In the hierarchy of Victorian celebrity culture, military heroes came second only to the Queen herself. With the British Empire at its peak, filmmakers jostled for glimpses of conquering heroes like Lord Kitchener and Field-Marshal Roberts.
The second Boer War was the first major conflict of the film era, and a few intrepid pioneers travelled with their cameras to South Africa. Military commanders kept them away from the front lines, meaning they rarely captured anything of the fighting, the footage they sent home gave filmgoers an unprecedented window on the war. Other filmmakers, meanwhile, were content to re-enact skirmishes at home, or to film processions of departing or returning troops to excite patriotic audiences.
