THE courage of men who laid down their lives for their country in the Boer War has been honoured to mark the centenary of the end of the conflict.

Members of the Friends of the Green Howards Museum, in Richmond, North Yorkshire, commemorated the return of officers and men to the region by laying a wreath at the regiment's South African War Memorial, near York's Skeldergate Bridge.

The granite obelisk was unveiled in May 1904 and was restored by City of York Council two years ago.

It bears the names of the 184 men of the regiment who died in the Boer War - 67 in action or from wounds, and 117 from disease. They include Victoria Cross holder Sergeant Alfred Atkinson, who, at the Battle of Paardeberg in February 1900, left the trenches seven times under fire to collect water for his desperate colleagues.

He was fatally wounded on the last attempt, but his courage earned him a special mention on the memorial.

The 1st, 3rd and 4th Battalions of the Green Howards, as well as many volunteers, fought in the Boer War.

Members of the regiment were away from Britain from December 1899, when they sailed for South Africa, until August 1902.

In all, 250,000 British and Empire soldiers fought for Britain in the Boer War - 22,000 died, two-thirds of them from disease.

During their visit to York, the Friends of the Green Howards Museum were given a guided tour of the Regimental Chapels of the West Yorkshire Regiment, the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and the Duke of Wellington's Regiment.