BCCDBritish Concentration Camps
of the South African War
1900-1902

Personal Details
Name:Mr P F Bouwer
Born in camp? No
Died in camp? No
Gender:male
Race:white
Marital status:married
Unique ID:1169
Camp History
Name:Vredefort Road NRC
Date departure:26/6/1901
Date appointed (as staff):by 12/6/1901
Notes:8/6/1901: His wife is very weak, has been in hospital for over a month; would be much healthier for her to be with him in camp;
12/6/1901: issuer, asks permission for his wife and children to live with him in the NRC
18/6/1901: sanctioned

Reference to RC/2749/? 18/6/1901 authorizing Mrs Bouwer and children to live outside the white refugee camp in the native refugee camp, I think it highly undesirable that any white women or children should be allowed to go about as they please outside the wire enclosure of the white refugee camp, Vredefort Road. Information is constantly going out to the Boers from here, and I strongly suspect both C Daniell the native superintendent and his assistant PJ Bouwer of being a medium of communication between the Boers inside and outside. Both of them are constantly in the white refugee camp instead of attending to their business.
However, as ordered by you I have allowed Mrs Bouwer to join her husband.
P Bouwer was on Steinekamps commando and says he gave up his arms at Vredefort Road on 24th May 1900, he has a brother still on commando.
C Daniell was also on commando with the Kroonstad Ambulance.
I would suggest that if it is absolutely necessary to retain these men as superintendent and assistant superintendent of a native refugee camp, it would be to the public advantage if they were transferred to some other district not so well known to them. They know all the people on commando round here very intimately and it is only natural to assume that their sympathies are entirely with them.
29/6/1901: CSRC to Commandant, Vredefort Road: On the principle 'If you suspect a man don't employ him' I have today wired for two men to take the places of Daneel and Bouwer in the NRC and have instructed Mr Brink to have the latter and their families placed in the white camp as soon as the new officials arrive.
Name:Vredefort Road RC
Date arrival:26/6/1901
Sources
Title:SRC 09
Type:Correspondence
Location:VAB
Reference No.:09
Dates:June - July 1901
Notes:RC3086, 26/6/1901, Commandant, Vredefort Rd to CSRC
Title:SRC 08
Type:Correspondence
Location:VAB
Reference No.:08
Dates:June 1901
Notes:RC2749, 8/6/1901, PF Bouwer to Superintendent, Vredefort Rd and related correspondence


Acknowledgments: The project was funded by the Wellcome Trust, which is not responsible for the contents of the database. The help of the following research assistants is gratefully acknowledged: Ryna Boshoff, Murray Gorman, Janie Grobler, Marelize Grobler, Luke Humby, Clare O’Reilly Jacomina Roose, Elsa Strydom, Mary van Blerk. Thanks also go to Peter Dennis for the design of the original database and to Dr Iain Smith, co-grantholder.