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Second Boer War photos found under Nottinghamshire bed

Hansons Soldiers with a baboonHansons
The pictures show a different side of life during the conflict in South Africa

Photographs depicting life during the Second Boer War have been found under a bed in Newark.

Michelle Pepper rediscovered the album of 100 pictures, which had been passed down as a family heirloom. She believed they may have originally belonged to an ancestor who fought in the war.

The images, which are set to go to auction in Derbyshire, are considered "high quality" for the period.

The war took place in South Africa between 1899 and 1902.

Hansons African tribesmenHansons
British soldiers watch as the African tribesmen dance

The war between the British Empire and two Boer states, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, claimed about 55,000 British lives.

But the images show another side of the conflict in which officers are seen eating lunch, resting in their tents and playing with a baboon called Charlie.

Hansons Charlie the monkeyHansons
Another was captioned as "Charlie the monkey" sitting on the shoulders of a major
Alamy Captain Harrison in JohannesburgAlamy
The picture was captured as Captain Harrison (left) being transported through Johannesburg

Mrs Pepper, from Newark, said: "I've had the album under my bed for six years [which was] passed down through my mother's side of the family.

"The images are fascinating but I decided it was time for them to be seen publicly."

Hansons Boer campHansons
Some of the pictures show the camps where the soldiers lived

Adrian Stevenson, from Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire, said the album was an "absolute treasure trove of historical images".

He said: "Many of the images are razor-sharp and of a high quality for the period."

Hansons Bridge blown up by the BoersHansons
This picture was captioned as "bridge blown up by the Boers"
Hansons British soldiers at lunchtimeHansons
Others show the British soldiers having lunch outside their tents

Mrs Pepper's album, which has an estimate of £400-£600, will be sold at Hansons Auctioneers on 29 November.

A different collection of Boer War images and memorabilia sold for £4,000 from an original estimate of £400, in July.