'Dear Father, We are now chasing De la Rey and fighting continuously, we are having a terrible time, often being in the saddle 18 hours at a stretch'

Pen and ink and wash sketch attributed to William John McCracken, Royal Army Medical Corps, (died 1916), 1900 (c).

The notice above the bed of the Imperial Yeoman depicted in this caricature indicates that he was a patient in No 7 General Hospital, which moved from Estcourt in Natal to Pretoria after the Transvaal's capital was occupied by Roberts on 5 June 1900. According to the medal roll for the Queen's South Africa Medal, 6613 2nd Class Staff Sergeant McCracken served with No 9 Bearer Company before joining No 7 General Hospital some time before 7 August 1901. He received the clasps for Tugela Heights, Relief of Ladysmith and Laing's Nek - all probably gained while with the bearer company. He was still serving in May 1903 when the roll for the King's South Africa Medal was drawn up in London, and had been promoted to 1st Class Staff Sergeant.

Jacobus De la Rey's area of operations was the western Transvaal. Field Marshal Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener preferred to concentrate their efforts against the forces led by De Wet and Botha, thereby allowing De la Rey to build up a strong group of commandants (which included Smuts), who could be relied upon to take autonomous action. Whether in concert or separately, roaming the veld at will, they attacked convoys and garrisons right up to the outskirts of Pretoria. De la Rey's greatest successes came during the guerrilla war, notably the capture of Lieutenant-General Lord Methuen at Tweebosch on 7 March 1902.