Scapegoats of the Empire : The True Story of Breaker Morant’s Bushveldt Carbineers

AUSTRALIAN MILITARY Boer War

 George Witton’s classic tale of the court martial of three Australian officers during the Boer War.

Prior to this reprint in 1982 by the Australian publishing house Angus & Robertson, it is claimed that only seven copies of the book survived in various Australian state libraries and in the possession of Witton’s family. Although unsubstantiated, it has long been claimed that the book was suppressed by the Australian government and most copies were destroyed; another explanation is that most of the copies were destroyed by an accidental fire at the publisher’s warehouse. The 1982 reprinting was inspired by the success of a film based on the book, entitled Breaker Morant.

Witton’s main assertion, as indicated by the book’s provocative title, is that he, Morant, and Handcock were made scapegoats by the British authorities in South Africa—that they were made to take the blame for widespread British war crimes against the Boers, and that the trial and executions were carried out by the British for political reasons, partly to cover up a controversial and secret “no prisoners” policy promulgated by Lord Kitchener, and partly to appease the Boer government over the killing of Boer prisoners, in order to facilitate a peace treaty; the Treaty of Vereeniging was signed on 31 May 1902.

Witton also claims that many of the accusations about them, which led to their arrest and trial, were made by disaffected members of their regiment whose rebellious behaviour had been suppressed by Morant and Handcock.

• 247 p., 7 p. of plates : ports. ; 23 cm. #311023 (Gift inscription on fep.)
• Morant, Breaker, 1864?-1902
• Witton, George
• South African War, 1899-1902 — Personal narratives
• Trials (Military offenses) — South Africa