Evelyn Oliver Ashe

Besieged by the Boers: the Diary of a Doctor Within Kimberley During the Second Boer War, 1899 Evelyn Oliver Ashe

Under the Boer guns in Kimberley

At the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899, the two Boer states, the Orange Free State and the South African Republic, moved swiftly to attack the heart of Cecil Rhodes' empire-the diamond mining town of Kimberley. The by now unpopular Rhodes, who many held responsible for the conflict as a result of his involvement in the 'Jameson Raid,' galvanised the civilian population into a ramshackle but effectively organised defence. This combined with the efforts of the military garrison denied the town to the Boers and so began one of the legendary and lengthy sieges for which the Anglo-Boer War remains famous. Despite the unwelcome attentions of the Boer's artillery piece 'Long Tom' the town held out for 124 days until it was finally relieved. The author of this book, a doctor, was one of the besieged and his account is, of course, a vital source work on the conflict from its sharpest end. Available in softcover and hardcover with dust jacket.