Location
Situated in the Mpumalanga Province South Africa
-26.713494S, 29.019397E

Take the R23 South from Greylingstad. Turn left on R547 towards the town of Val.
After 6 kilometers the road to the Val Hotel off to the right. Ignore.
After another 5.6km take road to right.
After 1.7km cross river and take road to left.
7.1 km km along the road are the two monuments on your left.

Inscription
Surgeon Captain Arthur Martin-Leake
1874-1953
In the early morning of 8 February 1902, a patrol, consisting of about 150 policemen of 'C' Division of the South African Constabulary, set out from here on Syferfontein to establish the whereabouts of a Boer force under the command of Commandant Piet Viljoen. They came upon Viljoen's men hidden in a deep hollow on the farm Van Tondershoek. The SAC men opened fire, but finding themselves outnumbered, were forced to make a fighting retirement back to their base at Syferfontein. Two rearguard actions took place on Van Tondershoek and Vlakfontein. Surgeon Captain Arthur Martin-Leake was present with a force of eight men commanded by Lieutenant Abraham. Abraham and his men fought until all had been either killed or wounded. Martin-Leake tended the wounded under heavy fire and was himself shot in three places while attempting to make Lieutenant Abraham, who had suffered a mortal wound, more comfortable. The Boers expressed their regret at having shot the doctor. When relief arrived after some hours, Martin-Leake refused water until all the others had been attended to. For this action he was subsequently awarded Britain's highest award for valour, the Victoria Cross.

Significance
The inscription on the memorial tell of how Surgeon Captain Arthur Martin-Leake was awarded the Victoria Cross after an action on Vlakfontein, the adjacent farm. Twelve years later he was awarded a second Victoria Cross during the Great War (1914-18) - the first man ever to win two such awards.

The two men commemorated by the new memorials were not at Syferfontein at the same time. Gert Claassen was absent with the Krugersdorp Commando in the western Transvaal (now the North West Province), when Martin-Leake's bravery earned him his distinguished award. Claassen rose through the Boer ranks to be Vecht-Generaal by the end of the war, a rare honour for a man of 28. In the Great War, he was Lieutenant-Colonel of the Standerton Commando and earned the award of the Croix de Guerre from the French for distinguished service. After the war, he represented Standerton in the Transvaal Provincial Council and served as a Senator in the national parliament from 1939 to 1948. He died in his eightieth year and is buried in the family graveyard, not far from his memorial.

Further reading
South African Military History Journal Vol 15 No 5, June 2012, pp 181-6