Mafeking, South Africa. 1899. A Boer Creusot siege gun shelling Mafeking during the 220 day siege ...

Mafeking, South Africa. 1899. A Boer Creusot siege gun shelling Mafeking during the 220 day siege in 1899. This gun was one of four large Creusot guns which the Boers purchased from France. The soldier, standing on the platform on the trail behind the breech, is sighting the gun over open sights. The soldiers with the poles in the wheels and under the trail are manoeuvering the gun in the required direction and the soldier standing behind the wheel, with his right hand on a crank wheel, is adjusting the elevation. A shell fired by this gun can be seen on the platform behind the breech and another is on the ground near the wheel. General Cronje lay siege to Mafeking on 14 October 1899 and siege was not lifted until May 1900. The British commonly used the term "Long Tom" to describe this sort of long barrelled gun. (Donor B. Goldsworthy)