Did You Know?
The Deelfontein Imperial Yeomanry Hospital was established during the Second Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902) as a medical facility for British forces. The site near De Aar in the Northern Cape became a key base for treating wounded soldiers, particularly from the Imperial Yeomanry. The Rice blockhouse, a type of prefabricated concrete fortification designed by British engineer Major Rice, was constructed in 1900 to protect the hospital and the railway line from Boer attacks. These blockhouses were part of a network of over 400 such structures built across South Africa to secure British supply routes and communication lines. The hospital at Deelfontein was one of the largest of its kind, with capacity for over 1,000 patients, and operated until the end of the war.
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