Jan Christoffel Greyling Kemp (10 June 1872 – 31 December 1946) was a South African

Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this are ...

officer, rebel general, and politician.

Early life

Jan Kemp was born in the present

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...

district,

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

on 10 June 1872, the younger son of Jurie Johannes Kemp and Maria Aletta Greyling. His maternal grandfather, Abraham Carel Greyling, a stepson of the

Voortrekker The Great Trek ( af, Die Groot Trek; nl, De Grote Trek) was a Northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyo ...

leader, Piet Retief, was killed with Retief in 1838. His paternal grandfather, Petrus Johannes Kemp, emigrated from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

between 1830 and 1840. He was educated at the Staatsgymnasium (State Gymnasium) in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

. He became a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

in the

department of education in 1889. He soon transferred to the mining commissioner's office in

Krugersdorp Krugersdorp (Afrikaans for ''Kruger's Town'') is a mining city in the West Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa founded in 1887 by Marthinus Pretorius. Following the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, a need arose for a major town in the west ...

and achieved the position of chief clerk by 1899.

Military career

He served in the Magato War, against the Basuto chief, in 1895 and helped to suppress the

Jameson Raid The Jameson Raid (29 December 1895 – 2 January 1896) was a botched raid against the South African Republic (commonly known as the Transvaal) carried out by British colonial administrator Leander Starr Jameson, under the employment of Cecil ...

. At the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War he joined the

Krugersdorp Commando Krugersdorp Commando or Kommando was a light infantry regiment of the South African Army. It was active as a part of the South African Army Infantry Formation as well as the South African Territorial Reserve. Unit history Origin The Krugersd ...

. As a

burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bu ...

, he participated in many of the early engagements in

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

. In November 1899, he was elected assistant field-cornet. On 27 February 1900 he distinguished himself at the Battle of Pietershoogte (also known as Spoorwegkop/Railway Hill) despite the Boer forces having to withdraw and the British forces taking the position. In June 1900, while serving under General Christian Frederick Beyers in the northern Transvaal he was elected a

commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

. On 13 December 1900, at the Battle of Nooitgedacht, where he commanded one of the Boer commandos, he was wounded in the arm. In February 1901 he was promoted to combat general and instructed to make contact with General

Koos de la Rey Jacobus Herculaas de la Rey (22 October 1847 – 15 September 1914), better known as Koos de la Rey, was a South African military officer who served as a Boer general during the Second Boer War. also had a political career and was one of the l ...

in the western Transvaal. It had been intended that Kemp should invade the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...

. This plan was abandoned and he became one of De la Rey's ablest and most daring officers, showing his tactical acumen particularly in the actions at Vlakfontein (29–30 May 1901), Moedwil (30 September 1901) and Battle of Ysterspruit, near

Klerksdorp Klerksdorp () is located in the North West Province, South Africa. Klerksdorp, the largest city in the North West Province, is located southeast of Mahikeng, the provincial capital. Klerksdorp was also the first capital of the then Transvaal Repu ...

in the Western

on 25 February 1902. His suggestion (September 1901) that a military government should supplant the civil government of the Transvaal republic, was vetoed by De la Rey. In the Battle of Tweebos on 7 March 1902, where his horse was shot under him, he played a prominent part in capturing Lord Methuen's column. On 11 April 1902, at Roodewal, in one of the last important actions of the war, Kemp launched a recklessly brave attack in De la Rey's absence, on

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

RG Kekewich's forces, once again using a mounted charge over open terrain, which had become his characteristic mode of attack. Representing the Krugersdorp commando at the peace negotiations at

Vereeniging Vereeniging () is a town located in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa, situated where the Klip River empties into the northern loop of the Vaal River. It is also one of the constituent parts of the Vaal Triangle region and was formerly s ...

, he urged the continuation of the war and was one of the minority of six who voted against the peace terms.

Personal life

On 10 June 1903 he married Anna Emma Bodenstein, the daughter of a former

landdrost {{Use dmy dates, date=December 2020 ''Landdrost'' was the title of various officials with local jurisdiction in the Netherlands and a number of former territories in the Dutch Empire. The term is a Dutch compound, with ''land'' meaning "region" an ...

, JC Bodenstein and his wife, MC Combrink. They had two daughters and a son. His wife died in March 1941 and his already failing health deteriorated rapidly. Despite this he remained active in parliament. He published two volumes of memoirs, the first, published in 1941, dealt with events before 1902 and the second, published in 1942, covered the subsequent period. His physical and moral courage cannot be doubted. He was determined, direct, forceful, impetuous in the field and in politics and, above all, a fervent believer in the republican form of government for South Africa. He died at Piet Retief,

, on 31 December 1946.

Legacy

*The town of Jan Kempdorp in the Northern Cape Province is named after Kemp. *When, as Minister of Lands, Kemp, was asked in 1936 to set aside a special reserve for the endangered Cape mountain zebra, he gave his now infamous reply: "No! They're just a lot of donkeys in football jerseys." Fortunately for the species, he was persuaded otherwise, and the Mountain Zebra National Park at

Cradock, Eastern Cape Cradock is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, in the upper valley of the Great Fish River, by road northeast of Port Elizabeth. The town is the administrative seat of the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality in the Chris Hani D ...

was established in 1938.IOL: Environment
/ref> * A Union Defence Force era regiment on the east rand was named in his honour. Regiment Kemp was eventually amalgamated into Regiment Oos Rand.

Memoirs

''Vir Vryheid En Vir Reg'' – Generaal J.C.G. Kemp. 1941 NASIONALE PERS *English translation: "For Freedom & Justice". Anglo-Boer War memoir of one of the ablest Boer Generals (1st of 2 volumes – this vol. ends with the Peace of Vereeniging). ''Die Pad Van Die Veroweraar'' – Generaal J.C.G. Kemp. 1942 NASIONALE PERS *English translation: "The Road of the Conqueror". Anglo-Boer War memoir of one of the ablest Boer Generals (2nd of 2 volumes – this vol. starts with the Peace of Vereeniging, covers the 1914 rebellion and ends with Kemp as cabinet minister).

Early life

Military career

Personal life

Legacy

Memoirs

References

Further reading