Museum given rare artwork made by soldier

Artwork thought to have been crafted from a military uniform during the Second Boer War has been handed over to the Staffordshire Regiment Museum.

Walsall grandmother June Miller gave the artefact to the Lichfield museum yesterday. It is thought to have been made as a greeting card by her great-grandfather Simeon Williams.

He served in the First Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment during the war fought in South Africa between 1899 and 1902.

Ms Miller, aged 61, of Sutton Road, acquired the artefact more than 30 years ago after the death of her grandmother Tabitha Williams, who lived in Leamore.

The artwork bears two union flags, the dates of the Second Boer War and an inscribed message, which also says it is made from the soldier's "tattered" and "worn" khaki drill coat.

Staff at the museum, based next to the Whittington Barracks, said it was the first piece of art they had seen from the Second Boer War — which was fought between Dutch-speaking settlers and soldiers from the British Empire.

Ms Miller said: "My grandmother died in 1975 and I found it in her belongings. It was folded up inside a box.

"I was talking about it with a friend and he thought the museum would be interested in having it."

She added that she never knew her great-grandfather.

Assistant curator Willie Turner said it was an interesting addition for the museum.

"We come across a lot of this from the First World War. It's called trench art," he said.

"It's surprising what soldiers can produce.

"There's been embroidery and soldiers have turned bullet cases into lighters."