General Koos de la Rey, buried in Lichtenburg amid a very tense atmosphere.

Date: 20 Sep 1914
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

General Koos de la Rey, buried in Lichtenburg amid a very tense atmosphere.

On 20 September 1914 Jacobus Herculaas de la Rey, known as Koos de la Rey, a Boer general during the Second Anglo-Boer War who is widely regarded as being one of the strongest military leaders during that conflict, was buried in Lichtenburg, Transvaal. On 15 September 1914 de la Rey was on route to Potchefstroom military camp from Johannesburg. His driver did not stop at a roadblock set up for the Foster gang and police opened fire on the car and de la Rey was killed by a ricochet. At the burial the situation at the graveside was tense, many people believing that their leader had been killed deliberately. Veteran officers of the Anglo-Boer War flocked to Lichtenburg from all over the country. It was largely due to the pacifying funeral oration by Gen. Beyers that the situation did not develop into a republican demonstration.

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How we know this

01Swart: Kultuuralmanak; Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds) (1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 3, p. 630.
02Anglo-boer,'General Jacobus Hercules de la Rey',[online],Available at www.anglo-boer.co.za[Accessed: 13 September 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). General Koos de la Rey, buried in Lichtenburg amid a very tense atmosphere.. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011371

South African History Online (2011) 'General Koos de la Rey, buried in Lichtenburg amid a very tense atmosphere.', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011371 (Accessed: 30 September 2026).

South African History Online, General Koos de la Rey, buried in Lichtenburg amid a very tense atmosphere. [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011371, (accessed 30 September 2026).

"General Koos de la Rey, buried in Lichtenburg amid a very tense atmosphere.." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011371. Accessed 30 Sept. 2026.

South African History Online. "General Koos de la Rey, buried in Lichtenburg amid a very tense atmosphere.." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011371.