'Our war history in cartoons is unique': J.M. Staniforth, British public opinion, and the South African War, 1899-1902

This article analyses the wartime cartoons of the News of the World’s J.M.Staniforth, whose work reached substantial audiences at the time and in republications. The cartoons tell us about the cartoonist’s views and also suggest the attitudes of his readership, particularly in respect of the approach and outbreak of war; responses to British military reverses; the welfare of servicemen and their families; the controversy surrounding the ‘scorched earth’ policy. Even patriotic supporters of imperial expansion were unable to conceal their doubts and unease over both the causes of the war and the methods by which it was pursued