Relief of Ladysmith Relief of Ladysmith When the Second Boer War broke out on 11 October 1899, the Boers had a numeric superiority within Southern Africa. They quickly invaded the British territory and laid siege to Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking. Britain meanwhile transported thousands of troops both from the United Kingdom itself and from elsewhere in the Empire and by the time the siege of Ladysmith had been lifted, had a huge numeric superiority. The Colony of Natal was bisected from east to west by the Tugela River which rose in the Drakensberg (to the west) and flowed into the Indian Ocean to
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