I was born in Kimberley, a City full of history and from an early age learnt a great deal about the discovery of diamonds and the Anglo Boer War as my grandfather had been one of the early pioneers of the town and had also had taken part in the defence of Kimberley being one of the men that built the Long Cecil Gun. I was shown his Kimberley Star medal which was issued to all who helped to defend the town. As it is not a military medal it has to be worn on the right side of one's jacket. Once in I while my father used to take us out to areas outside the town to where skirmishes occurred and there fifty years after, some of the redoubts and shallow trenches were still visible. The great thing about these excursions was the hunting for spent ''doppies'' and bits of shrapnel that could still be found there. A very big outing would be a ride down to Modder River to the battlefield there and then on to the Magersfontein Battlefield. As a result , as I grew older, history became a hobby and over the years I have read a number of books on the subject of the Anglo Boer War, a subject that I equate with Politics and Religion, a subject to read up and then formulate one's own opinion but never get involved in heavy discussion. I have listed below some of the books I have read in case anyone would like to contact their library and read further on the subject. The South African and Transvaal War - Louis Creswicke in 5 volumes very biased towards Britain but has excellent photos and sketches of battles Commando - Denys Reitz The Hall Handbook of the Anglo Boer War - Darrell Hall Memoirs of the Boer War - Jan Smuts Life on Commando - Fransjan Pretorius Fire in the Sky - Owen Coetzer This is an excellent book on the Scorched Earth Policy and the Concentration Camps and the conditions there-in and Emily Hobhouse. Road to Infamy - Owen Coetzer The Concentration Camps A.C. Martin General De Wet - Eric Rosenthall Opsaal - W.H. Ackermann Goodbye Dolly Gray Rayne Kruger No Charge for Delivery - C.W.L. De Souza . This is a book of telegrammes sent during the War by Boer forces. The Diary of Iris Vaughn - Iris Vaughn The war in the Cradock area A Century of Anglo Boer War Stories - Chris v.d. Merwe and Michael Rice. Am about to read this over the holidays. Basil Brown