Duelling with Long Toms: An Account of the 16th Battery Southern Division R.G.A. During the Anglo-Boer War 1899–1902 Author: David Martin
Duelling with Long Toms: An Account of the 16th Battery Southern Division R.G.A. During the Anglo-Boer War 1899–1902 (Author-Signed First Edition)
The Rare Regimental History and Wartime Diary of a Heavy Artillery Battery Enmeshed in Artillery Duels Against the Creusot Cannons on the Veld
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: Duelling with Long Toms: An Account of the 16th Battery Southern Division R.G.A. During the Anglo-Boer War 1899–1902
- Author: David Martin
- Publisher: Private Publication / Impression Print Limited, London
- Publication Date: 1988
- ISBN-10: 0951321706
- ISBN-13: 9780951321706
- Edition Details: First Edition, First Printing (Private Press Release). Hand-signed by the author on the title page.
- Binding: Original publisher's premium heavy-gauge illustrated card wrappers (Softcover / Softback as issued).
- Physical Format: Octavo (8vo), 80 pages. Richly enhanced with structural battlefield maps, technical illustrations, extracts from the official battery war diaries, and archival photographs.
- Language: English
Official Condition Report
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The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+)
o Exterior / Wraps: The original illustrated heavy card wrappers are remarkably flat, square, and well-preserved. The gloss finish remains bright, with only negligible, faint storage friction along the corners and extreme card edges. The spine is completely crisp, uncreased, and undamaged, showing excellent shelf presence.
o Interior: The internal text block is immaculate and tight. The white pages, diary facsimiles, and tactical artillery illustrations are crisp and entirely free of foxing, user highlighting, annotations, dog-ears, or dealer pencil marks.
o Provenance: Features a highly collectible, authentic hand-written ink signature from the author, David Martin, positioned clearly on the title page. - The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)
Synopsis & Historical Value
While massive libraries have been written details regarding the strategic actions of imperial generals during the Anglo-Boer War, the grueling, daily realities of the non-commissioned gunner rarely receive a mention. Published privately in 1988, Duelling with Long Toms is a brilliant, highly specialized unit history that rescues one such group from obscurity. Author David Martin pieces together the authentic, day-to-day operations of the 16th Battery, Southern Division, Royal Garrison Artillery (R.G.A.).
While massive libraries have been written details regarding the strategic actions of imperial generals during the Anglo-Boer War, the grueling, daily realities of the non-commissioned gunner rarely receive a mention. Published privately in 1988, Duelling with Long Toms is a brilliant, highly specialized unit history that rescues one such group from obscurity. Author David Martin pieces together the authentic, day-to-day operations of the 16th Battery, Southern Division, Royal Garrison Artillery (R.G.A.).
Converted into a heavy battery at the explosive outbreak of the war, these men—including the author's grandfather, Gunner Henry Powell—were suddenly reassigned from a quiet peacetime coastal defense station in Malta to the brutal expanse of the South African veld. The text utilizes the unit’s raw war diaries to map their grueling journey: lugging massive 4.7-inch naval guns weighing four and a half tons over hundreds of miles across rugged kopjes using slow spans of oxen.
The narrative reaches its dramatic peaks as the unit finds itself constantly bombarded by and engaged in high-stakes artillery duels against the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek’s legendary "Long Tom" 155 mm Creusot cannons, which were brilliantly deployed by the Boers. Highlighting intense tactical field movements, extreme temperatures, dust storms, and the devastating onslaught of typhoid, this scarce private printing is an invaluable micro-historical record. It serves as an essential primary reference requirement for advanced students of Victorian artillery history and rare Anglo-Boer War militaria collections.
Author Profile: David Martin
David Martin is a dedicated British military historian, family archivist, and independent researcher. Motivated by a passion to preserve the frontline heritage of his grandfather's regiment, Martin spent years matching personal family records with official records at the Public Record Office. His rigorous research was so accurate that his work was utilized by South Africa's Department of Public Works during the official historical survey and subsequent restoration of the historic heavy guns displayed at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, cementing his reputation as an authority on R.G.A. deployments in South Africa.
David Martin is a dedicated British military historian, family archivist, and independent researcher. Motivated by a passion to preserve the frontline heritage of his grandfather's regiment, Martin spent years matching personal family records with official records at the Public Record Office. His rigorous research was so accurate that his work was utilized by South Africa's Department of Public Works during the official historical survey and subsequent restoration of the historic heavy guns displayed at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, cementing his reputation as an authority on R.G.A. deployments in South Africa.
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