Boer War: Influence of the Media

Question 1

Name a publication which shows photos of soldiers killed in battle after Spion Kop

Answer 1

The Illustrated London News

Question 2

What did the Times say about the war after Spion Kop?

Answer 2

Said that the army and country paying a heavy price for the lack of planning

Question 3

What did Queen Victoria send to her ‘dear brave soldiers’?

What did she comment about the war?

Answer 3

100,000 tins of chocolate and knitted clothing

‘We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat, they do not exist’

Question 4

What did the public nickname Sir Redvers Buller after his failings?

Answer 4

Sir Reverse

Question 5

How did the army change its approach to recruitment after Black Week?

Answer 5

Recruitment drive – particularly for cavalry and mounted infantry

Question 6

Which newspaper sent Churchill to Africa as a war correspondent?

Answer 6

The Morning Post

Question 7

What military contribution did Churchill make during the war?

Answer 7

Rescued an ambushed armoured train, was one of the first into Ladysmith and Pretoria

Question 8

What was Churchill’s attitude towards the war as a journalist?

Why did his readers like his writing style?

Answer 8

Generally supportive, believed in victory, but uncensored and revealed deficiencies of the army

Wrote in a lively way, made them feel closer to the action

Question 9

What was the nickname for the election of 1900?

Answer 9

Khaki election

Question 10

What reaction did the public have to victories after Black week?

What word became the new (short-lived) term for street celebrations?

Answer 10

Mood became optimistic again - flag-waving in streets, theatres, and music halls

Mafeking

Question 11

Name 2 popular patriotic music hall songs

Which subject did anti-war songs often talk about?

Answer 11

‘Tarraboomdeeay’ and ‘Goodbye Dolly’

Lost loves

Question 12

Why was there grudging respect for the Boers?

Answer 12

Reminded them (especially children) of cowboys in the Wild West

Question 13

Which 2 new daily papers were strictly imperialist?

Answer 13

The Daily Mail and the Daily Express

Question 14

Which editor was sacked after refusing to take a more pro-war stance?

Answer 14

Massingham, editor of the Daily Chronicle

Question 15

Why did newspapers gradually become less supportive?

Answer 15

Questions about Spion kop, why the siege stook so long to lift/troops suffering shortages/ concentration camps.

Question 16

Which journalist, who was once a supporter of Rhodes, became less supportive as the war dragged on, founding the organisation ‘Stop the War’?

Answer 16

W.T Stead

Question 17

What was the name of the review Stead wrote that accused the army of intentionally starving children in camps?

What did he call the policy?

Answer 17

The Review of Reviews

‘a cold-blooded deed of state policy’

Question 18

During the election of 1900, what was the press largely in favour of? Who won?

Answer 18

Government policy – Salisbury won (Conservative who had been leading before the election)

Question 19

What attitude did political parties have towards the war?

Answer 19

Conservatives by and large in favour of the war – Liberals split

Question 20

Who was the leader of the Liberal Party? What was his attitude towards the war?

Answer 20

Henry Campbell-Bannerman – tried to hold the Liberals together butt spoke against the war’s darker side

Question 21

Name a prominent figure in the Liberal Party that was for the war

Answer 21

Asquith

Question 22

Name a prominent figure in the Liberal Party who was against the war

Answer 22

David Llyod George

Question 23

Which organisation did Hobhouse found in September 1900 to collect money for Boer families?

Answer 23

South African Women and Children’s Distress Fund

Question 24

When did Hobhouse leave for South Africa?

Answer 24

December 1900

Question 25

Which camp had Hobhouse heard of, only to discover there were over 40?

Answer 25

Port Elizabeth

Question 26

Which camp did Hobhouse arrive at?

Answer 26

Bloemfontein

Question 27

Which supplies did Hobhouse pack when she left for South Africa, not realising that people needed food?

Answer 27

Blankets, medicine, comforts (like soap)

Question 28

What was the food situation like at Bloemfontein when Hobhouse arrived?

Answer 28

Food was inadequate and selective – meat not given to women whose menfolk were fighting
Few or no vegetables, no fresh milk
Many children dying of malnutrition

Question 29

Name some diseases that were spreading in the camps due to the lack of toilets and clean water

Answer 29

Typhoid, whooping cough, diphtheria, diarrhoea, dysentery, measles

Question 30

After returning to Britain and reporting to the Distress Fund committee, when did Hobhouse’s report reach the government?

Answer 30

June 1901

Question 31

Name a liberal newspaper that published extracts from Hobhouse’s report

Answer 31

The Manchester Guardian

Question 32

When did the government send a committee of enquiry to South Africa due to the Hobhouse report?

Answer 32

August-December 1901

Question 33

What happened to Hobhouse after the report was received?

Answer 33

Wasn’t asked to join the committee of enquiry
Refused permission to return to South Africa and was deported when she tried to land.
Went to France to write a book about her experiences.

Question 34

What action did the government take after the Fawcett Committee corroborated Hobhouse’s findings?

Answer 34

Responsibility for the camps was taken away from the army, passed to civilian administration

Question 35

What had the camp death rate fallen to by the end of the war?

Answer 35

2%, less than the average death rate in Glasgow

Question 36

Which reformer did the failings in the Boer War influence?

Answer 36

Haldane