A Victorian silver and enamel vesta case

A Victorian silver and enamel vesta case,

by John Banks, Chester 1900,

rectangular form, the hinged cover with a ring attachment, the front enamelled '1881 MAJUBA, wiped-out 1900', length 4.5cm, approx. weight 1oz.

During the Second Anglo-Boer War, "Remember Majuba" was a rallying cry of British soldiers. It referred to the British defeat at Battle of Majuba Hill on 27th February 1881 during the First Anglo-Boer War. Exactly 19 years later, on 27th February 1900, General Piet Cronjé and 4,000 of his men surrendered after the British victory at the Battle of Paardeberg. In the jingoistic poem, The Absent-Minded Beggar, by Rudyard Kipling, there is a line which reads: "He is out on active service, wiping something off a slate". Hence the wording on the vesta: "MAJUBA WIPED OUT" signifies the restoration of British pride. Reference: www.southAfricanmedals.com.