Boer War chocolate found in UK attic
A can of 1899 Rowntree candy bars was found in the attic of a private home in Immingham, Lincolnshire. It is reported by the BBC.
The chocolate box was almost intact, missing only one bar. The chocolate was found in a box of old clothes that belonged to the current landlady’s late husband’s grandfather. The ancestor of the former owner of the house participated in the Boer War, and boxes of chocolate were sent to British soldiers in South Africa as a gift from Queen Victoria.
According to Paul Cooper of the Eddison auction house, this brand of chocolate has an interesting history.
“The queen thus decided to cheer up the troops fighting in the war, which for Britain at that time was developing rather unsuccessfully. She personally paid for the delivery of chocolate gift sets to the soldiers. The problem was that the owners of the main British chocolate factories Rowntree, Cadbury and Fry actively opposed this war, and they were horrified at the thought that they could benefit from the supply of their products to the front, ”says Cooper.
As a result, the confectioners agreed to supply chocolate for free, hiding the name of the manufacturer on the labels. The brand was indicated only on a few candies from the package.
A 122-year-old can of chocolate will be sold at auction on Tuesday. Its estimated value is £200.
The Second Boer War, or simply the Boer War, was fought between 1899 and 1902 between the British Empire and two independent Boer states. The parties fought for control of South Africa. The war ended with the signing of the Vereniginsky Treaty in May 1902. As a result of the treaty, the Boers recognized British sovereignty with limited self-government.
