Author Description

A compilation of letters written by the author as a young officer in the Gordon Highlanders, With the Gordon Highlanders to the Boer War and Beyond is an excellent and authoritative commentary on the course of the Boer War. These witty and poignant letters give a vivid blow-by-blow account of the fighting and hardships that Gordon-Duff and his fellow soldiers endured on a daily basis. The letters, illustrated with many contemporary photographs, paint a remarkable picture of the endurance and determination of these Highlanders of whom Winston Churchill said, "undoubtedly they are the finest regiment in the world." These men were forced to march up to twenty miles with little sleep or food, and with extraordinary stoicism, faced veldt sores, insects, snakes and wild animals. This often witty and amusing book is enlivened by pencil sketches, caustic comments about the general staff, and letters written by Gordon-Duff's family at home in Scotland and London.