A local family are coming together to celebrate two hundred years of their history in Grahamstown as well as the bravery of their distance ancestor.
A local family are coming together to celebrate two hundred years of their history in Grahamstown as well as the bravery of their distance ancestor.
Sergeant William Beadle fought on the side of the British at The Battle of Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington's decisive defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte, which took place two hundred years ago, on 15 June 1815.
Beadle was then appointed Quarter Master Sergeant to the Cape Corps in Grahamstown in 1820.
He decided to settle here and established Waterloo Farm, probably the only farm in South Africa within a city's boundaries, in the early 1820s.
The Beadle family went on to become well-known in the city but are now spread all around the globe.
To mark the bicentennial of the Battle and William's subsequent arrival here, the Beadle family are holding a reunion in Grahamstown over the weekend of 12 – 14 June and 16 June.
There's a full programme of events, kicking off with a series of talks by the Grahamstown Historical Society (12 June at the Albany Club, High Street, 17:30 for 18:00. No charge, cash bar available).
Topics include:
"From the Battle of Waterloo to Waterloo Farm: the tale of an Albany Settler";
"Early Days in Essex";
"The Battle of Waterloo; Firearms in the early 19th Century";
"After the Battle; Life in post-war Britain & emigration to South Africa";
"The depressed state of a nation and the 1820 Settlers and their trials and tribulations".
Members of the Beadle Family will be there and organisers hope they will bring and display William Beadle's Waterloo medal.
Over the weekend of the 13 and 14 June, the family will visit Grahamstown sites and have a private gathering at the farm.
On 16 June, the Youth Day public holiday, there will be a Waterloo Farm open day where people can visit the homestead and Beadle memorabilia will be on display.
Guided tours will take place at 10am, 12 noon, 2pm and 4pm.
Booking is advisable for the tours. Contact 046 622 6046.
Entrance is free but tea/coffee and cakes will be on sale and proceeds to go to the SPCA.
