History_of_War_43_2017

ARTEFACT
of
BOER WAR
GAME OF CHANCE
Produced in 1900 by the games manufacturer
J Jaques and Son (a company that still exists
today), Boer Or Briton was an oddly sanitised
reaction to an horrific but faraway conflict
This unique game for children reflected the jingoism of the British public
towards a brutal conflict in South Africa
The Second Boer War was a grim
and controversial conflict. Between
1899-1902, tens of thousands
of people died during the British
Empire’s attempt to annex the
Boer republics of the Transvaal and the Orange
Free State. It was a conflict characterised by
imperial blunders, guerrilla warfare and, most
chillingly for the new century, the widespread
use of deadly concentration camps.
Despite the awful realities, the British public
were consumed by a wave of patriotic jingoism
in the face of dogged Boer resistance and
fascination with the war grew, even among
children. Perhaps the most famous impact of
the war on British children was the subsequent
creation of the Boy Scout Movement by the
Colonel Robert Baden-Powell, but there was also
an immediate impact on young people.
Schoolchildren were educated in the
‘superiority’ of the British Empire and military
themes became popular, including jingles. One
of these went: “Lord Roberts and Kitchener,
General Buller and White/Went to South
Africa to teach the Boers how to fight.”
The war was also extensively covered in
magazines such as Boy’s Own Paper and
Girl’s Realm, and catering for children
resulted in companies manufacturing
model soldiers and board games.
All of the board games required dice and
some required strategic skill, such as
The War In South Africa or Called To Arms.
However, Boer Or Briton: A New South African
War Game was a game of chance, with players
required to use numbered cards, alphabet
letters and a spinning top to determine whose
side they were on. It seems remarkable today
that the conflict was viewed so frivolously.
This board game is on display in
the newly reopened National Army
Museum in Chelsea, London.
The museum is open daily from
10.30am-5.30pm (8pm on the first
Wednesday of every month).
For more information visit: www.nam.ac.uk
Image: National Army Museum
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