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
Ladysmith Barracks Ladysmith Barracks Ladysmith Barracks was a British military installation on Mossley Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester. The barracks were originally established under the name of Wellington Barracks, in response to the threat from civil unrest associated with the Chartist movement, as accommodation for cavalry regiments between 1841 and 1843. In 1873 a system of recruiting areas based on counties was instituted under the Cardwell Reforms and the barracks became the depot for the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot and the 96th Regiment of Foot. Following the Childers Reforms, the 63rd and 96th Regiments amalgamated as the Manchester Regiment with its