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SECOND BOER WAR, South Africa. Mafeking. Besieged by the Boers, 13 October 1899-17 May 1900. Ten Shillings (161x120mm). Issued by Colonel Robert Baden-Powell. Dated March 1900. Pick S654b. A few pinholes, folds and tears, staining on reverse, weak signature. EF.
By autumn of 1899, war between the British and the Boer settlers in South Africa was inevitable. Hesitant to send in a fully equipped force and insight a military response, the British instead dispatched Colonel Robert Baden-Powell and a handful of officers, without artillery or horse, to raise two regiments of mounted rifles from Rhodesia. Most of his untrained recruits, however, could not ride, and were instead gathered in Mafeking.
When war broke out in October, Boer forces quickly moved to capture Mafeking and eliminate the British contingent there. Instead of a quick victory, the engagement devolved into a siege that would drag for months. The presence several prominent personalities in the besieged city, including Lord Edward Cecil, the son of the prime minister, brought considerable attention in the press, and the relief of the city in May 1900 would reinvigorate flagging British morale.
During the siege, Baden-Powell employed the Mafeking Cadet Corps – a group of teenage boys organized by Lord Edward Cecil – to scout Boer positions and movements. Following the war, Baden-Powell would publish Scouting for Boys, and with others found the scouting movement. His experience with the Mafeking Cadet Corps during the siege is widely held to have been the inspiration behind his later involvement with youth scouting.
By autumn of 1899, war between the British and the Boer settlers in South Africa was inevitable. Hesitant to send in a fully equipped force and insight a military response, the British instead dispatched Colonel Robert Baden-Powell and a handful of officers, without artillery or horse, to raise two regiments of mounted rifles from Rhodesia. Most of his untrained recruits, however, could not ride, and were instead gathered in Mafeking.
When war broke out in October, Boer forces quickly moved to capture Mafeking and eliminate the British contingent there. Instead of a quick victory, the engagement devolved into a siege that would drag for months. The presence several prominent personalities in the besieged city, including Lord Edward Cecil, the son of the prime minister, brought considerable attention in the press, and the relief of the city in May 1900 would reinvigorate flagging British morale.
During the siege, Baden-Powell employed the Mafeking Cadet Corps – a group of teenage boys organized by Lord Edward Cecil – to scout Boer positions and movements. Following the war, Baden-Powell would publish Scouting for Boys, and with others found the scouting movement. His experience with the Mafeking Cadet Corps during the siege is widely held to have been the inspiration behind his later involvement with youth scouting.