The firing of a half-pounder muzzle-loading cannon at midday on Tuesday 16 June was the highlight of an historic weekend at Waterloo Farm outside Grahamstown.
The firing of a half-pounder muzzle-loading cannon at midday on Tuesday 16 June was the highlight of an historic weekend at Waterloo Farm outside Grahamstown.
Basil Mills, along with members of Sabre (the South African Battle Re-enactment Society), provided the perfect colourful and noisy finale to a reunion of the Beadle family.
The four-day event featured a series of talks by members of the Grahamstown Historical Society, centred on 1820 Settler experiences, as well as the 18 June 1815 Battle of Waterloo in Belgium, in which Napoleon was defeated by the British.
The connection is that the family's ancestor, Sir William Beadle, fought at Waterloo, then came to Grahamstown and established Waterloo Farm as it stands today.
The Battle of Waterloo Bicentenary re-enactment near the historic battlefield in Belgium is a gigantic affair.
There are full-scale re-enactments of two different phases of the battle – The French Attack (70 00-strong French army sets off to attack the British) and The Allied counter-attack at Hougoumont Farm.
The whole event will involve over 5000 re-enactors, 300 horses and 100 canons.
Held under the auspices of the Waterloo ASBL 1815-2015 there are two other shows: Inferno – a pyrotechnic display, and The Bivouacs – a glimpse behind the scenes of regimental life.
Tickets to all four events are sold out. Meanwhile, in Grahamstown, SABRE's firing of the cannon – one of those brought to South Africa for use in the Frontier Wars – was a nod to the Waterloo Bicentenary.
The weapon, also used in the Pyrenees in the Napoleonic Wars, is capable of firing 10 times a minute.
An audience of around 25 people listened, fascinated, as Mills explained the workings of the gun and some of the colourful history associated with it.
Tuesday was an open day for the public at Waterloo Farm and visitors were given tours of the impressive three-storey stone structure, along with tea and cake in exchange for a donation to the SPCA.
sue@grocotts.co.za
