Description:

Second Boer War
various, ca. 1900-1906
Second Boer War 25 pc. Photo Archive Featuring British Army's 3rd Middlesex Regiment, Present at Battle of Spion Kop
Archive

A collection of 25 photographs depicting members of the 3rd Middlesex Regiment in the years during and following the Second Boer War (1899-1902). Of varying sizes, from 4.5" x 5.5" to 8" x 10.25"; ranging in date ca. 1900-1906. Highlighted within are a pair of battlefield images showing casualties at Spion Kop, 16 individual portraits- six of which have been signed and/or contemporarily identified by the subject- as well as a gravesite image memorializing Color Sergeant W. Taylor, who died in Wynberg, South Africa in 1903. Exhibits varying degrees of foxing, age toning, and soiling throughout. Bumped corners and minor mount loss in areas. Otherwise, very good.

The Second Boer War was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and Orange Free State) over Britain's influence in Southern Africa. A gold rush to the Transvaal Province brought thousands of British, and other prospectors from around the globe, to the region beginning in the late 1880s. Indeed, the influx of citizens was so great that foreigners quickly outnumbered the Boers, who in turn became nervous and distrustful of their growing presence. As a way to contain outside influence in the South African Republic, the Boers enacted strict residential qualifications for voting rights and taxes to the gold industry. When this prompted protest by the restricted parties to the British authorities in the Cape Colony, negotiations were held but ultimately failed in June 1899. Conflict officially began, therefore, when the British government decided to send 10,000 troops to South Africa that October.

From 1881 to 1900, the Middlesex Regiment was comprised of two regular battalions: the 1st Battalion (formerly the 57th Regiment of Foot) and the 2nd Battalion (formerly the 77th of Foot). In 1900, during the Second Boer War, two more regular battalions were authorized and these became the 3rd and 4th Battalions, respectively, the former being the main subject of this archive. The Battle of Spion Kop, fought between January 23-24, 1900, was a military engagement during the campaign by the British to relieve the besieged city Ladysmith during the initial months of the Second Boer War. The result was a decisive victory for the Boers, whose strength was approximately 12,000 less men than British forces.

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  • Dimensions: Box: 9.5" x 12.5" x 2"
  • Medium: Archive

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July 16, 2025 10:00 AM EDT
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