'How Sergeant Major Robertson (Gordon Highlanders) won his Victoria Cross', cigarette card, 1900 (c)

Cigarette card published by Morris and Sons Limited, one of a set of twenty cigarette cards commemorating winners of the Victoria Cross during the Boer War (1899-1902), 1900 (c).

Sergeant Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) William Robertson (1865-1949), Gordon Highlanders, leading an assault at the Battle of Elandslaagte on 21 October 1899. 'The London Gazette' reported that, 'Though exposed to a deadly cross-fire from the enemy's rifles, he gallantly held on to the position captured, and continued to encourage the men until he was dangerously wounded in two places'.

Cigarette cards were produced from the mid 1870s until the end of World War Two (1939-1945). Used to strengthen thin cigarette packs the cards were quickly developed into advertising devices. Series of cards covering every conceivable subject, from sportsmen to flora and fauna, were produced to encourage collectors and potential smokers alike.