On May 26th Dixon’s force, consisting of Derbyshires, King’s Own Scottish Borderers, Imperial Yeomanry, Scottish Horse, and six guns (four of 8th R.F.A. and two of 28th R.F.A.), broke camp at Naauwpoort and moved to the west.  On the 28th they found themselves at a place called Vlakfontein, immediately south of Oliphant’s Nek.  On that day there were indications that there were a good many Boers in the neighbourhood.  Dixon left a guard over his camp and then sallied out in search of the buried guns.  His force was divided into three parts, the left column under Major Chance consisting of two guns of the 28th R.F.A., 230 of the Yeomanry, and one company of the Derbys.  The centre comprised two guns (8th R.F.  A.), one howitzer, two companies of the Scottish Borderers and one of the Derbys; while the right was made up of two guns (8th R.F.A. ), 200 Scottish Horse, and two companies of Borderers.  Having ascertained that the guns were not there, the force about midday was returning to the camp, when the storm broke suddenly and fiercely upon the rearguard.

There had been some sniping during the whole morning, but no indications of the determined attack which was about to be delivered.  The force in retiring upon the camp had become divided, and the rearguard consisted of the small column under Major Chance which had originally formed the left wing.  A veld fire was raging on one flank of this rearguard, and through the veil of smoke a body of five hundred Boers charged suddenly home with magnificent gallantry upon the guns.  We have few records of a more dashing or of a more successful action in the whole course of the war.  So rapid was it that hardly any time elapsed between the glimpse of the first dark figures galloping through the haze and the thunder of their hoofs as they dashed in among the gunners.  The Yeomanry were driven back and many of them shot down.  The charge of the mounted Boers was supported by a very heavy fire from a covering party, and the gun-detachments were killed or wounded almost to a man.  The lieutenant in charge and the sergeant were both upon the ground.  So far as it is possible to reconstruct the action from the confused accounts of excited eye-witnesses and from the exceedingly obscure official report of General Dixon, there was no longer any resistance round the guns, which were at once turned by their captors upon the nearest British detachment.

The company of infantry which had helped to escort the guns proved however to be worthy representatives of that historic branch of the British service.  They were northerners, men of Derbyshire and Nottingham, the same counties which had furnished the brave militia who had taken their punishment so gamely at Roodeval.  Though hustled and broken they re-formed and clung doggedly to their task, firing at the groups of Boers who surrounded the guns.  At the same time word had been sent of their pressing need to the Scotch Borderers and the Scottish Horse, who came swarming