NAM.2017-09-7-61-70

Photograph of a 12-man team of soldiers manning a heavy artillery gun on the plains around Harrismith with the Platberg mountain behind, taken during the Boer War, 1901-1902 (c). In August 1901, the British military positioned the massive 5-ton Naval Brigade 4.7-inch gun, famously known as a "cow gun" because it required 24 to 48 oxen to haul up any steep inclines. Eventually it was placed onto Queens hill to fortify the town's defences. The soldiers are wearing khaki drill with pith helmets, although most of them are in shirt-sleeves. The territory around Harrismith 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)