The Anglo-Boer War. No. 11. Battle Verses. (By W. Thompson, 1st Sc. H.) Paardeberg. Moedwil. Vlakfontein. Braakenlaagte
Klerksdorp, H.M. Guest, Printer and Publisher, Bookseller, Stationer, etc. 1902.
Octavo (218 × 130 mm), 8 pages including the publisher's advertisement on the last page.
Two bifolia folded together; edges lightly chipped and creased; rear page a little marked; small puncture in the top left-hand corner; in very good condition.
The 1st Scottish Horse was one of two volunteer Scottish regiments raised in South Africa during the war; it saw considerable action in the Western Transvaal, especially in the battles at Moedwil, Vlakfontein, and Braakenlaagte. Preambles to these self-titled poems give pertinent details. In 1939, Herman Guest, the publisher's son, had some of these original Klerksdorp printings bound up and issued with a new foreword, telling the story of the production of his father's 'records of the campaign in the Western Transvaal and elsewhere. It will be realized that the accounts were written during times of stress, and consequently some of the statements have an "ex parte" complexion. The[ir] value ... lies in the fact that [they were] written and produced when Klerksdorp was practically in a state of siege. The inhabitants were unable to proceed a mile in any direction from the market square, and the one railway line, although closely guarded, was frequently disturbed by Boers'. Provenance: a Western Australian member of the 4th Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse.
Item #121027
Price (AUD):
$250.00