His military career led him to become appointed as assistant military secretary to the General Officer Commanding Cape Colony in 1895. He went to Southern Rhodesia in 1896 to disarm the local police force following the Jameson Raid and then later to command the Matabele Relief Force during the Second Matabele War. In 1899 he returned to Southern Rhodesia as Lieutenant-Colonel where he led the Siege of Mafeking during the Second Boer War. Plumer returned to the United kingdom in 1904 and received an audience with King Edward VI. Lord Kitchener, Commander-in-Chief in South Africa stated "invariable displayed military qualifications of a very high order.Few officers have rendered better service." Plumer received many honours - British and foreign. Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (1918; Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (1916); Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (1917); Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (1924); Knight of Grace of the Venerable Order Of St John (1925); Legion of Honour (France-!917); Croix de Guerre (Belgium-1918); Croix de Guerre with Palm ( France-1919); Distinguished Service Medal (United States-1919); Grand Cordon, Order of the Rising Sun (1921) Individual image from photographed poster of tobacco and cigarette cards.cape colony, southern rhodesia, jameson raid, matabele rrelief force, second matabele war, siege of mafeking, second boer war, lord kitchener, knight grand cross of the order of st michael and st george, knight grand cross of the order of the bath, knight grand crossof the royal victorian order, knight grand cross of the order of the british empire, knight of grace of the venerable order of st john, legion of honour, croix de guerra, croix de guerra with palm, distinguished service medal, grand cordon, order of the rising sun

Cecil Rhodes was a British businessman, mining magnate and politician in South Africa. He was Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. He believed in British Imperialism and he and his British South Africa Company formed the territory of Rhodesia in the early 1890s. He was forced to resign as Prime Minister in 1896 after the disastrous Jameson Raid, an unauthorised attack on Paul Kruger's South African Republic (Transvaal), which sent his brother to prison convicted of high treason and nearly sentenced to death. This event contributed to the outbreak of the Second Boer War. Rhodes went to Kimberley in a political move. During the war the military felt he was more of a liability than an asset and found him intolerable. The officer commanding the garrison of Kimberley, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Kekewich, experienced serious personal difficulties with Rhodes because of the latter's inability to co-operate. However, he still remained a leading figure in the politics of southern Africa. Rhodes was dogged by ill health his whole life. He died in 1902, aged 48, at his seaside cottage in Muizenberg. He was cared for by Leander Starr Jameson during his illness, becoming a trustee of his estate and residuary beneficiary of his will, which allowed him to continue living in Rhode's mansion after his death. His final will left a large area of land on the slopes of Table Mountain. Part of the estate became the upper campus of the University of Cape Town, another part became the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. The rest was spared development and is now an important conservation area. His will also provided for the establishment of the Rhodes Scholarship. Individual image from photographed poster of tobacco and cigarette cards.cecil rhodes, mining magnate south africa, politician south africa, prime minister cape colony, british south africa company, rhodesia, jameson raid, paul kruger, south africa republic, transvaal, second boer war, kimberley, robert kekewich, leander starr jameson, muizenberg, table mountain, university of cape town, kirstenbosch national garden