Daniel Theron

Danie Theron
Theron as Commandant of the Wielrijders Rapportgangers Corps, 1899
Birth name	Daniël Johannes Stephanus Theron
Born	(1872-05-09)9 May 1872 Tulbagh, Cape Colony
Died	5 September 1900(1900-09-05) (aged 28) Gatsrand, South African Republic (near Fochville)
Allegiance	South African Republic
Years of service	1899 - 1900
Rank	Captain
Unit	Scout
Commands held	Theron se Verkenningskorps (Theron Reconnaissance Corps), South African Republic
Battles/wars	Malaboch War Second Boer War: -- Battle of Paardeberg -- Spioen kop
Other work	School teacher, lawyer

Daniël Johannes Stephanus "Danie" Theron, (9 May 1872 - 5 September 1900) was a Boer Army military leader. Born in Tulbagh, Cape Colony, he was raised in Bethlehem, Orange Free State. He is best known as the driving force behind the formation of a military bicycle corps used by the Boer Army for scouting and relaying messages. Originally trained as a school teacher, he became a lawyer and notary with his own law firm in Krugersdorp, Transvaal Republic, and was made a Captain in the Boer Army when the Second Boer War began. During the war, he was put in charge of a significant scouting unit, the Theron se Verkenningskorps (TVK) (Theron Reconnaissance Corps). He fought at the Battle of Paardeberg and one of his most famous feats occurred at the Battle of Spion Kop. The British Commander in Chief, Lord Roberts, called Theron: "the hardest thorn in the flesh of the British advance", put a reward of £1,000 on his head - dead or alive, and dispatched 4,000 soldiers to find and eliminate the TVK.

Theron was the ninth of fifteen children of Anna Helena Margaretha (née Krige) and Willem Wouter Theron. He began his career as a school teacher but later earned a law degree and started his own practice. Before the Second Boer war, Theron was a commando in the 1894 Malaboch War, and he trained scouts for reconnaissance until 1899. By his contemporaries, Theron was said to be slight, wiry, with a dark complexion, and short-tempered.

Theron became a Boer Army Captain and was put in charge of organizing and leading the Boer Intelligence scouts, the Theron se Verkenningskorps (TVK) (Theron's Reconnaissance Corps). To save horses for combat, he developed the use of bicycles for despatch and reconnaissance. His 105 recruits were equipped with various items including revolvers, binoculars and sometimes light carbine. The TVK would watch British movements and study their tactics during battles.

Reconnaissance missions became Theron's specialty. He was able to move through the land without being detected. As the war progressed, Theron and his men were moved closer to the Western front. The Boers, under the rule of Piet Cronje, were constantly skimishing with British forces, and the TVK gained a reputation for destroying railway bridges. Lord Roberts labelled Theron "the chief thorn in the side of the British.". A bounty was put on his head for £1,000 offered for his capture.