BOER WAR LORD ROBERTS SOUVENIR ITEMS
HISTORY
Field Marshal Lord Frederick Sleigh Roberts (1st Earl Roberts) led British forces to major conventional victories during the Second Boer War from December 1899 to November 1900.
Role in the Second Boer War
- Taking Command: He arrived in South Africa in December 1899 to turn the tide after a series of disastrous British defeats known as "Black Week".
- Capturing Cities: His strategy successfully turned the war around by capturing key Boer strongholds, including Bloemfontein (March 1900), Johannesburg (May 1900), and Pretoria (June 1900). [1, 2]
- Scorched Earth Policy: To stop Boer commando raids on railway supply lines, he instituted harsh tactics, ordering the burning of farmhouses, destruction of crops, and confiscation of livestock near attack sites.
- Handing Over: Believing major conventional fighting was finished, he handed command over to Lord Kitchener in November 1900 and returned to Britain to become Commander-in-Chief of the Forces.
Personal Loss
- His only son, Lieutenant Frederick Roberts, was killed in action at the Battle of Colenso in December 1899 during the early stages of the Boer War, and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
ITEMS DESCRIPTION
This is a nice pair of boer war souvenier items of Lord Roberts. The first is a Official Program of the return of Lord Roberts to England printed on tissue paper. AI says the following:
The Official program of the return of Lord Roberts is a 50 cm souvenir keepsake printed on delicate tissue paper around 1901 to celebrate Field Marshal Lord Roberts coming back to England after the early stages of the Second Boer War. Due to the program being printed on tissue paper the only surviving ones are held in institutions. The program has been preserved in a museum acid free see through envelope and measures 400mm x 300mm.
Program Details
- Format & Size: A broadside measuring about 50 cm, crafted entirely on tissue paper.
- Decoration: The edges feature colorful blue and red illustrations of various animals.
- Content: It details the specific route and order of the celebratory procession, lists participating troops (such as the 4th Royal Irish), and names honored guests at the banquet—including the Duke and Duchess of Connaught.
- Location: Preserved as an artifact within the Department of Ephemera.
The second item is a printed table cloth depicting Lord Roberts in the top left had corner with a map of South Africa in the centre and an image of Queen Victoria in the bottom right hand corner. The cloth is titled "The Absent Minded Beggar" which was written by Rudyard Kipling and put to music by Arthur Sullivan and was popular at the time. The cloth measures 450mm wide x 450mm high. No rips or tears but some staining as shown in the images.
These items have historical value especially the tissue paper program which is properly conserved. A nice pair of items for the Boer War collector