Book Review: 'Carvings from the Veldt: Part Three'

The third and final volume of Dave C. George’s trilogy of books, which features stock carvings from the Boer War, contains detailed information on another 343 firearms related to the subject. The third book has the most firearms of the trilogy, compared to the first book's 139 firearms and the second's 309.

It also has one of the most helpful compilations found in any gun book including a list of Boer Mausers, sorted by serial numbers and makers, that is then cross-referenced with the Boer who carried the gun. This comprehensive study (contained as one of the appendices) features all of the Mausers (not the Enfields, Martinis, and other shoulder arms) that are discussed in all three books.

Published in 2016, this book, like its predecessors, features photographs of each firearm with its carved wooden stock along with appropriate insignia, accouterments and period photographs. While a few of the carvings are only initials and names, the overwhelming majority of them truly are works of art. Moreover, they chronicle the service of both Boers, and also that of their British Commonwealth adversaries.

The South African Republic (“Transvaal” or “Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek”—“ZAR”) had advised its citizen-soldier volunteers to mark their rifles with their names, and soon, many, if not most, of the Boer burghers started carving not only their names, but the names of their farms and villages, the battles in which they fought and the dates of their service, on the stocks.

As is the case with the first two books in this series, the biographical information about the owner of each firearm, and the gun’s provenance, provides a stark look at the sufferings of the Boer people. It also recounts the dedicated service of the “Khakis” who fought for “Queen and Empire.”

Price: Hardcover is $56USD and Softcover is $42USD. Shipping: By air, with tracking, is $46USD. Contact: David C. George at david.george7@bigpond.com.

Website is: boerwarriflecarvings.net. Payment is via PayPal ($5 charge.)