Call Of Empire

The British empire at the end of the 19th century could be found around the world.

Queen Victoria had seen the British empire through a long and distinguished reign.

Here we have items from her Diamond Jubilee.

In South Africa, two breakaway republics tried to assert their own independence. Dutch-descended farmers called Boers challenged British authority in two wars. Canadians would get involved in the second one as part of the empire. Eventually, seven thousand Canadians served.

This is the hat of a Canadian soldier, who placed it on an ant hill to test the accuracy of a Boer sniper. Note the hole near the top.

Uniforms had changed, with earth tones dominating the colour. In an age of increasingly accurate weapons, fighting in red serge was a thing of the past.

This field gun saw action at the battle of Leliefontein. In time, the empire would win the war, but it became a guerilla conflict, with the Boers striking and running away.

This is the medal set of Georgina Pope, a nurse who served in the South African War with distinction, and later the First World War. She would become the first matron of the Army Medical Corps, with responsibility over all nurses.