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Returning to the 12-pdr 6 cwt BL Mk I Royal Horse Artillery Gun, here is an example of a 12-pdr Shrapnel Mk V Shell with good provenance.

These shells could be used with both 12-pdr BL and 12-pdr QF guns. The number of rifling grooves (18, opposed to 16) indicates that this example was fired by a breech-loading gun. For more on driving bands, see: British 12 and 15-pdr Shells and their Driving Bands.

Copper plaque inscribed: "ANGLO BOER WAR / 12lbs SHELL FROM KLERKSDORP / 25 Feb. 1902 / Given to P.B. Davies-Cooke / (of Gwysaney) / by Corporal James Bevan / Vol. Co. R.W.F. / Sep. 1902".

Base of shell stamped: "12 PR V / BL 6 CWT / OR Q.F. / FS [Forged Steel] / R.L. [Royal Laboratory]"; wall of shell stamped with date of inspection: "26/1/1900 /|\ 1/1900".

Presented to Philip Bryan Davies-Cooke, JP (1832-1903), of Gwysaney Hall, by 7473 Private [Corporal] James Bevan, 2nd Volunteer Active Service Company, Royal Welsh Fusiliers.


Although there was an action near Klerksdorp (Yzer Spruit) on 25 February 1902, where an empty convoy belonging to Lt-Col. von Donop's column was captured by De la Rey, none of the published reports indicate that the Royal Welsh Fusiliers were present. However, the shell could well have been picked up by Corporal Bevan after the engagement. The two guns captured by De la Rey on the 25th both belonged to the 4th Battery R.F.A. If this shell is from the Yzer Spruit action it was therefore fired by a 15-pdr. Does this indicate that the 4th Battery were using 12-pdr ammunition with their 15-pdr guns? The Treatise on Ammunition (1902. p. 217) states that "On emergency the 15-pr shell (but not the cordite charge) may be fired from the 12-pr B.L. gun". However, no mention is made of 12-pdr shells being fired by 15-pdrs. More research required.


Question asked in the House of Commons regarding the "Klerksdorp Disaster" (Hansard):

HC Deb 04 March 1902 vol 104 c347347

MR. JAMES O'KELLY (Roscommon, N.): I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether he will state the actual number of the forces engaged at Klerksdorp when Von Donop's convoy was captured; and if he will state the reason why so many details of different companies and different battalions were comprised in the British forces; will he say whether all the wagons and carts captured were empty; what has become of the guns; and whether any account has reached him of the fate of the remainder of the force besides the 653 men already accounted for.

THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY TO THE WAR OFFICE (Lord STANLEY,) Lancashire, Westhoughton: I have no information beyond what has already been published.



















.Courtesy of Strutt & Parker



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This cast iron 7-pdr R.M.L. studded shrapnel shell (Mk VII) lacks the provenance of the piece above, but there is a very good chance that it is a souvenir from Mafeking. The two Armstrong guns that were captured by the Boers at Kraaipan were turned against the British garrison, and their shells were keenly sought by trophy hunters. Examples in Mafeking Museum are similarly marked with late-1870s dates.

Base marked: "RL .7|PR . 6|3 D"; wall of shell: "R/|\L VII" "U.C"; and one of the six studs: "3/79".

For further information, see: The Armstrong 7-pdr (200 lb) Mark IV RML





























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More outstanding contributions, Neville!
thank you for your characteristically fascinating detail and accuracy.
Rob

One of the 1902 models of "Long Cecil", made by Pratt & Whitney Co., Hartford, Connecticut. Expertly restored to its origianl condition and finish by Hal Jacob, of Plowden & Smith, London.

The models were presented in 2 ft long glass cases with silver plaques inscribed: "EXACT REPRODUCTION OF "LONG CECIL" MADE AT KIMBERLEY, SOUTH AFRICA, DURING THE SIEGE, 1899-1900. SCALE 1:12. REPRODUCTION BY PRATT & WHITNEY Co., HARTFORD, CONN."

The article below reports that one of the models was presented to the President of the Bethlehem Steel Company, Pennsylvania. The example below was purchased from an auction house just down the road from Barrow-in-Furness, where there were a number of large steel works at the turn of the nineteenth century. Could this model have been similarly presented to a CEO of one of these companies, and disposed of locally when the works closed in the 1980s?


Allentown Morning Call, 02/04/1902

A HISTORIC GUN.

President McIlvain, of Bethlehem Steel Company, Has a Model of the “Long Cecil”.

President E.M. McIlvain, of the Bethlehem Steel Company, has received a model of a gun with a history, the “Long Cecil”, the big death dealing weapon that was a great aid in the defence of Kimberley, South Africa, when Cecil Rhodes was within its walls and the fighting Boers were making persistent and aggressive efforts to capture him and the city.
On the carriage of this gun, which was named after him and which he was probably largely instrumental in having built, Cecil Rhodes will be borne to his last resting place on the day of his funeral.
The gun was built in the workshop of the De Beers Consolidated Mines, at Kimberley, during the siege of 1899-1900, and constructed of such material as could be found about the shot. It was designed and built under the supervision of an American engineer, George Labram, and the principal work was done on American tools built by the Niles-Brement-Pond Company, of New York City.
The models, complete reproductions in every detail, were made at the Pratt & Whitney Works, Hartford, Conn., by order of George F. Williams, Manager of the De Beers mines, for presentation to her late Majesty, the Queen of England; Lord Roberts, Mrs Labram, the widow of the American designer, and others.
“We send you this model as an illustration of American genius and ingenuity”, wrote President McKinney, of the Niles-Brement-Pond Company, in his letter to President McIlvain, and the latter greatly appreciates the gift.
The model is enclosed in a glass case about two feet long, and is greatly prized by the recipient, not only because of the “Long Cecil’s” history, but because it is another evidence that even in South Africa the skill and genius of the American engineer and mechanic is ready to meet all emergencies and to provide for all necessities.


SEE ALSO: The "Long Cecil" Models.


















And a few less well-known photographs of the gun, mostly courtesy of the McGregor Museum, Kimberley.




The construction of the gun at the De Beers workshops. George Labram, chief engineer of the Company stands in the centre. His widow was one of the recipients of the Pratt & Whitney models.






















"Long Cecil" photographed at Cape Town. The gun was transported to the Cape for the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall's visit in August 1901, when it took part in a procession through the streets of the town. And again in 1902, when, on 3 April, the gun was used to carry Cecil Rhodes's coffin from Parliament House to Cape Town Cathedral. Note the braking system, which I believe was added for one of these processions.

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