Author: Compiled by Kingsley Field

Published: 2007

Publisher: New Holland

Format: Hardback

Pages: 144

Suitable: Senior Secondary / General

'Soldier Boy takes us into the world of Harry Gilbert, a slim, young (in fact under-age) New Zealand trooper who served in the 7th Canterbury Mounted Rifles during the latter stages of the Boer War in South Africa. Though more than a century has passed since that conflict, Harry's tour of duty is brought vividly to life through these letters home to his family - the shooting of deserters, the terror of being under fire, the lack of food, the desecration of fine old Boer homes. The letters themselves form a remarkable series of documents, many written hastily on scraps of paper between skirmishes. Though several letters have been transcribed, retaining his idiosyncratic spellings, some are reproduced in facsimile format and are accompanied by fascinating photographs. Harry later returned to New Zealand and became a Presbyterian minister, ending his days in peace in Hamilton.