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Hi Guys, I‘ve just joined the forum and thought I’d briefly introduce myself as well as ask a question which someone out there may hopefully be able to help with.

I’ve always had an interest in history although not particularly about the Boer War although have read a couple of books on it in the past. I also at one time owned some old paper money issues from the war although have since sold them. An emergency currency note from the siege of Mafeking issued under the authority of Baden Powell, and a set of notes from Green Point Camp (if I remember correctly) which was a British camp for Boer POWs.

I’ve recently however come into possession of a small collection of Magic Lantern slides featuring images from the Boer War which has re-sparked my interest in the period. Magic Lanterns predated slide projectors and technologically were perhaps the first step to moving pictures and were really popular right up until film became the mass entertainment for images in the 1910s and 1920s. Lanternists used to travel from town to town and put on shows in churches and community buildings and later middle-class Victorians acquired their own equipment and put on shows for family and friends. Given there were little alternatives, these shows were hugely popular and often took the form of lectures to educate and entertain and in particular share news events, although they were sometimes years out of date with events.

The Boer War was a perfect opportunity for shows and as there were literally hundreds of slide manufacturers up and down the county, many of them turned to this subject to fill the public’s demand for news. Many of the slides featured sketches from magazines such as the London Illustrated News, The Graphic, the Sphere and others, as well as photographs taken out in the Transvaal and remember at this time the technology did not exist to reproduce photos in books and magazines so Magic Lanterns shows were often the only way ‘real-life’ images could be shown.

This then brings me on to my question. One of my slides is from a set entitled ‘Saved by his Bible’ (see below) and purports to show the image and tell the story of how a British soldier’s life were saved by a bullet heading for his chest being stopped by a bible in his tunic pocket. I have absolutely no idea if this story is true or not and can easily imagine it being made up as a tale to promote Christianity as well as shown moral justification for the war, but equally if it had actually happened I can understand how the story may have been used as propaganda and shared in newspapers and perhaps Magic Lantern slides. The slide shown comes from a set produced by Bamforth from the West Yorkshire town of Holmfirth. They were probably the biggest producer of ‘life model’ Magic Lantern slides towards the end of the 19th century and used ‘real’ people to act out stories often of a religious or middle-class moral perspective, sharing messages of temperance for example. This seems to fit in with them jumping on the Boer War slide bandwagon and offering us the story of a soldier being saved because of his good moral and Christian qualities.

Unfortunately my few attempts so far to try and find out if this story is based on true events or not have so far been fruitless and I wondered if any of your members had ever heard the story of a soldier being saved in this way, and could even perhaps point be towards books or newspapers where it had been mentioned. There appear to be a couple of similar stories, including photos of bullets stuck in bibles, from World War One but again I don’t know if these are true stories or not. They could even be copies of the original story from the Boer War, who knows? Any comments or help gratefully received.

I feel sure I've come across at least one report of this said to have happened in South Africa, but can't find it now. I know of one incident in WW1 where the man was named, and it's also said to have happened during the Indian Mutiny and also two or three times during the Egyptian Campaign.

On the other hand - "We captured De La Rey's private Secretary who was in the fighting line with a white handkerchief tied to his rifle, and firing at the same time. He was tried by court martial and shot. He held a bible in his hands in front of his heart, but every bullet told, and the Bible was shattered to pieces. I have a small piece of it, which I will bring home with me."

Welcome to the Forum, Mick.

Mick Scrimshaw
Welcome to the Forum - and opening with an interesting question.
I once saw a Soldier's Bible from the Boer war and it was half an inch or so thick from memory and the contents printed on pretty thin paper. Next we might examine what projectiles were on the battlefield at the time and what they could actually do in the matter of penetration. Most projectiles on the battlefield would have been .303" Mk.2 ball (round nosed and jacketed with cupro-nickel) and the 7mm Mauser (similarly round nosed and often jacketed with mild steel). Indeed, sometimes the Boers used ammunition fitted with soft nosed or hollow point bullets; illegal and the users would need more than a bible if they were captured with any in their possession. There were other projectiles employed on the battlefield - revolver bullets (soft lead), .30" Mauser pistol bullets (jacketed), shrapnel balls and splinters (or worse) from shell bursts.
Now, taking the .303" Mk,2 ball, the projectile still retained a striking power of almost five hundred foot pounds of energy at eight hundred yards. And was still travelling at about one thousand feet per second. I don't have the figures for the 7mm Mauser projectile at hand - but they would be generally similar. Rifle projectiles of that era were designed for penetration in earth and animals and there was little actual armour plate on the battlefield. The then-modern military rifle had so much penetrative ability that on the NW Frontier, the new Lee Metford was found to be inferior in stopping power to the .45" Martini. The .303" just punched through men even at long range. The British military (1904) put together a Penetration Intensity Index for their .303" out to 3,000 yards it was still capable of inflicting damage -especially if falling from a steep angle. So, an inch or so of paper would present no obstacle at all to such a military projectile at that distance - nor out to over two thousand yards - where the Mk.2 was losing velocity and thus impact force.
All a bit complicated. In conclusion, I suppose there may be instances where a strategically placed bible might have deflected or stopped the impact of a projectile fired from a long distance away. Anything is possible. A bible might even stop a lead pistol bullet under rare circumstances. Or a shrapnel ball. However, a strategically placed bible may sometimes have been all that was needed for a chap on the battlefield "To march to his front like a soldier" and place his trust in God.
Best regards
IL.

Thank you very much! Your technical knowledge is way above my head but I really appreciate it as it will help me perhaps come to a final conclusion that even if not definitive, might be at least well thought through.

Mick, this is the WW1 claim I know of, by Harry Ashworth, of the King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment).

...."Pte. Ashworth on his postcard speaks of a narrow escape he had prior to being taken prisoner. A Bible, which was in his pocket, was punctured by a bullet. In another pocket he had a cigarette case and a bullet, after striking this, glanced off on to his arm but, fortunately, inflicted nothing more than a bruise.
....Pte. Ashworth was 19 years of age last May. He joined up three months before, and went out to France with a draft of the King's Own. He is believed to have been taken prisoner on the 20th of November. His postcard, which his parents have now received, is dated November 25th, so that a considerable amount of time has been occupied in its reaching Waterfoot."
The Haslingden Guardian, Friday 11th January 1918

The bible might not have been in a breast pocket; if it was in a side pocket, the bullet could have struck it at an angle, rather than full-on.

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