Daniel Theron Daniël Johannes Stephanus " Danie " Theron , ( 9 May 1872 - 5 September 1900 ) , was born in Tulbagh , Cape Colony , and 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 . Early life . 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 . Second Boer War . 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 the British forces . Theron ' s most notable single action was in the Battle of Paardeberg , where on 25 February 1900 , a Boer Gen . Piet Cronje and several thousand troops were surrounded by British forces . Outnumbered and losing the battle , Theron , acting as a messenger for the other primary Boer commander , sneaked through British lines to convey a plan for a breakout operation - and then sneaked through the lines a second time to bring back Cronje ' s reply . The TVK brought many Boer civilians and soldiers across the river safely into Boer territory , but in spite of Theron ' s efforts the planned operation failed and most of the Boer forces surrendered . After the British occupied parts of the Orange Free State in March 1900 , Theron and the TVK became well known for the guerrilla campaign they conducted against the British Army . The TVK attacked trails and rail yards , ambushed and captured British soldiers and officers , blew up bridges , and freed captured Boer fighters from British prisons . On two separate occasions while scouting in the veld t in no - mans land , Theron came upon the British Army Chief of Scouts , the American Frederick Russell Burnham . Both times the two men exchanged fire , but only at a distance . In July 1900 , the British dispatched a unit of 4 , 000 soldiers to find and eliminate the TVK . After one skirmish with this force on 19 July , Theron managed to evade his pursuers and continue raiding , but the TVK was always on the run . Death . While scouting alone on a koppie at Gatsrand , about north of present - day Fochville , he encountered seven members of Marshall ' s Horse and was killed in action . On 15 September 1900 , the men of the TVK exhumed the body of their Commandant and reburied him in the family cemetery of the Pienaar family near Fochville . But on 10 March 1903 , Theron ' s last will was carried out and his body was once again exhumed to be reburied next to that of his late fiancée Hannie Neethling on her father ' s farm Eikenhof on the Klip ( Rock ) River . Legacy . On 28 December 1907 , Generals Louis Botha and Jan Smuts unveiled the Danie Theron Monument near Potchefstroom . On 9 September 1950 , a monument was unveiled at the location where Danie Theron died ( near the N12 road between Johannesburg , South Africa and Potchefstroom ) . The monument has the following symbolism : The monument was built by L Fokkens ( Pty ) Ltd . according to plans of the architect Mr . Hillebrands ( from Krugersdorp ) . Funds for the monument were collected by the Voortrekkers organisation . A new Danie Theron Monument was erected near the Union Building in Pretoria , South Africa on 6 March 2002 , by the former South African President Nelson Mandela . In one of the very rare occasions where Mr . Mandela spoke Afrikaans in public , he said he valued the fighting spirit of Danie Theron , his honesty , bravery and his determination to do the right thing for his nation and his beliefs . Mr . Mandela said that the modern South Africa needs more Danie Therons in order to meet the challenges that lie ahead . One of the primary schools in Carletonville was named in honour of this Boer hero , i . e . Laer Gedenkskool Danie Theron . A smaller replica of the monument ( found on the hill near Fochville ) was also erected on the school grounds , near the main entrance . A Commando Combat School was established at Kimberley , South Africa on 1 November 1967 and in 1968 it was renamed the Danie Theron Combat School . South Africa ' s school of military intelligence is also named after Danie Theron . The Danie Theron Medal was instituted by South Africa in 1970 . It is awarded for diligent service in the Territorial Reserve ( officers only until 1975 ) . The ribbon is green with 3 yellow stripes . His great - great - niece , Charlize Theron , is an Academy Award - winning actress .