THE HISTORY OF FENTER STREET, THE OUTSIDE SCHOOL, AND COMMANDANT J.C. KRIEGLER

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THE ENGLISH OUTSIDE SCHOOL AND STREET SPELLING THEORIES

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Additional historical layers regarding Dr Hale's house and the surrounding Fenter Street precinct have been preserved through local oral history. Mrs Hazel Matthysen (née Gemmel), an elderly long-term neighbour whose parents were directly involved in the foundational establishment of the Heidelberg Presbyterian Church in 1904, stated that a private English medium school previously operated out of the property's two rear outside rooms.

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This functional academy served an important cultural role; prior to the South African War of 1899 - 1902, the town's only operational educational facility was the formal "Government School" situated at the corner of Begeman and Maré Streets. This state-run institution conducted its curriculum strictly in Dutch, restricting English language instruction to just one hour per day.

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Architectural surveys compiled by prominent local historian Herbert Prins indicate that the vast majority of the historic residential houses fronting Fenter Street were constructed by the pioneering builder J.C. Kriegler.

The physical name of the roadway itself remains subject to intense local debate, specifically regarding why Fenter Street is officially spelled with an "F" rather than a traditional Afrikaans "V".

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One prominent theory suggests that the town's initial Irish surveyor, Mr Thomas W. Fannin, utilized his own phonetic cultural spelling when charting the grid, despite the land previously belonging to the pioneering Mr Venter of the farm Langlaagte.

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An alternative theory argues that following the British occupation of Heidelberg during the Second Anglo-Boer War, the imperial authorities systematically took over municipal management and anglicized the road names. This theory is supported by the archival cartography of Harry Weakley, the editor of the Heidelberg Times, who drafted a detailed, hand-drawn sketch map of the town layout prior to 1899 and explicitly recorded the roadway as "Venter Street".

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COMMANDANT JOHAN CHRISTIAN KRIEGLER AND WARTIME COMMAND (1858 - 1900)

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Johan Christian Kriegler was born in 1858 and established himself as a highly versatile and deeply respected citizen within early Heidelberg, working concurrently as an academic school teacher, a prominent local businessman, and an active Deacon of the Dutch Reformed Klipkerk. Beyond constructing the residential landscape of Fenter Street, Kriegler demonstrated fierce patriotism at the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War in October 1899, becoming one of the very first local men to volunteer for active commando service.

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His tactical capabilities resulted in rapid promotion; he was officially commissioned as a Field Cornet (Veldkornet) immediately following the critical Battle of Paardeberg, and was later elevated to the rank of Commandant when Org Meyer was formally demoted from field command.

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He was remembered by his peers for his deep battlefield humanity. Following the intense engagement at Modderspruit, Commandant Kriegler came across a severely wounded young British soldier who had been shot clean through both legs. As Kriegler bent over the casualty to offer assistance, the terrified boy cried out, "Oh, sir, spare me!" Kriegler tenderly lifted the enemy soldier, provided him with fresh water from his own canteen, and comforted him until medical teams arrived.

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THE BATTLE OF KAREE SIDING AND THE Brandfort HOSPITALIZATION

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Commandant Kriegler's military career came to a tragic end during the Battle of Karee Siding (also known as Tafelkop) on 29 March 1900. He sustained a catastrophic gunshot wound to the chest, with the bullet grazing his spine and leaving him partially paralyzed.

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Captured by advancing British forces on the battlefield, he was loaded onto a transport cart and transferred into a secure British military field camp at 9 o'clock that evening. His wife, Sibella Kriegler (née Bosman), received the notification via an urgent telegram the following morning.

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Sibella and her 17-year-old daughter, Janie, immediately packed their belongings and departed Heidelberg that Friday, traveling south toward the front lines to locate him. On Saturday at approximately 12 o'clock, their transit train intercepted an official medical ambulance train idling at the Kroonstad siding.

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Aboard the medical cars they encountered three other prominent Heidelberg citizens who had been severely wounded during the same engagement: Mr Uys, Mr J. Biccard, and John du Toit. Moving forward via rail to Brandfort and completing the final leg of their journey via horse and cart, Sibella and Janie arrived at the British camp at 1 o'clock on Sunday afternoon.

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THE FINAL DAYS AND THE RESIDENTIAL STANDOFF

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Heidelberg's resident minister, Reverend Adriaan Louw, accompanied by a Red Cross volunteer named Burgher H. Oosterhagen, petitioned the British high command to grant the family visitation access to the dying Commandant. British authorities approved the request, but restricted the family to a single, strict one-hour visitation block per day.

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They found Kriegler in an extremely weak, declining state, though Janie recorded that his blue eyes lit up with intense love upon seeing them. That evening, the mother and daughter slept on the bare ground just 10 metres away from his medical tent, though guard sentries prohibited them from entering to offer physical comfort or help him.

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Following a brief, emotional farewell visit the next morning, the family pleaded with the British authorities to coordinate a formal prisoner-of-war medical exchange, and camp administrators promised to investigate the matter. On Friday, 6 May 1900, the family was permitted another visit, noting that Kriegler's physical appearance seemed to have temporarily improved.

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The British commanding officer, General Wavell, expressed immense professional respect for the captive Commandant, stating his firm belief that Kriegler must have been a very high-ranking officer to have directed his burghers to fight with such fierce tactical skill on the day of the battle.

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Sibella and Janie remained entrenched at Brandfort throughout May and into June 1900, providing whatever bedside nursing care they could facilitate. Commandant Johan Christian Kriegler succumbed to his spinal injuries on 9 June 1900 at the age of 42. Janie firmly maintained in her personal writings that a lack of adequate specialist medical treatment within the camp was the direct cause of her father’s death.

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THE MEREBANK INTERNMENT AND GENERATIONAL LEGACIES

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Following her husband's death, Sibella Kriegler was forcibly rounded up under the scorched-earth policy and spent the remainder of the war interned inside the Merebank Concentration Camp near Durban, accompanied by her four children: Janie (17), Fanie (13), Isabella (10), and the infant Johann (2). Sibella never remarried, choosing to focus her life on raising her children. She passed away in 1924 at the age of 61 and was interred alongside her family inside the historic Heidelberg Kloof Cemetery.

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The descendants of the Kriegler estate left a prominent mark across South Africa's 20th-century history, documented through individual family lineages:

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• Janie Kriegler (1883 - 1971): Maintained a detailed personal diary of her wartime experiences. While interned at Merebank, she volunteered as a dedicated camp nurse under Dr James O’Reilly and taught local youths inside the camp's makeshift school. She later married Charles Brink, a veteran of the Heidelberg Commando. The couple relocated to Pretoria, where her husband rose through the military ranks to serve as the Quartermaster General of the Union Defence Force. Janie passed away in 1971 at the advanced age of 88.

• Dr Fanie Kriegler: Graduated with a prestigious Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Oxford and successfully qualified as a medical doctor. He was formally engaged to be married to Jeanne van Belkum, the daughter of Heidelberg's prominent Reverend Jac van Belkum. Tragically, Jeanne passed away in 1916 at the age of 30, and she was buried on the exact day their wedding had been scheduled. Devastated by the loss, Fanie remained a bachelor for the remainder of his life.

• Isabella Kriegler (1889 - 1980): Never married, dedicated her life to community service, and passed away in 1980 at the age of 91. She was laid to rest directly beside her father's memorial site.

• Brigadier Johann "Jock" Kriegler: Was an infant in his mother's arms while interned inside the Merebank camp. In 1922, at the age of 23, he joined the South African Permanent Force, earning his official officer's commission in 1926. He married Anna van der Walt, the daughter of the decorated Commandant J. van der Walt (recipient of the Dekoratie voor Trouwe Dienst) of the Pretoria South Commando, who had survived two severe combat wounds during the Boer War.

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In 1934, Jock qualified as a military pilot within the South African Air Force (SAAF), subsequently attending advanced tactical warfare courses in England before being attached directly to the Axis armies as an official military observer in 1938.

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During the Second World War, he saw extensive active service, commanding a front-line combat brigade throughout the Western Desert campaign in North Africa and across Italy. In recognition of his distinguished wartime leadership, he was decorated as a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1947.

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Brigadier Kriegler retired from active service in 1953, relocating to a farming estate situated outside Pretoria, where his wife passed away in 1980. Continuing the family's extensive professional tradition, his son, J.C. Kriegler, entered the legal sector as a premier advocate and ultimately rose to achieve national prominence as a highly respected judge.

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Sources: Biographical history from Ian Uys's "Heidelbergers of the Boer War"; the personal wartime diaries of Janie Brink (née Kriegler); and property surveys curated by Herbert Prins for the Heidelberg Heritage Association.