Boer War Page 91b

Rare Boer War Discoveries

Below are some of the items the Canadian Boer War Museum has added to its collections in its ongoing efforts to preserve memorabilia from this period.

Boer War "Discoveries of the Summer" ( 2004)

Boer War Clock 1899
Rare indeed is this "Gentleman in Kharki" clock found in Jarvis, Ontario (below), the home town of Canadian Boer War hero William Knisley DCM. It is made of spelter. The figure, the helmet, and the clock are bolted in separately. Other than age there is no damage at all. The bayonet retains its sharp point. Clearly this has been lovingly preserved by someone for a long time.

The figure is Rudyard Kipling's long-suffering, ordinary British foot-soldier, Tommy Atkins, which he celebrated as the real hero behind Britain's world encircling Empire, the "Gentleman in Kharki" without whose constant suffering and hardship in remote places around the globe, Victoria's glory would not have been possible.
Great Canadian Heritage Treasure
Gentleman in Kharki Boer War Clock 1900
Spelter clock - Size - 5.5" x 7"
Found - Jarvis, ON
Signed British United Clock Co., Birmingham, England
Welcome Home William:

The same view, in Jarvis, towards the railway station, a century apart, featuring the dark house with the chimney in the middle. The parade welcomed home their Home Town Hero after his first tour in South Africa, where he won the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM), for gallantly rescuing a friend under heavy rifle fire.

Sadly, William returned to South Africa again, for a second tour, and was killed during the second worst battle Canadians fought during the war, and only weeks before the end of the war.

 

c Goldi Productions Ltd. 1996 & 2000