'Hidden Hollow', Mafeking, 1900

Photograph by David Taylor (1867-1925), Mafeking, South Africa, 1900.

Artillery piece and crew in an entrenchment at Mafeking.

The most northerly town in Cape Colony, Mafeking was immediately besieged by the Boers following the outbreak of war. The British commander there was Colonel Robert Baden-Powell. His garrison included 750 locally raised troops and a force of 400 irregulars formed from the townspeople. In addition, more than 600 black Africans were employed as cattle guards. The Boer bombardment of Mafeking began on 16 October and ended on 17 May 1900, the longest of the war.

David Taylor was discharged from the 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry in Cape Town in January 1899. During the Siege of Mafeking he helped in the production of the Mafeking 'Blues', postage stamps designed by Dr W A Hayes. Taylor published a portfolio of his photographs tken during the siege. A member of the Mafeking Town Guard, Taylor commanded one of the twelve forts constructed to defend the town.