Photograph Album: Images from the South African (Boer) War
Entry/Object ID
P2115
Description
One photograph album containing 105 silver gelatin silver photographs depicting images from the South African (Boer) War. Some photographs have captions below them. Glued to grey cardboard pages and bound in a black cover. The majority of the photographs were taken by then Lt. A.C. Caldwell, a native of Lanark County, Ontario. On cover: "PHOTOGRAPHS"; red and white sticker: "B2-42 / 15".
Made/Created
Date made
1899
Notes
Additional create date: 1901
Inscription/Signature/Marks
Notes
On cover: "PHOTOGRAPHS"; red and white sticker: "B2-42 / 15"
See file for photograph annotation.
Lexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
Album, Photograph
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
Album
Nomenclature Sub-Class
Memorabilia
Nomenclature Class
Documentary Objects
Nomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication Objects
Search Terms
Gelatin Silver, Gelatin Silver, Communication Artifacts
Major-General Alexander Clyde Caldwell was born in Lanark County on 3 June 1874 and after graduating from the Royal Military College Kingston in 1898, served with the 2nd Special Service Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry during the South African War. Caldwell was a Lieutenant in the First Canadian Contingent and sailed from Qu�bec City aboard the Sardinian in late October of 1899, arriving in Cape Town one month later. Caldwell served as an Officer in the Royal Canadian Engineers and experienced firsthand the horrors of early "industrial warfare". He later witnessed the pivotal battle of Paardeberg in February of 1900 in which the Canadians conducted a night advance and forced the surrender of Boer General Piet Cronje and over 4,000 of his men. The Canadians were called "the fighting germ at the heart of the British army" and the hard fought victory was seen as a national triumph. Caldwell returned to Canada in December of 1900 after a prolonged tour of duty and the 2 R.C.R.I. was disbanded. After a distinguished military career Caldwell obtained the rank of Major-General in 1936 and passed away in Ottawa on 31 May 1939 at the age of 65.
Notes
This amazing photograph album came down to the Museum through A. C. Caldwell, and provides a rare and uncensored glimpse into Canadian experiences during the war in South Africa. The album contains several official war photographs, however, many were taken by Caldwell himself, and annotated in his own hand.
