"Book Review: Breaker Morant The Final Roundup " Topic

"The execution of Harry "Breaker" Morant and two other officers of the Bushveldt Carbineers is one of those controversy riddled debates that rumbles onwards wether or not the subject is in the public eye. Honestly I am unable to comment as to wether the evidence presented in this latest contribution alters the scale one way or the other. For this reviewer is one of those mentioned in the introduction; a newcomer to the subject, therefore in reading this I was at least blessed with an open mind.
The authors have set out to round up all the available contemporary evidence for a thorough examination of the trial and the deeds that brought it about, in order to oppose the pleas of a vocal party wishing for posthumous pardons for the condemned. The question is was Breaker Morant a scapegoat for Lord Kitchener or was he a brutal murderer? This effectively makes the authors the prosecution of an already tried case, and as such their objective must be to affirm the findings of the courts martial that sent Morant and his fellow defendants anything else would constitute a verdict of not guilty.

The examination begins with a look at the character of Morant. He comes across as a rogue, albeit one with a likeable side. His continued duplicity in reinventing himself is strongly stressed here. The investigation is harsh but makes an effort to suppose the possibility of innocence, even though it sets out from the get go to condemning the guilty. In the initial chapters much of the legend is weighed as false or deeply questionable by strict adherence to written records where they exist.
Much of the problem that faces the "prosecution", however, is the fact that there is an near impenetrable legend of "the wronged man" and the "romantic rebel" surrounding the story. Added to this are yawning gaps in physical evidence that are noted in the text as gifts to conspiracy theorists.

The next significant point of investigation is to explore the context of Morant's presence in South Africa during the Boer war. A useful examination follows their overview of an interesting Victorian life, perhaps not untypical of many adventurers who travelled to the frontiers of the empire, of who influenced him and the environment created by the men of his regiment the Bushveldt Carbineers. Here we learn about his regiment and it's tough reputation, how it was organised and who it was that made it its ranks.
The ground having been cleared, a lengthy chapter delves into the dark deeds in northern Transvaal and then another is devoted to the trial…"

Full review
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Amicalement
Armand

Thanks. That might be a gift for my dad.

A votre service mon ami!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand