DR JAMESON'S RAID TURNED INTO TEARS .sx They waved a servant girl's pinnie to surrender to the commandos .sx by John Billot .sx Dr Jameson was the first man to have his name in the title on the box cover of a William Britain set of toy soldiers - and the company famed for its hollow - cast figures quickly renamed the set when the impetuous doctor's venture ended in disaster in December 1895 .sx The Jameson Raid , intended to sweep secretly and swiftly to reinforce a pro-British uprising in Johannesburg against President Kruger's Afrikaner republic ; but the Jo'burg plotters developed cold feet and the Boers were alerted to the intruders in the Transvaal .sx For two days , Dr Leander Starr Jameson and his Rhodesian Mounted Police , fought running battles with the sniping Boer commandos before the raiders raised a makeshift white flag , an African servant girl's pinnie .sx The doctor and the 600 men of his raiding party were carted off to a Pretoria prison , their leader in tears , and handed back to the British for trial - the price of failure without Government backing .sx So Dr Jameson and the African Mounted Infantry , Set 38 , suddenly became South African Mounted Infantry and the doomed doctor was discarded as a miscreant to history .sx But Britains 'cashed in' very nicely , thank you , on the Boer War with numerous sets of both sides .sx All these figures now fetch high prices and the ill - starred Jameson Raid excites collectors if the rare box title emerges as an auction-room item .sx Peter Turner , of Monmouth Metal Toys , Retreat House , Dorchester Road , Broadway , Weymouth , Dorset DT3 5LN is a specialist in reproduction figures with a variety of conversions that supplement the Britains range .sx He supplies most of the Britains Boer War figures , as illustrated on pages 54/55 in Andrew Rose's The Collector's All-Colour Guide to Toy Soldiers .sx ( Salamander/Tiger) .sx These include marching at the slope and trail , the on guard figure , which became a classical pose with a number of manufacturers for many regiments , and the officer firing a pistol , an especially sought-after item .sx The pose that attracts me most is the Boer at shoulder arms , a figure that Britains repeated for their RNVR Set 151 , first issued in 1908 , and a great favourite with Britains buffs .sx Especially interesting is Mr Turner's version of the Inniskilling Dragoons in khaki active service dress on the stub - tailed horse , which was used only for this Set 108 and Set 105 the Imperial Yeomanry .sx The Yeomanry , in slouch hats and bandoliers , were London's volunteer cavalry and it was the first time such units were involved in action overseas .sx The Boer War , of course , was the first major conflict that saw British troops adopt khaki .sx The days of the scarlet tunic and bearskins on the battlefield were over .sx Modern toy soldier makers prefer the colour of the traditional regimental uniforms , but no collection is complete without a contingent or two of khaki-clad figures and the Boer War , a collector's subject in its own right , has many adherents .sx Trophy Miniatures , of South Wales , one of the world's major manufacturers , recently announced an expansion of their Boer War range .sx Experience brought about the introduction of protective shields on field guns .sx Boer marksmen with their mausers enjoyed picking off gunners toiling to reload .sx There would not be anyone to load the guns unless something was done !sx .sx Len Taylor , boss of Trophy and a gunner during his Service days , has an impressive Royal Artillery heavy mobile gun in his range with four-man crew servicing it behind sandbag emplacement with ammunition box handy to keep the rounds coming .sx Sir Redvers Buller worked out the first systematic creeping barrage with his advisers to keep Boer heads down in their entrenchments while his infantry advanced .sx It was much appreciated by the PBI !sx .sx The British always had more guns , but they were inferior to the modern German and French field pieces of the Boers .sx Home-made guns made an appearance and the defenders of Mafeking used a 4.5in howitzer with a barrel made from a drainpipe !sx .sx Trophy Miniatures don't have to improvise in producing their high quality figures and we have some finely detailed sets of troops on the march , including the Highland Brigade with a couple of men shouldering their rifles butt-ends up , as shown in illustrations in the two-volume With the Flag to Pretoria .sx It is such little extra touches that make Trophy so distinctive in their production and their Boer War ox-cart is a typical example ; a little gem with one of the Naval Brigade seated on the wagon taking a gulp from his water-bottle ( note the tatoo on his arms ) while another figure sits , legs dangling from the tail - board .sx The native drover in wide-brimmed sun-hat cracks his whip .sx The gun team at the halt is another exotic item and is a pre - production mock-up especially for Military Hobbies to show collectors what creative Len has lined up for release shortly .sx A subject for one of the series of valour by new toy soldier makers could be Colonel John Chisholme , leading the dismounted Imperial Light Horse up the ridge against the murderous magazine fire of the Johannesburg Commando at Elandslaagte .sx The gallant colonel tied the red silk scarf of his old lancer regiment to his walking stick and , waving it inspiringly , climbed steadily until he fell riddled with bullets .sx Fixing their bayonets as they ran the Devons made the frontal attack , a thunderstorm shielding them somewhat from the hail of rifle-fire .sx The Boers offered a white flag and then suddenly launched a savage counter - attack , led by General Kock , in stove hat and black frock coat .sx It was quickly repulsed and the cavalry went in pursuit .sx Because of that white flag betrayal , the order was given :sx No prisoners .sx So three times the 5th Lancers and 5th Dragoon Guards crashed their bloody path through the crumbling commando .sx Two Boers on one pony were impaled by the same lance thrust .sx General Kock died of his wounds .sx Yet there were moments of chivalry in this war , for all that if a blackman were caught carrying a message for British troops he was lucky to escape with being flogged within an inch of his life .sx And the Boers had no qualms about using expanding bullets .sx The Devonshire Regiment was issued by Britains as Set 110 , marching , unusually with rifles on the right shoulder , and Lieutenant J E Masterson won the regiment's first VC in the defence of Wagon Hill .sx This action , during the defence of Ladysmith , is celebrated as a regimental anniversary .sx David Drennan , of Yorvic Figurines , 6 Lingcroft Close , Camblesforth , near Selby , Yorkshire YO8 8JT issues a small range of Boer War sets , including five pieces of the Imperial Light Horse .sx His Boers are the Mounted Sharpshooters and the Transvaal Mounted .sx There is a nine-figure set of CIV supply wagon with mounted and foot escort , a six-figure set of CIV in khaki , and Lancers in field service order .sx Giles Brown , of Dorset Soldiers , Latimer House , Castle Street , Mere , Wiltshire BA12 6JE has a nice figure of General Louis Botha astride a handsome white standing horse in his Set 312 , three figures including a colour bearer and guard on galloping mounts .sx Boer commandos wore their farm clothes and Mr Brown reflects this in his eight-figure set of dismounted fighters , although his four Staats gatling gun crew wear uniform .sx The Gordon Highlanders , in khaki tunics and clan kilts are forming a square in Set 310 and there is a particularly attractive Maxim machine gun unit of the CIV .sx The Field Artillery set with gun and limber drawn by six bullocks with three native drivers and seven gunners is an impressive major piece , a classic among modern toy soldier items and a substantial centrepiece for any display .sx There is a traditional charging figure in the Cornish Light Infantry set of an officer , pistol raised in readiness , and seven men in action .sx The bugler sounds the alarm .sx On their trotting horses , the Imperial Yeomanry make pleasing sets of three figures while there is the ever-popular mountain artillery with four mules carrying the dismembered gun and ammunition boxes , a mounted officer and six gunners after the original Britains style .sx In the Dorset Soldiers Wessex Range , designed by Andrew Rose , there is one of the most evocative sets of eight Boer figures in assorted poses and individual dress , including a characteristic frock-coated burgher and a nicely-modelled young drummer .sx Top marks for this issue .sx The renowned Gloucestershire Regiment , engaged in the defence of Ladysmith , were depicted as standing firing figures by Britains , who later redesigned the uncomfortable marching Devonshires with a pleasing , relaxed figure , at the trail .sx Now the Glorious Glosters , one of the very few remaining county regiments , have lost the identity granted them 110 years ago and been amalgamated with the Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment , which was formed in 1959 by the merger of the Royal Berkshire Regiment and the Wiltshire Regiment .sx So collectors will want some of the figures from the past of their favourite regiments , 'wiped out' by their own Government , who have accomplished what the Chinese army just failed to do in the Korean War .sx For three days in 1951 , the Glorious Glosters held back the Chinese hordes ; some 650 heroes battling against 30,000 well-equipped attackers .sx The men who had fought back-to-back at Alexandria in 1801 to earn the right to wear two cap badges , one smaller badge at the back of their headdress , had worthy successors in Korea .sx Amalgamation is a fate worse than anything they suffered on the battlefield for their country .sx There were suggestions that the Royal Welch Fusiliers merge with the Cheshire Regiment .sx That would have been more of a disaster than the Jameson Raid !sx They'll be thinking of amalgamating the Black Watch with the Queen's Lancashire Regiment next .sx .. The Black Watch , of course , were there in the Highland Brigade at the Magersfontein hills , advancing with khaki aprons covering the front of their kilts , no sporrans , bayonets fixed .sx But Boer bullets pinned them down under merciless fire and in the retreat they left their brigade commander , Major-General Wauchope , dead within two hundred yards of Cronje's trenches .sx British artillery saved the infantry from total destruction , the Royal Navy's 4.7in guns proving the answer to the Boers' Long Toms .sx Trophy Miniatures issue a splendid 4.7 with shafted limber , drawn by six yoked oxen , flanked by three native drovers .sx Two gunners are seated on the carriage while three gunners march alongside .sx A splendid piece , costing pounds190 .sx Derek Cross , of All the Queen's Men , The Old Cottage , Gilmorton , Lutterworth , Leicestershire LE17 says he is expanding their Boer War range .sx They have issued three limited editions in action poses relating to the Australian Light Horse , South African Light Horse and a Boer Commando .sx AQM also produce a Boer sentinel , standing guard , and a Boer Kommando on galloping horse , two outstanding single figure units .sx British forces are well represented with Guards Brigade , Highland Brigade and Line infantry in khaki .sx The Highland Brigade , displaying the khaki aprons , wear slouch hats instead of foreign service helmets .sx These are available in various poses , the kneeling loading figures particularly attractive , while officers with drawn sword and pistol advancing at the head of their men and Line sergeants waving their hats to encourage the advance also merit a place in a collection .sx The Grenadier Guards suffered a terrible ordeal during the battle at Biddulphsberg , in the Orange Free State , on May 25th , 1900 , not only losing men to the rapid sharp-shooters , but having comrades burned to death as fierce grass fires trapped them .sx Andrew Rose , who issues his Bastion range through P&B England , 49 Curling Vale , Onslow Village , Guildford , Surrey GU2 5PH , has designed a pleasing set of the Suffolk Regiment in action in the Boer War , eight figures in khaki with Slade Wallace equipment .sx The officer with bandaged head holds his pistol steady and the bugler boy sounds stand-to , as if surprised by Christiaan de Wet's guerrilla tactics .sx The daring de Wet ambushed the ox-wagon convoy at Waterval Drift with a raiding party , stampeded 3,000 oxen and stranded the British transport for the advance on Bloemfontein .sx