ONE of the largest private collections of Zulu war artifacts, books, postcards and other memorabilia ever assembled is to go under the hammer later this month.

Dennis Slack spent 25 years building the amazing collection at his home in West Cornforth, County Durham.

But with retirement approaching, 62-year-old Mr Slack has decided to free up some space by selling the lot.

Among the valuable exhibits are authentic uniforms, bullets and weapons that saw action on the battlefields of southern Africa, bound copies of the Illustrated London News and long out-of-print books.

Mr Slack said his interest grew out of a passion for toy soldiers.

"I used to collect them for restoration," he said. "It was just a hobby, but then a friend got me interested in the Zulu war and I just never stopped collecting."

Many of the more unusual pieces were sourced through the Victoria Military Society, a London-based group of like-minded enthusiasts who study military campaigns during the Victorian era.

Mr Slack even managed to get his hands on some of the props used in the classic 1964 movie Zulu.

"Although they adopted a bit of artistic licence, on balance it's a pretty accurate recreation of what actually happened," he said. "It is also a great action film."

Mr Slack is less complimentary about the sequel, Zulu Dawn, which he reckons is: "A very bad film, but still pretty close to reality."

Auctioneers Anderson and Garland say the collection is one of the best they have ever seen and has already attracted international interest.

John Anderson, the firm's collectables' specialist, said: "British efforts to subdue the Zulus in the late 19th Century resulted in some of the most fiercely fought battles in British military history.

"This year is the 125th anniversary of three of the most important - Isandlwana, Rorke's Drift and Ulundi - all of which took place in 1879.

"When legendary Zulu chief Shaka took over the tribe earlier in the century he transformed it into the most formidable fighting machine on the African continent.

"It was this fighting machine the British took on. Each battle is represented in the collection by dozens of weapons and other artifacts used by both sides in the conflict."

Among the potential bidders is Mr Slack's daughter, Andrea, who is thinking about buying a full figure in military uniform as a family heirloom.

Nowadays, it would be almost impossible to build such a collection.

The South African government placed restrictions on the export of Zulu artifacts when it created the Kwa Zulu Natal region, in 1994.

Mr Slack has entered other items into the sale on December 14, including non-British conflicts such as the American Civil War.

Although the collection is expected to make thousands, Mr Slack will not be there to see it go under the hammer in Newcastle.

"Although I've finished with the collection, I still don't want to see it sold off," he said.

And is he really free of the collecting bug?

"For the time being, although who knows what may pique my interest in the future."