Boer Reichsrevolver

“ HAVE YOU EVER come across Boer artillerymen with the names Jordaan, Van Biljon and Du Plooy?” he asked. “Yes I have…” I answered, “…especially Du Plooy, I own his revolver!” “Well, we found the date 15 December 1899 and various names engraved on a rock in what we believe was a Boer artillery position!”

This story began a couple of years back, when I was given the number of a lady who wanted to get rid of an old revolver that had belonged to her recently deceased father. According to family legend, the revolver belonged to his grandfather who was a member of the Oranje Vrijstaat Artillerie Corps (OVSAC). As the OVSAC is my main field of interest I wasted no time in visiting her, expecting a Webley No 5 or similar. Instead, she produced a German-style revolver I’d never seen before. The name attached to it, William Thomas du Plooy, was also unfamiliar to me. Initially doubting the story, I undertook to research it. And boy did it check out… I just had to buy the revolver!

The revolver was an odd one. It had German proof marks and resembled the or Model 1879 and Model 1883, which were service revolvers used by the German Army from 1879