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Neville_C wrote: Bizarrely, the chap second from the left is sitting on the upended “grinder” thing. This suggests that it was a pretty robust piece of kit, whatever its function.
The “Z.A.” of “Z.A.R.” is just visible behind the bolt of the carbine.

I now see that what I thought were vertical slots near the base are, in fact, large stencilled numbers. It looks a bit like a post box from this angle.

With thanks to Tinus le Roux

..

A biscuit box perhaps? Or, as it's the Boers, a "Beskuit" (rusk) box.

Rory

Camp of the Devons in Ladysmith



'The heart of the town
The building in the centre is the Town Hall, used as a hospital'

Source: www.angloboerwar.com/forum/19-ephemera/3...the-union-jack#93299

'Not much used of late,
The railway station, Ladysmith'

Source: www.angloboerwar.com/forum/19-ephemera/3...the-union-jack#93318

Attached a rather battered sheet ,photographed in two, with copies of telegraph messages sent on February 23, 1900 between Chieveley and Pietermaritzburg in preparation of Buller’s final push to relieve Ladysmith. The last message, in pencil, to Lt. Alford is signed by an adjutant to Buller whose name I couldn’t decipher. Perhaps Rob can give us some information about the officers mentioned and provide context to these messages.

Now if only the fellows in this 1900 photo were named! Most, I should imagine, were medal earners with either the Ladysmith Town Guard or the Natal Government Railways.

Attached a period photograph of a sketch made by one J.H. Edwards of the Colenso Battlefields. The sketch is complemented by a few photographs borrowed by Edwards from the “South African Photographic and Stereoscopic Co”

Photographs from left to right:
Colenso Railway Bridge Destroyed by Boers
Colenso Road Bridge
Boer Trenches Hlangweni
Boer Foot Bridge
Tugela Falls
Colenso Hotel
Monte Cristo

There are no less than six J.H. Edwards mentioned on this site.