NAM.2017-09-7-61-79

Photograph of eight soldiers from the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards sitting casually holding their rifles in front of a blockhouse, probably taken near Harrismith, South Africa, during the Boer War, 1901-1902. It is likely that they are garrisoned at a small encampment with blockhouses. The 2nd Battalion were based in Harrismith with Lieutenant-General Sir Leslie Rundle's 8th Infantry Division. The men are likely to be other ranks, and are wearing khaki uniform and a variety of headwear including slouch hats and a pith helmet. Several of them are in their shirt-sleeves. A small dog sits on the ground with one of the men. The Rice pattern blockhouse behind them (named after designer Maj S R Rice, Royal Engineers) consists of a circular prefabricated structure made of corrugated iron and surrounded by a stone wall. British forces built an extensive network of over 8000 blockhouses during the Boer War to secure supply lines, railways and communications, and to restrict the guerrilla tactics and movement of Boer commandos. By partitioning the area into a grid system using blockhouses and barbed wire fencing, the Boers became cut off from their support networks and animal grazing. 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 8th Infantry Division for the remainder of the conflict. 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)