[ Cameron Highlanders in the Boer War. ] Ten photographs of the regiment in the Transvaal, a portrait photograph of Scovell in dress uniform, and a photograph of the British dead at 'SPIONS [sic] KOP NATAL'.

Of the twelve items (all black and white), the ten small photographs are uniform at 7 x 9 cm; the portrait of Scovell is 21 x 13 cm., and the image of the Spion Kop battlefield 14.5 x 11 cm. Accompanied by a note by Scovell on a slip of paper: 'Relics of the S. African Campaign | 1901-1902 | belonging to G. J. S. S'. The ten small pictures and are in good condition, loose and in an envelope. The ten images are all evocative outside shots, with subjects including: a view of the whole battalion on a horizon line, with the the setting sun behind them; seven officers in khaki crouching down to look at a map outside an encampment; three men in kilts carrying a heavy load towards a wall of sandbags (the wearing of the kilt on active service was abolished at the end of the Boer War); an Indian soldier with a donkey; a convoy with cattle crossing rough terrain; and Dannhauser Station. Scovell's portrait is also in good condition, tipped-in onto a leaf removed from an album, depicting Scovell in dress jacket, trews and boots with spurs, with plumed hat in one hand, the other on the hilt of his sword, and one foot on the steps of a building. The Spion Kop print is worn and has been folded both vertically and horizontally. It is a cut-down version of a celebrated image, but with 'SPIONS KOP, NATAL' scratched onto the plate. From Scovell's papers (other items from which are offered separately). Educated at Haileybury and Sandhurst, Scovell was gazetted to the Cameron Highlanders in 1900. He was only twenty years old as the present account of his activities in the Boer War begins, and with a distinguished military career ahead of him. He would go on to serve on the General Staff in the First World War, and be appointed deputy Director-General of Recruiting in 1917, retiring from the Army the following year to become General Secretary of the Liberal Party from 1919-1922. For more information, see his entry in 'Who Was Who', and his obituary in The Times, 29 April 1948.