Siege of Mafeking Siege of Mafeking The Siege of Mafeking was a 217-day siege battle for the town of Mafeking (now called Mahikeng) in South Africa during the Second Boer War from October 1899 to May 1900. The siege received considerable attention as Lord Edward Cecil, the son of the British prime minister, was in the besieged town. The siege turned the British commander, Colonel Robert Baden-Powell, into a national hero. The Relief of Mafeking (the lifting of the siege), while of little military significance, was a morale boost for the struggling British. Shortly before the outbreak of the Second Boer War in
Mafeking, Ontario Mafeking, Ontario Mafeking was a small hamlet in Southwestern Ontario that is now a dispersed rural community. Located at the intersection of Tower Line Road and the 9th Concession of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh (Belgrave Road) it is approximately 9 km from Lucknow and 31.5 km from Goderich. At its peak population in 1901, Mafeking was home to about four families. The first log schoolhouse was built in the area in 1861, and was replaced by a permanent brick structure in 1924. Known officially as SS#9 but more commonly referred to as Finlay's School or Mafeking School, the one room schoolhouse operated from