General Benjamin Johannes (Ben) Viljoen was born on 7 September 1869 in the Cape Colony and spent the latter part of his youth on a farm near Umtata in the Eastern Cape.
In 1890 he moved to the Transvaal and as part of the Krugersdorp Commando saw ‘action’ against the Jameson Raiders.
At the outbreak of the South African War (1899-1902) he saw action in the battles on the Natal front, before commanding commandos in the Transvaal at the battles of Johannesburg (Doornkop), Diamond Hill and Belfast.
During the guerrilla phase of the war he was responsible for surprising the British garrison at Helvetia in the Eastern Transvaal (now Mpumalanga) on 29 December 1900 and capturing 235 men and the Naval 4.7-inch gun – the Lady Roberts.
Viljoen was captured at Lydenburg on 25 January 1902 and remained a prisoner-of-war until May 1902.
On his return to South Africa he refused to take British citizenship and ‘emigrated’ to South America with other disillusioned Boers.
His later life in America is very interesting.
