WITH THE SCOTTISH YEOMANRY

First Edition: 198 pages, original red cloth, title in black on cover and spine, a very good copy.

Mendelssohn (Sidney) South African Bibliography volume 1 page 459: 'The letters from which this volume was compiled were originally published in the Arbroath Guide, and were written to inform "readers of that newspaper, who were interested in the Scottish Yeomanry, of their fate and fortune in South Africa. The author sailed in the transport Cymric, embarking on the Mersey on February 29, 1900, and arriving in Table Bay on March 20th. The Scottish Yeomanry were at first encamped at Maitland, and later were posted at Stellenbosch, Wellington, and Worcester, until, having been trained for six weeks, they were sent up country to the seat of war, and they took an active part in the Free State campaign, in the course of which they visited most of Mr. Steyn's capitals. Mr.Dewar states that while in camp at Uitkyk, near Lindley, the commander-in-chief gave orders to lay waste "a certain" bellicose district "through which the army was passing, and he observes, "Acting on instructions from Lord Roberts, we have been burning the farms of the unrepentant.

'Theoretically, it is wise policy, strategically, it is necessary, in practice, it seems harsh and cruel. Yesterday a farm in the Doornberg was visited. The farmer, his wife, and his daughters were all there. Some of us entered, and one of the daughters was playing 'Home, sweet home on the piano.

'The Boer was brought down to camp to interview the General. He goes, it has been decided, to Ceylon. By evening the smoke of the burning farmhouse, piano and all, was rolling and curling upward like a cloud between us and the sunset sky."’

'Dr. Thomas Finlayson Dewar (C.B., M.D.) was a highly respected Scottish physician, military surgeon, and pioneer in public health. While history remembers him for his vivid frontline books, his true legacy lies in his lifelong battle against infectious diseases like tuberculosis, typhoid, and influenza across Scotland.' (National Institute of Health)