NAM.2017-09-7-61-65

Photograph of an encampment at Harrismith Racecourse with many bell tents on the plains, taken during the Boer War, 1901-1902 (c). A sentry stands alone holding his rifle with fixed bayonet. Behind him two other soldiers, possibly officers, stand on the steps of a wooden building with a dog. Some signs on the verandah show that the building relates to the 8th Infantry Division. A Union Jack flag flies from a flagpole attached to the building - possibly Vrede House, which was used a Headquarters by the British Army. The Harrismith Racecourse served as a major site for the British Army encampment and a temporary Boer Prisoner of War (POW) camp established around 1900/1901. The town became the strategic operations and supply base for the British Army’s 8th Infantry Division under Lieutenant-General Sir Leslie Rundle for the remainder of the conflict. The image relates to the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards. From a photograph album of 111 photographs entitled '2nd Battalion 1897-1909', relating to the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards in the UK, South Africa and Gibraltar from 1897 to 1909. Mostly group photos and individual portraits.

Boer War (1899-1902)