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with consecutive defeats at Magersfontein, Stormberg, Colenso and Spioenkop. Lord Roberts arrived to take over the British command, to find a stalemate and a gloomy situation. Magersfontein had been a British disaster, during which the Highland Brigade had endured a night march and was then pinned down after sunrise by Boer fire. To try to relieve the pressure, Lord Methuen then sent the 1st Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders into action. One of the officers in this group was Captain Ernest Beechcroft Beckwith Towse. During the course of this advance the Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders, Lt. Col Downman, was hit by a bullet and fell, mortally wounded. Under heavy fire Towse, accompanied by a Sgt. Nelson and a L/Cpl Hodgson, ran forward to help him and managed to get back safely with Downman's body.

Towse' action was noted and a citation sent up the chain of command. Meanwhile, the Gordon Highlanders moved on towards Bloemfontein where, under Roberts' command, they awaited further events. These were not long in coming. The Boer General, Olivier, came up towards Bloemfontein and invested the city's waterworks. He had to be dislodged and this led to the battles of Sannas's Pass and Houtnek. A detachment of the Gordon Highlanders was present at this latter battle, among them Ernest Towse.

Towse and his company were ordered forward to clear a Boer force off a koppie known as Mt Tabo and, while leading the assault, Towse was shot in the face and permanently blinded. His bravery in this action, the assault on Mount Tabo, did not go un-noticed and this, plus his deed at Magersfontein, led to the awarding of the Victoria Cross.

As a result of a family connection, our speaker Terry met and got to know Ernest's grandson, Peter Towse, and visited the battlefields of Magersfontein and Houtnek in his company. Together they retraced the scene of the advance at Magersfontein and the assault on Mount Tabo at Houtnek, near Thaba N'Chu.

When the blinded Captain appeared before the Queen to receive his VC, he was led towards the throne on the arm of his wife. However, he stopped short three paces before the throne and, gently disengaging his arm, he declared that he was "not going to be led before his queen" and stepped forward bravely on his own. Seeing this, Queen Victoria bowed her head and wept silently into her handkerchief. The moment was captured for posterity by the court artist and was widely published as "The Day Queen Victoria Wept".

http://samilitaryhistory.org/11/11junnl.html