Vijf soldaten achter een stenen verdedigingsmuur bij Slingersfontein, 25 januari 1900

This stereograph, ‘Five Soldiers Behind a Stone Defence Wall near Slingersfontein’, was made on January 25th, likely in 1900, by an anonymous photographer. It depicts a scene from the Second Boer War fought in South Africa at the turn of the century. These types of images were mass-produced to satisfy the public’s hunger for news of the conflict, which was widely reported in the British press. They offer us insight into the social and political climate of the time and how institutions such as the press and the military shaped the narrative of the war. Note the way that the soldiers are positioned behind a wall, as if bravely defending themselves against an unseen enemy. It is images like this that sustained a heroic image of the British soldier. As an art historian, I might look at a range of sources to better understand this image: newspaper reports, military records, and personal accounts from soldiers and civilians, all to understand how this seemingly simple photograph played its part in shaping the public’s understanding of a complex conflict.