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Auction: 24028 - Stamps and Covers of British Africa
Lot: 1004

(x) Anglo-Boer War, 1899-1902
The Steven Walske Collection of the Boer War Sieges
Siege of Mafeking: 13 October 1899 to 17 May 1900
1899 (Nov.) envelope from Base Commander Colonel Vyvyan to his wife in London carried out by military courier to Mochudi and then sent by rail to Bulawayo, bearing Cape 1d. cancelled by "D" in diamond of bars at Bulawayo with another complete strike below and "bulawayo/rhodesia" datestamp alongside; the envelope with some minor peripheral creases. Rare. Photo

Note: This cover was carried from Bulawayo via Beira, then by the dispatch ship "Formosa" to Cape Town, following with Union Castle Line's "Norham Castle" to Southampton.

Lt. Col. Vyvyan of the Buffs was stationed in Mafeking to prepare for war and he trained members of the Town Guard some months before hostilities began. He was Town Commandant during the siege. He served in both the Matabele and Mashona Rebellions in Rhodesia.

provenance:
Ken Griffith, October 2001

Subject to 5% tax on Hammer Price in addition to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium.

Estimate
£1,000 to £1,500

Starting price
£800