With The Flag To Pretoria

Earlier in the week I collected a large number of volumes covering the First World War. Most of these sets were originally issued weekly or fortnightly in a paper format, before being issued again as single books. They vary between eleven and twenty two volumes to a set and weigh in at over thirty kilos, so I actually got a free workout in the process of moving them.

I am not sure how many of these sets were originally produced, a lot I imagine, but they are getting harder to find, particularly in good condition. One of the reasons for this is that large, heavy books suffer more damage to their spines in use, purely because of the weight put on them when open. Also the sets tend to be come seperated over the years, meaning that although seperate, or bundles of volumes are often available, full sets are somewhat harder to come by.

However I did receive a pleasant surprise when unpacked the books as also included were a set of four volumes from the Second Boer War, 1899-1902. Like the First World War sets these are a great historical source as they were written at the time of the conflict. They are also a bit more unusual and extremely interesting.

While I am not going to try and run through the history of the Boer War, there are several points which seem worth mentioning. In many ways it was a modern war, rifles were more powerful for a start which led to a review of tactics used, open ground being much more difficult to attack across with the increase accuracy of the weapons being used. Armoured trains also saw some action and Kahki uniforms were introduced in this period.

Concentration camps were used by the British, which were extremely unpleasant and badly organised until constant lobbying forced the government to make changes. A 'scorched earth' policy was also in place during the later 'Guerilla' phase of the war, as the British forces tried to restrict the movement of the Boer fighters. Figures including Winston Churchill, Earl Kitchener, Arthur Conan Doyle (physician), John McCrae, Jan Smuts, Robert Baden Powell, Mohandas Ghandi (raised ambulance force), amongst others were all involved in one way or another.

Nevertheless despite the war being a major military undertaking, it seems to have passed from modern memory on the whole. A rapid survey of my older children, all at senior school and studying history revealed a distinct lack of knowledge about the conflict, although the eldest, who has just started a History A level, was aware of a few general facts. I suppose that it should not really be a surprise to me, taking into account the two World Wars that took place afterwards, but it seems a shame that it is not taught in greater depth.

Andy