Sydney, CB
Atkinson Bros.
Private Post Card
postally unused
The image on this postcard shows contingent of soldiers on horseback with artillery in tow, likely likely the 17th Sydney Filed Battery on parade, possibly prior to departure for the Boer War.
According to Kenneth Joseph Donovan in his “Cape Breton at 200: historical essays in honour of the Island's bicentennial”, a field artillery company was formed in Sydney in 1859. In December 1895, the Sydney Filed Battery was renamed the 17th Sydney Field Battery. By 1899, the Sydney Battery had 101 men and 29 horses and 8 nine pound guns capable of firing more than 2,000 yards.
As of July 1, 1900, the Sydney Battery had been reduced to a 53 man garrison artillery company in order that the balance of the company could depart for service in the Boer War, where a number of men joined “E” Battery of the field artillery of the Canadian Contingent. The 17th Sydney Filed Battery was officially restored July 1, 1902 after the end of the Boer War.
Below, a detail from the card.
