisoners as such and therefore were able to establish some form of commercial and social contacts with the townspeople. During the latter half of 1900 the British authorities started the system of camps, mostly for Boer women and children. The original "refugee" camps were meant to protect those burgher families who had surrendered to the imperial forces and had taken an oath of neutrality.

As the conflict developed into a guerilla war, however, Britain initiated another scheme whereby all Boer women, children and elderly people were rounded up, and a scorched earth policy was then commenced. By May 1901, according to the archival records, there were already more than 11 000 Whites and nearly 9 000 Blacks residing in such detention. The camps soon became a scandal because of overcrowding, outbreaks of disease and a high mortality rate. Eventually the Secretary of State for Colonies (Joseph Chamberlain) and Lord Milner advised that they be broken into smaller units, and the inmates be sent to new locations in the Cape and Natal.

The plan began to materialise in November 1901 when Milner cabled Governor Hely- Hutchinson to suggest that four or five camps could be established in the Eastern Cape. He mentioned several possible localities but the Cape Government insisted that the camps should be as close to the sea as possible so that they could be supplied at minimal cost. Three other sites were therefore put forward, namely East London, Port Alfred and Mossel Bay, although the latter location was soon discarded because of an outbreak of plague and Uitenhage became its substitute. In May 1902 a camp was also established at Kubusie, near Stutterheim.

The site chosen for the camp at East London was on the commonage to the east of the Buffalo River, on a hill bounded by the Buffalo and Amalinda Rivers, as well as Second Creek. Although it had been suggested that the Beach Camp or even the prisoner-of-war camp might be suitable, the nature of the proposed internment made a location further from the town preferable as it was the intention to give the inmates as little appearance of confinement as possible. There would therefore be no fences to restrict their movement which meant that they would be allowed to visit the town at times, but on the other hand the authorities had no desire to encourage the problems which close proximity to the town would instigate.

Local contractors were employed to construct 54 huts, each a wooden frame with walls and roof of corrugated iron and set on stilts to keep it raised off the ground. The huts were then divided into nine rooms capable of housing about 50 occupants per hut, so that the camp could contain a population of over 2 000. There would also be a school, hospital, morgue, superintendent and matron's quarters, a workshop, store and dispensary, and the four streets were to be broad enough to allow room for recreation.

The inmates began to arrive in cattle trucks towards the end of March 1902 and remained at East London until August. The Boer "refugees" all came from the Orange Free State, mostly from Heilbron, Vredefort and Winburg. The main population arrived in five trainloads, riding in cattle trucks, some with tents for protection and others covered merely with tarpaulin. The former group were described as being "more contented and less sullen". All were provided with hot water and cocoa on route.

When the population reached its peak in June, there were 2 088 on the register, most of whom were women and children but a sizeable minority of men also added to the population. In keeping with the concept of avoiding any appearance of them being prisoners of war, they were allowed a degree of freedom. There were therefore no sentries, the camp corporals were elected and, once outside the perimeters of the camp, the inmates became subject solely to the laws of the land.

Facilities were also provided for them to visit the town and make private purchases, although permits were needed before they were allowed beyond the boundaries of their reserve. That privilege was granted on a rotation basis. Conditions were considerably healthier and more comfortable than those under which the Uitlander refugees had existed, and sickness and death were minimal. Furthermore, the freedom enabled some of the inmates to marry and the authorities made it clear that the mixed accommodation did not lead to immorality, and all babies were born to women "in wedlock".

The population of the camp began to drop marginally in June and rapidly from late July as Boer prisoners were repatriated and their families were sent home. As numbers dwindled, it was decided to close the camp and to transfer those who remained to the Kubusie camp. The site was eventually vacated by the end of August, at which time the Government of the Orange River Colony disposed of the buildings. The East London Council bought 21 of the huts, with half the cost being paid for by the Colonial Government, and turned them into a location for Asiatics who began to arrive at East London in large numbers in 1902. The Camp was eventually pulled down in 1934.

Dr Keith Tankard