Historical fiction and factual research about ordinary people caught in the machinery of wars.
garycorken.substack.com (https://garycorken.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)
After surrendering at Paardeberg, General Piet Cronjé and hundreds of other Boer prisoners were transported far beyond South Africa to the remote island of St Helena.
On the windswept ground of Deadwood Plain, the prisoners created a community behind barbed wire. They worked, traded, produced newspapers and handicrafts, held religious services and devised extraordinary plans of escape. Political divisions followed them into captivity, particularly when some men became willing to accept British rule while others regarded surrender as betrayal.
This episode tells the story of the “Deadwood Boys,” the island transformed by their arrival, and the prisoners who died in exile and remain buried at Knollcombes.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garycorken.substack.com (https://garycorken.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
31 Aug 2026
The Road to Bloemfontein
After Piet Cronjé’s surrender at Paardeberg, Lord Roberts turned east towards Bloemfontein, the capital of the Orange Free State. Standing in his way was Christiaan de Wet, struggling to hold together an army whose confidence was rapidly disappearing.
The Road to Bloemfontein follows Roberts’s advance through the Boer collapse at Poplar Grove, the determined stand at Driefontein and the occupation of the capital. It is the story of a campaign that appeared to have broken the Free State—until disease halted the British Army and de Wet returned with an entirely different way of fighting.
Was Bloemfontein the decisive victory it appeared to be, or the moment Britain’s real difficulties began?
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garycorken.substack.com (https://garycorken.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
2 Aug 2026
The Lion of Potchefstroom - Part Two
The Lion of Potchefstroom
n February 1900, Lord Roberts moved around the Boer defences at Magersfontein and forced Piet Cronjé into a desperate retreat. Slowed by wagons and accompanied by civilians, Cronjé halted beside the Modder River at Paardeberg and found himself surrounded by a vastly larger British army.
Part Two follows the bombardment of the laager, Danie Theron’s dangerous attempt to arrange a breakout and Cronjé’s controversial decision to remain with the wounded and civilians. His surrender cost the republics more than four thousand experienced burghers and destroyed the reputation of the Lion of Potchefstroom.
The story then continues through exile on Saint Helena and the extraordinary Boer War exhibitions in America, where Cronjé repeatedly performed his own defeat before paying crowds. Was he the stubborn general who trapped his army, or a commander who finally chose human life over pride?
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit garycorken.substack.com (https://garycorken.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
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