In a very early stage, before the formal declaration of war, the enemy [Boers] had massed several commandos upon the western border, the men being drawn from Zeerust, Rustenburg, and Lichtenburg. Baden-Powell, with the aid of an excellent group of special officers, who included Colonel Gould Adams, Lord Edward Cecil, the soldier son of England's Premier, and Colonel Hore, had done all that was possible to put the place into a state of defence. In this he had immense assistance from Benjamin Weil, a well known South African contractor, who had shown great energy in provisioning the town. On the other hand, the South African Government displayed the same stupidity or treason which had been exhibited in the case of Kimberley, and had met all demands for guns and reinforcements with foolish doubts as to the need of such precautions. (taken from www.stopboergenocide.com)

Another account was written by Lady Sarah Wilson, who travelled to South Africa on a visit in May 1899. When it came time to leave, due to deteriorating political conditions, Benjamin Weil proved to be of great help to Lady Sarah, who had left it too late to escape ahead of the war clouds. She writes about his hospitality and his prescience in supplying provisions on a most timely basis: "I had delayed my departure too long; it was extremely doubtful whether another train would be allowed to pass South, and, even when started, it would stand a great chance of being wrecked by the Boers tearing up the rails. Under these circumstances I was allotted comparatively safe quarters at the house of Mr. Benjamin Weil, of the firm of the well-known South African merchants. His residence stood in the centre of the little town, adjacent to the railway-station." "We celebrated Christmas Day, 1899, by a festive luncheon-party to which Colonel Baden-Powell and all his Staff were invited. By a strange and fortunate coincidence, a turkey had been overlooked by Mr. Weil when the Government commandeered all live-stock and food-stuffs at the commencement of the siege, and, in spite of the grilling heat, we completed our Christmas dinner by a real English plum-pudding.

"The provisions sent to Mafeking by the Cape Government before the war were only sufficient to feed 400 men for a little over a fortnight. At that time a statement was made, to reassure the inhabitants, that the Cape Ministry held themselves personally responsible for the security of the railway in the colony. Providentially, the firm of Weil and Company had sent vast stores to their dept in the town on their own initiative. This firm certainly did not lose financially by their foresight, but it is a fact that Mafeking without this supply could have made no resistance whatever. There were 9,000 human beings to feed, of which 7,000 were natives and 2,000 white people. It can therefore be imagined that the task of the D.A.A.G. was not a light one. Up to April the town consumed 4,099 tons of food-stuffs; 1 2,256 tons of oats, fodder, meal, and flour; and 930 tons of fuel; making a total of 17,285 tons. Of matches, the supply of which was soon exhausted, 35,400 boxes were used, and to take their place tiny paraffin lamps were supplied to all, which burnt night and day. Fortunately, the supply of liquid fuel was very large, and it would have taken the place of coal if the siege had been indefinitely prolonged. Among miscellaneous articles which were luckily to be obtained at Weils stores were 2 tons of gunpowder and other ammunition, 132 rifles, insulated fuses, and electric dynamos for discharging mines, etc." A fuller account of Lady Sarah's lively account of her imprisonment and release can be found at www.sakoman.net.

Benjamin Weil (aged 50) and his wife Ethel (aged 26) are listed on the 1901 Census. The presence of much younger wife could suggest that this wife was his second and he could have had a family to a first wife, this however requires researching. On the 1901 Census, Louis Weil is aged two, born in the Cape Colony, quite possibly whilst Lady Sarah was staying at the family residence. Louis has an infant brother, Frederick, born in Capetown, and less than a year old. There are six servants in their Kensington Gardens Terrace house, two of whom are a nurse and nurserymaid. By the time Louis was killed the family are listed as l