Rushden Argus, 22^nd December 1899, transcribed by Kay Collins

Mr. Charles White, 48, Queen-street, Rushden, has received a letter from Private F. Dorks, D Company, 2nd Northamptonshire Regiment, who was employed at Messrs. Cave and Sons, Rushden, prior to his departure to South Africa. The writer says: — Dear Charles, — Just a line to let you know that I am getting on all right up to now. We have been in two battles up to the present. We thought we were going on the line of communication, but we got sucked in, and got shoved into the firing line. I had a narrow escape yesterday (November 25), when a bullet went through my right hand pocket and out my belt in two. As luck would have it, I had ten rounds of ammunition in my pocket at the time, and that must have turned the bullet so that it did not hurt me. Several others got hit about different parts of their equipment, and were not hurt. We had one man in our regiment killed, and several wounded. We still keep going up country, and expect to get to Kimberley about Tuesday. We expect another big attack or two on our way up, especially on the Modder River, where we hear there are about 8,000 Boers encamped. We started from camp yesterday morning at one o’clock, and marched about ten miles, and then had about four hour’s fighting, and then marched to the next camp, and reached there about one o’clock p.m. We had about half-a-pint of coffee before we started, and then we got nothing else until about five o’clock, when we got ½lb. of bread and about 2ozs. of meat. We have not had our shoes off since we started, and we shall be very pleased when it is over. We have a job to get water at different place, and the camp we are in now has not got hardly any water. Our army is broken into three divisions, and all three are marching in different directions to Pretoria, where we are all to meet. We have captured a fine lot of Boers, horses, and cattle, and at one place we got 700 sheep. We are 600 miles from Cape Town now. When you write you might send me a sheet of writing paper and an envelope for me to write back. Now I must conclude, from yours, respectfully,

F. Dorks.

On Thursday the late shopmates of Private Dorks sent him a parcel containing a few luxuries, in which the writing paper and envelopes were not forgotten.