News from that South African War, circa 1901

The Boer War which lasted from 1899 to 1902 has largely been eclipsed by the Great War.

It sits tucked away with all those smaller colonial campaigns the British army fought across the world after the Crimean War and before the two great world wars of the 20th century.

And yet in its time it was a major event, dividing world opinion, raising in particular questions about the treatment of civilians and accounting for around 75,000 deaths of which between 20,000 and 28,000 were Boer civilians.

And the postcard manufactures were not slow about getting involved.

Raphael Tuck & Sons produced a range of cards covering all aspects of the war from photographs of British soldiers, the Boer commanders and a series of humorous ones.

This comes from a collection of six by the artist L Thackery which alternated between jingoism and a more sober reflection on experiences of British servicemen.

And of course there is a direct connection with Manchester.

In St Ann's Square we have the memorial to the men who took part.







Picture, Memorial St Ann's Square, 2014, from the collection of Andrew Simpson, and With the flag to Pretoria, from the series, The Boer War, issued by Tuck & Sons, circa 1901, courtesy of Tuck DB, http://tuckdb.org/