Sydney Grammar School and the South African Boer War, 1899-1902

Altogether, 150 Old Sydneians fought in the Boer War, 1899-1902 – an unusually high number of volunteers from one school. Among them are names famous in Australian military history, including Chauvel, Legge, Antill, ‘Mo’ Williams, and the designer of the Army’s rising sun badge. Another old boy was the famous bush poet, ‘Banjo’ Paterson, a Boer War correspondent. Thirteen Old Sydneians died fighting in South Africa. Eleven are honoured on a memorial board at Sydney Grammar School. The best known was Keith Kinnaird Mackellar, whose letters to his sister, Dorothea (the famous poet), show his youthful enthusiasm for the conflict. The Boer War had a powerful influence on the School, setting an example that inspired Grammar boys to volunteer to fight in WWI in the largest numbers of any school in Australia. The origins of the Gallipoli ‘baptism of fire’ beliefs of Charles Bean, the Australian WWI official historian, can also be linked to Grammar’s Boer War experience, given his strong connection to the School.