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Lot Essay
The muzzle-loading howitzer known as 'The Wolf' (named in honour of Baden-Powell using his native nickname) was manufactured in the Mafeking railway workshops, and used during the siege of 1899-1900. It augmented the existing battery of four 7-pound guns, a single 1-pound Nordenfeldt gun, and an old ship's gun (a relic from an earlier war). The barrel was formed from a steel steam pipe reinforced with iron rings with a brass breech shrunk over one end, the latter being secured to the brass trunnion band by four iron bands (fitted after the original breech blew off during an attempt to fire at 3,000 yards). The chassis of a farm threshing machine formed the basis of the carriage. The gun was put on display in 1902 at the Royal United Services Museum, Whitehall, and was moved to the Museum of Artillery in the Rotunda in 1963.
According to the note accompanying this lot, four models of 'The Wolf' were made in the Mafeking railway workshops. Of the four, one was kept at Mafeking, one was presented to Field Marshal Lord Roberts, one to Lord Baden-Powell, and the present example given to Colonel F.W. Panzera (credited in the note with designing 'The Wolf'), who as a Major in the British South Africa Police had commanded Mafeking's artillery throughout the siege.
According to the note accompanying this lot, four models of 'The Wolf' were made in the Mafeking railway workshops. Of the four, one was kept at Mafeking, one was presented to Field Marshal Lord Roberts, one to Lord Baden-Powell, and the present example given to Colonel F.W. Panzera (credited in the note with designing 'The Wolf'), who as a Major in the British South Africa Police had commanded Mafeking's artillery throughout the siege.