Denys Reitz died on 19 October 1944 in London, aged 62.
At the outbreak of the South African War (1899-1902) Reitz was 17 and considered too young to take up arms against the British.
President Paul Kruger intervened and he joined General Piet Joubert’s forces in Natal and fought in the Battle of Spioen Kop.
During the Guerrilla phase of the war he took part in actions in the Western Transvaal before being selected to join General Smuts in the ‘invasion’ of the Cape.
In 1914 he helped Smuts suppress the Rebellion in the Free State, before serving under Smuts in German South-West Africa.
In Europe during WW1 he commanded the First Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers.
