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Attached are photos that belonged to my great grandfather, Capt. Colin Charles Henry Pritchard who fought with the Imperial Light Infantry.

The first photo is of Capt. Pritchard with his dog Loot and Lt. George Geoffrey Hillstead seated in front of the Mess-tent.

The second photo is of the officers of the I.L.I., including Major Hay and Lt.Colonel Nash.

The third photo is of the I.L.I camp with the Rifle Brigade camp in the distance.

Hi Philip,nice photos,the second photo the officers look very well- to- do its nice to know there are still many photos,in private hands,that can be shown to us on this great site,

Hi Philip

Thank you posting a very interesting set of historically important photographs.

The ILI had a short history, but the regiment did well during the Relief of Ladysmith. It was not as famous as its mounted counterpart, the Imperial Light Horse, but it had a similar composition of refugees from the Transvaal, who had a score to settle, and enthusiastic Colonials, who served under Imperial officers. The men either preferred an infantry role to the more popular mounted one, or were forced to accept the pedestrian alternative in order to fight for Queen and Country.

Regards
Brett

Hi Brett

One wonders how the officers were appointed to the Colonial regiments. My great grandfather was with the Royal West Kent Regiment before the Boer War and he fought with that regiment in WW1. Attached is a another photo of him. I have to get a new one made because his left hand is distorted in this picture.

The I.L.I also performed well at Spionkop. I'm attaching a letter sent by my great grandfather to his mum which contains a fascinating first-hand account of the battle. (The original is hand written.) His mum must have been truly distressed after having read it.

I have checked all the names mentioned in the letter and they can all be found on David's website. the "boy" Jackson was, in fact, Lt. GHN Jackson of the First Border Regiment. Stanley, my great grandfather's younger brother commanded the SA Native Labour Corps as a Lt. Col in WW1. I strongly believe that he is the colonel in the attached photo of George V inspecting the SANLC.

There were 11 children born in Madras, India(that is of the second marriage)and their father Thomas was the veterinary surgeon to the body guard of the Governor. The oldest son, Walter, later changed his name to Zarh and is a well known artist in the USA where he pioneered underwater painting. His works sell for anything up to $3 million these days.

Em (also referred to in the letter) was Emily my great grandfather's younger sister. When one gets to know about them, they all seem to come alive.

How do we get the photos onto the website under the I.L.I.?

Kind regards
Philip

Hi

I'll have to get the letter scanned as a jpeg. It is a pdf and so it hasn't come through.

Kind regards
Philip

Philip

Fascinating photos, thanks. In the photo of your great grandfather, his helmet carries what appears to be a Royal Artillery helmet plate, and his collar badges and belt buckle are also right for Artillery. Was he in the artillery before the W Kents?

Patrick