Wrecked British armoured train, 1900 (c)

Photograph, Boer War (1899-1902), 1900 (c).

Railways played an important part in the South African campaign and were frequently attacked by the Boers. To counter this threat, armoured trains regularly patrolled the main routes. Winston Churchill, then a war-correspondent, was travelling onboard one such train when it was ambushed by Boer commandos.

From an album collected by R Whittingham, Imperial Light Horse.