If the part played by the Royal Navy in the Boer War has been overlooked among all the land based operations then this book will help to put matters right; the naval guns, brought ashore on improvised carriages, enabled the army to cope on equal terms with the Boer artillery and Royal Marines supplemented army units. A brigade of 17 officers and 267 men was at Ladysmith with guns to match those of the Boers; 33 died, of these one officer and five men were battle casualties , 27 (two of them officers) died from disease. And naval gun detachments outside the town played a big part in the relief. Another brigade, in Cape Colony, joined Lord Methuen s Kimberley relief force and took part in the battle of Belmont on 23 November 1899. Two days later a brigade which included 200 marines were in action at Graspan (also known as the battle of Enslin), a strong Boer position, and in the operations leading to its capture the marines lost 3 officers and 86 men of a total casualty list of 9 officers and 185 men. This is a comprehensive account of operations involving naval and marine units and appendices include casualty details, names of officers and details of honours and awards, including mention in despatches.