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Return of Kitchener (1902)

1 Jan 1902
Silent
1m

Lord Kitchener, Commander-in-Chief of the British army, returns from South Africa to cheering crowds.

Lord Viscount Kitchener may not have had the avuncular appeal of his contemporary Lord Roberts, but his return from the Boer War in South Africa was greeted by a rapturous London public. This film is shot from a position behind the veteran troops lining the route, somewhere in St James' or Hyde Park. We get a glimpse of the great man, signalled by an enthusiastic reaction from the crowd.

Kitchener, famous as the face of the WWI 'Your Country Needs YOU!' recruitment poster, is today the most recognised military figure of the Boer War. But in the immediate aftermath of the war, he was just one of the campaign's several heroes, competing for public affections with Lord Roberts, General Buller and Lt General Baden-Powell.

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From the collection

Back from the War

Britain's troops return from war in South Africa to a rapturous welcome - despite more ambivalent public attitudes to the Boer War itself.

A few adventurous film companies journeyed to South Africa to capture (mostly heavily sanitised) film documents of the Second Boer War (1899-1902). Mitchell and Kenyon, like most others, stayed at home, choosing instead to film reconstructed or dramatised war stories. But as they visited towns and cities across the North, M&K also captured the jubilation that greeted homecoming troops.

There's no sign here of public misgivings about what had been a brutal and hard-won war, nor any hint of disrespect for the military commanders who appear in several films. Instead, the overwhelming focus is the ranks of ordinary soldiers, and the collective joy and relief for their safe return.