By Alana Bailey

Amidst the hustle and bustle of Lisbon, capital of Portugal, is a small green oasis that is now known as the English or British Cemetery (Cemitério Inglês – see www.britishcemeterylisbon.com). Originally it was known as the British and Dutch Cemetery. It is about three hundred years old and for two centuries it was the only Protestant cemetery in the city. It is currently held in trust by St. George’s Church, which was built there in 1889 and still serves the British community in Lisbon. Because the church was built so long after the establishment of the cemetery, I will refer to the site as a cemetery, not a churchyard.

Near the entrance, in the middle of a moss-covered footpath amongst shady trees, stands a monument dedicated to deceased Boer internees in Portugal – the silent witness to a piece of history that few Afrikaners and Portuguese know about today.

During the Anglo-Boer War, a group of Boers decided to cross the Mozambican border. Some wounded people also ended up there. The Portuguese authorities were sympathetic to them but had to respect diplomatic ties with Britain. The group was therefore interned by the Portuguese. They consisted of approximately 1 019 men and women, including 154 children under the age of 16. They even included foreigners who strongly associated themselves with the Boers.

As there was not enough housing for the group in Lourenço Marques (the present-day Maputo), the Portuguese authorities decided to transfer the Boers to Portugal. There they were interned in smaller groups in various towns, namely Abrantes, Alcobaça, Caldas da Rainha, Oeiras, Peniche and Tomar.

They had quite a bit of freedom and, among other things, played sports, went on excursions to attractions such as the monastery of Batalha, and formed close friendships with the local population. After the war ended in 1902, most of them were repatriated. During their time in Portugal, several children were born, but sixteen members of the group also died and were buried there.

It is interesting to see where the deceased were born – it provides a picture of the melting pot that gave birth to the Afrikaner community. They were:

• Willem Jacobus Botha (born in Somerset East, Cape Colony).
• Andries Schalk Willem Brits (Born in Fauresmith, Free State).
• Stephanus Johannes Hendrik Coetzee (birthplace unknown).
• Nicolaas Johannes de Bruyn (born in Caldas da Rainha on 10 October 1901 and passed away there on 5 December 1901).
• Johannes Petrus du Plessis (born in Middelburg, Cape Colony).
• Walter Harding (born in Chicago, USA).
• Johannes Christoffel Nel (born in the Cape Colony).
• John Andrew Odman (born in Sweden).
• Baby girl Pelser (unbaptised, born in Caldas da Rainha on 4 June 1901 and passed away there on 6 June 1901).
• Matthys van As Pretorius (born in the Cape Colony).
• Thomas Barend Beresford Richards (born in the Cape Colony).
• Willem Abraham Trollip (born in Caldas da Rainha on 13 June 1902 and passed away there on the same day).
• Charel/Karl Jacob Vorster (born in Colesberg, Cape Colony).
• Carl Walz (born in Germany).
• Pieter Jurgens Wessels (born in the Transvaal).
• Samuel Gerardus Zijp (born on 17 June 1902 in Caldas da Rainha and passed away there on 14 July 1902).

The mortality rate, which is very low in percentage terms compared to that of Boer prisoners of war elsewhere and those in local concentration camps, proves the humanity and compassion with which the Portuguese treated this group.

After 1910, the British Colonial Office decided to erect memorials for Boer prisoners of war and internees who had died abroad. On 23 September 1910 the government of the Union of South Africa agreed to meet the costs of this endeavour, subject to further information. As the deceased internees were buried in five different places in Portugal, it was necessary to decide which would be the most suitable place or places for such memorials. In 1912, it was decided to erect one central monument in the British Cemetery in Lisbon.

The design chosen is a commemorative needle topped with a cross. It is roughly five meters high and made of Portuguese red marble. It was decided to locate it near the grave of Johannes Christoffel Nel, who died in Lisbon on 22 June 1902, but later on plans changed and Nel was reinterred beneath the monument.

All inscriptions are in both Dutch and English and are spread across the four panels of the pedestal. The main inscription reads:

THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED AND SOLEMNLY DEDICATED, IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1913,
BY ORDER OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA,
VISCOUNT GLADSTONE G.C.M.G., BEING HIS MAJESTY’S GOVERNOR-GENERAL,
AND THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LOUIS BOTHA PRIME MINISTER,
TO THE MEMORY OF THE BOER PRISONERS OF WAR,
WHO DIED WHILE INTERNED IN PORTUGAL, DURING THE YEARS 1900 TO 1903,
AND WHOSE NAMES ARE HERE INSCRIBED.

This is not entirely correct, as they were internees, not prisoners of war, and had only been sent to Portugal in 1901.

The British envoy in Lisbon, Sir Arthur Hardinge, and the British legation chaplain, Dr E. Lewis, selected Bible texts to be inscribed on the monument together with the names of the deceased. They chose Psalm 126 verses 4 and 5, as well as Psalm 85 verse 2, and Psalm 51 verse 20. Harding said that these verses expressed the sorrow and hope of the Boers at a dark time in their history, as well as gratitude to heaven for the restoration of self-government and peace.

The monument was unveiled on 28 April 1913. During the ceremony, Hardinge expressed the hope that it would become a symbol of reconciliation between Afrikaans and English speakers. Referring to the internees who died, he said that their fate was more tragic than that of those who died on battlefields back home, because:

… they were destined to taste to the bitter end, the solitude and the weariness of exile, and far from the familiar scenes of home, to find, one by one, their graves in this friendly but foreign land …

Today the monument still serves to remind us of this fascinating piece of history, but even the caretaker of the cemetery is unaware of its existence. When I enquired about it, he kindly tried to help me and pointed me to graves of British soldiers. It was by chance that while on my way there, I recognised the monument from photographs I had studied beforehand.

Spending time there is both peaceful and moving. As Hardinge mentioned, the image of someone dying far from hearth and home is tragic. Near it are many magnificent tombs, but also simple headstones. It seems as if people are still buried there. Birds frolic in the peaceful surroundings. Further on, the pale pink church is visible amongst the trees, where the current chaplain also welcomed me kindly. Visitors to the cemetery are usually looking for the grave of the famous British author, Henry Fielding (1707-1754). Hopefully, this article will encourage more people to go and look for this landmark in our history as well. The history of the internees has been recorded in great detail by the historian, Prof O.J.O. Ferreira, in his Afrikaans book, Viva os Boers! Boeregeïnterneerdes in Portugal tydens die Anglo-Boereoorlog 1899-1902. It can be consulted to learn more about their adventures.