Wallis, William Fletcher, 1874-1958: Photograph album relating to service in the South African War (1899-1902)

Album of photographs taken in 1901 by Lieutenant William Fletcher Wallis during his service in the South African War (1899-1902) with Sixth New Zealand Mounted Rifles. One image showing Wallis was taken by an unknown photographer. Album probably compiled by Wallis.

Images show various subjects, including:

- Scenes aboard the steamship Cornwall transporting the 6th Contingent to South Africa, including pistol practice, horses in stables on deck, washing on line, soldiers relaxing in deck chairs, and arrival in Table Bay

- Soldiers standing in line or posing informally with rifles and bandoliers. Also Africans attached to the New Zealand Contingent as labourers or scouts.

- Blockhouses of various kinds

- Soldiers marching and riding horses in columns across the veldt, and being transported in open train wagons

- Scenes on the veldt and at encampments, including soldiers resting, washing, repairing equipment, butchering animals, having dental work, firing artillery, shoeing horses, and breaking in horses. Also wide views of encampments.

- Regimental sports such as tug of war, bareback mule wrestling, and high jump. One image captioned "What are they doing?" may show soldiers gambling.

- Zulu people in villages. One image shows the weaving of a hut.

- Signalling using heliographs

- Combat scenes with field artillery and pom-pom guns (QF 1 pounder) being fired by the Royal Artillery

- Mounted soldiers burning Boer houses, escorting prisoners and refugees, and dead livestock

- War graves, including that of Sergeant Major Sidney Smith, who is shown alive in several previous images

- General Plumer riding across a stream and consulting with staff

- William Fletcher Wallis riding in rickshaw with a `Lieut. Wood' in Durban

Numbers appear on all the prints, but their significance is not known. Many of the photographs have captions, some illegible.

Source of title - Title supplied by Library

Inscriptions: Front cover - "Boer War. South Africa. 1901" and "Taken by Lieut Wallis. 6th N.Z.M.R."

Relationship complexity - One photograph was published in the 10 Oct 1901 issue of the Weekly News, and two others in the 31 Oct 1901 issue. Other images credited to Wallis and not found in the album were also published in these issues.

Relationship complexity - Several identical images appear in the John Crawford book `To fight for the Empire' (Auckland: Reed, 1999), where they are credited to the Stowers Collection, Kippenberger Archive, Army Museum, Waiouru

During 1901, when the photographs in the album were taken, William Fletcher Wallis served with the Sixth New Zealand Mounted Rifles in Transvaal, Orange Free State, and Cape Colony

Quantity: 1 album(s).

Physical Description: Green album measuring 18 x 25 cm, with white lettering and gold insignia on cover

Back cover is detached from end papers and requries careful handling