TOPIC:

Wonder if anyone can help me with this. After the Jameson Raid (Dec 1895/Jan 1896) the ZAR government started purchasing large quantities of arms, predominantly from factories in continental Europe. I remember having read somewhere that purchases were also made in the UK (Pom-Poms?). I would be interested to learn whether any of these latter purported purchases were made from the arms producers in Birmingham, and if so when.

Everhard,

The Boer Pom-poms were made by the Maxim-Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company, whose factory was in Erith, London. Apart from the first 1895 order, these guns were purchased through T.W. Beckett & Co's agents in London, Messrs Hill & Paddon.

MC Heunis has written extensively about the various purchases.

See: Boer Maxim Guns

I don't believe any of the supplied arms were made in Birmingham.

Neville

..

Davitt explains a lot in his Boer Fight for Freedom.

Kynochs of Birmingham supplied a great deal of ammunition and I think a number of rifles. I believe some Birmingham made Rifles were also purchased. I'm not sure about which company or factory sites.

"They have also acquired 2,000 Martini-Henry Carabines and 6,000 Webley Revolvers".

Where were Martini Henri's and webley's made?

In my last post I had been thinking about artillery rather than small arms.

Ian is correct. The ZAR purchased nearly 33,000 Martinis (including 2,000 carbines) after the Raid. The majority of these (c. 30,663) were supplied by Westley Richards, a Birmingham manufacturer.

Ron Bester covers these acquisitions in detail in his work “Small Arms of the Anglo-Boer War” (2003), pp. 136 - 153.


Between December 1895 and October 1896 the ZAR purchased 6,450 Webley revolvers. Webley, again, was a Birmingham-based manufacturer (Bester, p. 244).

..

Webley and Scott, founded in 1790 by William Davies and going through various amalgamations upto the present day., was based in Birmingham.
Their chief production was of high quality handmade revolvers. These were of superior design to the American Colt revolvers available during the 19th Century, in that they were quicker to both fire and reload. However, as they were handmade their cost was prohibitive to potential purchasers in comparison to the mass produced Colt.
A pair of Webley and Scott revolvers were presented to a certain General George Armstrong Custer
Which models Webley supplied to the Boer government I would have to handover to a fellow forrumer with the appropriate knowledge!

Known Webley sales to the ZAR.

Early 1894 …… Mk I (assumed) ….. 200
November 1894 ….. Mk II ….. 200
December 1895 ….. Mk III ….. 1,000 (assumed 500, then increased to 1,000 after the Raid)
July 1896 ….. No. 4 ….. 400
October 1896 ….. Mk III ….. 5,000 (plus 50 “WG” Army revolvers)

So, 5,950 Webley revolvers were ordered after the Raid.

Taken from Bester 2003, p. 244.

..