Bombardment of Ladysmith Anticipated: The Diary of a Siege Author / Editor: Alan Chalmers (Featuring the diary of George Charles Maidment)
Bombardment of Ladysmith Anticipated: The Diary of a Siege (First Edition with Map)
George Maidment's Direct, Eyewitness Record of the Anglo-Boer War Siege
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: Bombardment of Ladysmith Anticipated: The Diary of a Siege
- Author / Editor: Alan Chalmers (Featuring the diary of George Charles Maidment)
- Publisher: Covos-Day Books, Weltevreden Park
- Publication Date: 2000
- ISBN-10: 062024996X / ISBN-13: 9780620249966
- Edition Details: First Edition, First Printing. Standard Trade Paperback Release.
- Binding: Original publisher's premium high-gloss illustrated card wrappers with a reinforced square spine.
- Physical Format: Trade Paperback, Octavo (8vo), 321 pages. Complemented by historical photographs, annotations, and a large fold-out military siege map housed safely inside the built-in rear pocket.
- Language: English
Official Condition Report
- The Book: Very Good (VG)
- Exterior / Wraps: The high-gloss illustrated wrappers are bright, unclipped, and structurally firm. It shows very minor shelf friction along the lower edge tips, with a completely uncreased, straight spine.
- Interior: The pages are clean, crisp, and free from annotations, highlighting, or ownership stamps. The binding remains perfectly firm. The vital fold-out military map in the back pocket is intact, flat, and completely free of tears or misfolds.
Synopsis & Historical Value
Published in 2000 by Covos-Day, Bombardment of Ladysmith Anticipated provides a gritty, unvarnished look at the 118-day Siege of Ladysmith during the Anglo-Boer War. Author Alan Chalmers presents and contextualizes the diary of British Army orderly George Maidment, who found himself trapped in the town alongside 21,000 British troops surrounded by Boer commandos.
Maidment’s daily entries capture both the monotony and the terror of the siege. He documents the constant shelling from Boer Long Tom artillery, the spread of enteric fever, and the severe food shortages that eventually forced the garrison to eat their own horses. Written from the perspective of an ordinary soldier rather than a general, this diary offers a valuable counterpoint to official histories, highlighting both individual resilience and imperial military blunders.
Author Profile: Alan Chalmers
Alan Chalmers is a dedicated South African military historian and researcher specializing in the regional conflicts of KwaZulu-Natal. His work focusing on private diaries and personal papers from the Anglo-Boer War has been widely praised by collectors for its readability and historical precision. By discovering and thoroughly annotating George Maidment’s long-forgotten diary, Chalmers preserved an essential piece of frontline history from the turn of the century.
bombardment of ladysmith anticipated, alan chalmers, siege of ladysmith diary, angola boer war books, george maidment diary, covos day books, boer war military map.