NAM.2010-07-2-1

Typescript first hand account of the Boer War, in the form of four letters written from South Africa between March and June 1900. The letters were written by Tpr George Seaton, City Imperial Volunteers to his father in Wales. Serialized by ‘The Glamorgan Times’ in May 1900. The first letter was written at Bloemfontein on 27 Mar 1900, and was printed in ‘The Glamorgan Times’ in two excerpts on Saturday 5 May 1900 and Saturday 12 May 1900. The second letter was written at Bloemfontein on 23 Apr 1900, and appeared in ‘The Glamorgan Times’ in excerpts on Saturday 2 Jun 1900 and Saturday 7 Jul 1900. The third letter was written from Johannesburg on 3 Jun 1900, and the fourth from Pretoria on 6 Jun 1900. Both appeared in ‘The Glamorgan Times’ on Saturday 21 Jul 1900. The final eight pages of the account are an excerpt from ‘The Glamorgan Times’ on Saturday 3 Nov 1900, and describe the preparations for Tpr Seaton’s homecoming. The first two letters give a detailed account of life as a soldier during the Boer War, describing the climate, landscape, rations and so on. Tpr Seaton was a law student when he signed up with the City Imperial Volunteers. When he returned from South Africa, he became a solicitor. He joined the army in Canada on the outbreak of World War One, before returning to the UK with a commission in the British Army. He served in Palestine and was discharged on medical grounds having had his knee damaged by a horse while training in Canada. Associated with the Battle of Modder River (1899) and the Relief of Mafeking (1900), Boer War (1899-1902).

Modder River, Battle of, 1899 (Boer War 1899-1902), Mafeking, Relief of, 1900 (Boer War 1899-1902)