He escorted Piet Cronjé into captivity, and commented in a letter home: "It is a curious idea taking one’s wife & family with one to the wars & must be inconvenient for many reasons but it is rather the fashion in these parts.

"[5] On 23 March he was badly wounded when a small foraging party, mainly of officers, which he was leading, including Colonel Codrington of the Coldstream Guards, was ambushed at Karee Siding; his adjutant was killed.

[6] This episode was generally regarded as "plucky" but widely reported round the world as an example of the "over-confidence and recklessness" (in the words of the New York Tribune[7]) of British officers.

"[8] Crabbe led his battalion to Pretoria and on to the border with Portuguese East Africa at Koomati Poort but their hopes of returning to England with Field Marshal Lord Roberts in November 1900 were dashed.

His mobile column had dangerous brushes with Fouche in May and with Kritzinger in July 1901, and led the forces which defeated and killed Van der Merwe in September and Hildebrand in November.

[11] For his services Crabbe was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the April 1901 South Africa Honours list (the award was dated to 29 November 1900[12]), and he received the actual decoration after his return, from King Edward VII at Buckingham Palace on 24 October 1902.