What makes Corrie Vermaak so interesting is that he was one of that are breed who not only fought on both sides of the South African coin in matter of 12 years, but was a Cape Rebel to boot, with consequently, a lot more to lose that his Boer compatriots in the Orange Free State and Transvaal.
CORNELIUS PETRUS VERMAAK: David Biggins • • •
Burger, Commandants’ Malan & Botha Commando's - Anglo Boer War Rifleman, 4th S.A.M.R. (South African Mounted Rifles) – WWI Corporal, South African Police
- Anglo Boere-oorlog Medal to Burg. C.P. Vermaak - 1914/15 Star to Rfm. C.P. Vermaak, 4th S.A.M.R. - British War Medal to Rfm. C.P. Vermaak, 4th S.A.M.R. - Victory Medal to Rfm. C.P. Vermaak, 4th S.A.M.R. Cornelius Vermaak or “Corrie” as he was probably known this being the diminutive form of the Afrikaans Christian name, was born on the farm “Leliekloof” in the Cradock district of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa in 1882 into a small, close-knit farming community. Life for him would have been pretty much care-free in his formative years and he would have been employed primarily helping his father with the running of the farm, looking after the livestock and tending to whatever crops were grown in the district.
the Boers were forced to adopt a guerrilla style of hit and run warfare in order to continue the fight. This was especially so after the fall of the two capitals, Bloemfontein and Pretoria. Hard pressed for numbers with many Boers deserting and returning to their farms in droves, the Boer leadership had decided that there was an urgent need to augment their numbers and saw a possible solution to this problem in going south to recruit among their Cape Dutch comrades who shared a similar culture and among whom they were bound to find a sympathetic ear.
At the outbreak of the Anglo Boer war in October 1899 Cradock and other small Karoo towns like it were anything but a hot-bed of insurrection against the ruling Brits. If anything, there was stability in the region with the Cape Government being loyal to the Empire although remaining neutral in the fight against the two Boer Republics to the North. The first Boer foray into the Cape from the Free State was a minor affair and the many and various Town Guards which had been created as a buffer and to support the British effort by protecting their towns from Boer incursions were, by and large, able to fend off unwarranted attacks. The Boers had, in any event, their hands full in the Free State and Transvaal trying to repel a British force steadily growing in size and mobility.
It was into this cauldron that an eighteen-year-old Vermaak entered the fray in May 1901 joining Commandant Wynand Malan’s Commando. Although not proven it is possible that his father was Jacobus Vermaak a 54-year-old from the same farm who served as batman to Malan. This would be a good fit and might be the primary reason why young Vermaak took up arms.
The first part of the war saw some reversals for the British side but this was soon overcome and
The decision must have been a difficult one for Vermaak and his friends and comrades. Being, as they were, British subjects under the rule and protection of the Crown any subversive activity let alone an overt act such as taking up arms against the Empire was treasonable and, in a time of war, punishable by death should they be caught. This was the added danger facing any “Cape Rebel” as those who joined the Boer cause were known.
NONGQAI VOL 12 NO 7
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