Ambulances and hospitals
The Anglo-Boer was a vast and lengthy conflict, placing enormous burdens on medical services for the Boers as well as the British. For both sides, the railway junctions - such as Springfontein and Noupoort - were ideal places for hospitals.
The German Red Cross at Springfontein
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The German Red Cross made available several ambulances to the Boers - and one was stationed at Springfontein. The ambulance left Naples on 6 December 1899, and, travelling via Lourenco Marques, arrived in Springfontein on 18 January 1900. The Ambulance consisted of Doctors T Ringel, J Wieting and A Flockeman, and the nurses were Anna Botefur, Anna Heiler, Louise Westphal and Amelie Thiel. There were also five male nurses.
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They converted some empty station buildings into a hospital, with 20 beds, an operation theatre, and a dispensary. Three local tin houses became living quarters for the medical staff. Rev and Mrs Sandrock assisted with the fitting out of the facilities.
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Springfontein Hospital
Between Gibraltar and the railway line was No. 12 General Hospital, managed by a highly professional medical team from Wales. The hospital was reputed to be the biggest medical facility in the southern hemisphere for a short while, and it was one of the first to use an X-ray machine.
Nothing is left today of the hospital.
See Steve Watt, A Welsh Hospital In Africa, for a detailed description of the Welsh hospital.