HG0023

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The graveyard at the battlefield of Helvetia, near Emgwenya (formerly Waterval Onder) in Mpumalanga, contains the remains of Boer and British soldiers who died during the Battle of Helvetia on 29 December 1900. This engagement occurred during the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), when Boer forces under General Ben Viljoen attacked a British garrison stationed at Helvetia, a railway siding on the Pretoria–Delagoa Bay line. The British garrison, part of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers, was caught off guard, and the Boers captured a 4.7-inch naval gun, which was later used in other actions. Casualties included several British soldiers killed and wounded, as well as Boer losses. The site is a small, unmarked or minimally marked burial ground, reflecting the ad hoc nature of battlefield interments during the war.

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