Christian Frederick Beyers was born on 23 August 1869 and fought in the South African War with distinction. At the time of the signing of the peace treaty he had attained the rank of General. He was, together with Generals Smuts and Botha recognized as one of the leaders of the Boers in the Transvaal.
At the outbreak of World War 1, he refused to fight on the side of the British, and became one of the leaders of the ‘Boer rebels’. South African government troops, under the command of General Botha, hunted the rebels down and Beyers was injured trying to cross the Vaal River, drowning from the wounds received.
