Despite being well-led, trained, and equipped at the outbreak of the Second Boer War in October 1899, the British army was unprepared for the guerilla-style tactics their enemy employed, suffering more than 3000 casualties and several defeats in the first two months of the conflict. On December 12th, as the leadership in London was attempting to formulate a plan to counter the Boer threat, 28-year old reservist Lieutenant Simon Joseph Fraser the 14th Lord Lovat & 22nd chief of the clan Fraser, approached the War Office with a proposal to raise two companies of Scottish Highlanders, one mounted and one infantry, for use as elite units with the express mission of neutralizing the Boer on their own terms. Dur: 25mins File: .mp3