Gordon Highlanders in Ladysmith

The Scottish regiment joins the relief column following the devastating siege of Ladysmith in the Boer War

Filmmaker WKL Dickson was alive to the historical significance of this Boer War film: its creation marks the end of the 118-day siege of Ladysmith, in which more than 3,000 British soldiers died. Dickson assiduously recorded its making (“by 10 a.m. we have secured a Biograph... of the beleaguered Gordon Highlanders”) and used it on the cover of his book The Biograph in Battle. With nothing striking to differentiate it from other troop films, we must assume that contemporary audiences were as appreciative of its context as its creator.