'A 'Mud Hall' Prison, where British Officer Prisoners were kept, South Africa', 1900.

One of a boxed set of stereoscope photographs produced for sale to the general public by a profesional firm of photographers, Underwood and Underwood. The Second Boer War (1899-1902) was the first war to be covered comprehensively by both film and still photography. This was the result of improved technology in both photographic equipment and printing techniques. The Boers took a number of British officers and men prisoner as they enjoyed succes on the battlefield in the early part of the war. These included future Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who, while working as a war correspondent for the Morning Post, was captured when the Boers ambushed a British armoured train near Chieveley, Natal. He later escaped to Mozambique.