Lost San Francisco BEFORE the earthquake: 19th-century photographs of the young California city show landscape which was razed by devastating 1906 quake and fire

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• 247 black and white stereoscopic photo cards include panoramas of the bay before the Golden Gate Bridge 
• The pictures were taken 50 years before the 1906 earthquake, when 3,000 people were killed in the disaster
• Alcatraz prison, which was built in 1910, is also missing in the album going for auction at Bonhams for $7,000 
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Fascinating photos showing San Francisco in the 1860s before it was flattened by a massive earthquake have been unearthed after 150 years.

The images show the distinctive street scenes of the Californian city 50 years before 80 per cent of it was wiped out by the 1906 earthquake which killed 3,000 of its citizens.

The 247 black and white photos include numerous panoramas of the bay. Conspicuous by its absence is the iconic Golden Gate Bridge which wasn't built until the 1930s.

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A collection of 247 black and white photographs show a snapshot of San Francisco in the 1860s before it was flattened by the 1906 earthquake. The pictures are stereoscopic cards, which are meant to be viewed through special glasses to give the image a 3D effect. Pictured, a view from Telegraph hill on to where the Golden Gate Bridge would be built 70 years later. The famous structure was opened in 1937. Pictured right, the view now

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Pictured, a view from Telegraph Hill of Alcatraz Island, where the notorious prison was built in 1910. At the time the original photograph was taken, the island could have been used as a military prison for Civil War PoWs. San Francisco was founded on June 29, 1776 by colonists from Spain. Pictured now, the view on to Alcatraz now

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The impressive collection of photographs will go on sale at Bonhams on April 25. Pictured, Montgomery Street, the financial center of San Francisco. The area is now known as the 'Wall Street of the West' (right). In the 1906 earthquake, the important road was decimated by the natural disaster. At the end of the street, the lavish Palace Hotel had to be completely rebuilt after it was destroyed by a fire in the aftermath of the shock

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Mission Dolores is the oldest surviving structure in San Francisco and was built in 1776. Also known as Mission San Francisco de Asis, the church was named after Saint Francis of Assisi. He is also the namesake of the Californian city. The mission was badly damaged by the 1906 earthquake but survived intact. Pictured right, the church now

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In the 1906 earthquake, three quarters of the city was flattened and 3,000 people were killed. Within a decade, San Francsico was completely rebuilt on a grid structure. The city is universally known for its treacherously steep hills and spectacular scenery. Pictured then and now, a panorama from Russian Hill, looking out on to the bay

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Pictured a panorama from Russian Hill, which was named after the Gold Rush era when settlers found a small Russian cemetery on top of the hill. In the 1906 earthquake, around 250,000 people were made homeless by the earthquake. They had to sleep in tents in Presidio, a park at the southern tip of what would be the Golden Gate Bridge. Pictured right, the view from Russian Hill now

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Photographs taken by Carleton E. Watkins show the Golden Gate Straight, Alcatraz Island, Russian Hill, the Waterfront and Woodward's Gardens. The collection are going up for auction at Bonhams, valued at $7,000. Pictured the Grand Hotel, San Francisco, which does not exist today Also missing in the photos is the notorious Alcatraz prison was developed on a rocky island in the bay in 1910.

The pictures are stereoscopic cards, which are meant to be viewed through special glasses to give the image a 3D effect. 

The city which is universally known for its treacherously steep hills and spectacular scenery was captured in all its glory by American photographer Carleton E. Watkins.

What happened in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake? 

On April 18, 1906, San Francisco was hit by an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale. It is remembered as one of the greatest natural disasters in American history.  

The earthquake, which started at 5.13am, killed more than 3,000 people at a time when the city had a population of 400,000. 

28,000 buildings were also destroyed in the disaster, effectively flattening the city. After the earthquake, San Francisco had to be completely rebuilt.

Even though the tremors of the earthquake only lasted for a few minutes, the shock ignited fires that burned for several days after. 

The risk was so great that people forced out of their homes had to cook in the street to make sure there were no more fires. 

Around 250,000 people were made homeless by the earthquake, who had to sleep in tents in Presidio of San Francisco, a park and former Army base. 

The damage was valued at around $500million at the time, the equivalent of around $10.5billion now. 

The rebuilding of the city, which took almost a decade, was completed in 1915. 

San Francisco was redesigned on a grid structure, which remains to this day. His pictures show the Golden Gate Sraight between San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean, Alcatraz Island, Russian Hill, the Waterfront and Woodward's Gardens.

There is a photo of the regal Merchants Exchange building which housed city traders and businessmen, as well as the splendid view from the grounds of Governor Stanford who was Governor of California between 1861 and 1863.

Also included in the album are several photos of Russian Hill whose name goes back to the Gold Rush era when settlers discovered a small Russian cemetery at the top of the hill.

There is an image of several trams being pulled by horses in Montgomery Street, of a glass building in Woodward's Gardens and of a church in Mission Street.

The photo album is tipped to sell for $7,000.

Judith Eurich, director of photographs at auctioneers Bonhams New York, said: 'I think what stands out about this collection is the fact that it is so comprehensive.

'You've got so many views of iconic places in San Francisco during the 1860s and you can see where the city is beginning to expand tremendously and become a real modern city.

'It has been a private collection which has come down a family by descent.

'The collector is just someone who is passionate about the history of San Francisco so that person has accumulated all these stereo views we will be offering.

'The photos have probably been in the family since the 1950s so it's a lifelong passion.'

San Francisco was founded on June 29, 1776 by colonists from Spain.

The California Gold Rush of 1849 brought rapid growth as treasure seekers flocked to the area in search of a fortune. Silver discoveries further drove a surge in the population.

With hordes of people streaming through the city, lawlessness was common and parts of the city gained notoriety as a haven for criminals, prostitution and gambling.

Three-quarters of San Francisco was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, but the city was quickly rebuilt.

After the Second World War, San Francisco became the center of the 'hippy' counterculture and liberal activism in the United States.

The auction takes place on April 25.  

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Pictured, the view from the grounds of Governor Stanford. Leland Stanford served as governor for two years. From 1885 to 1893 he was the senator for California. An elaborate church stretches out at the front of the photograph. After the Gold Rush  of 1849, the city gained notoriety for being a haven for lawlessness, prostitution and gambling

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After the Second World War, San Francisco became the centre of the 'hippy' counterculture and liberal activism in the United States. California is particularly prone to earthquakes as the state lies along the San Andreas faultline, where two tectonic plates meet. Pictured, a view from the grounds of Governor Stanford. 

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Pictured, at Woodward's gardens, which was in use from 1866 to 1891. The amusement park was set up in the Mission District of the city. Owner Robert B Woodward made his fortune during the Gold Rush and built the site, which included an aquarium, zoo, and art gallery, on his estate. In 1889, the amusement park also included Monarch, the grizzly bear who would later be immortalized on the flag of California

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Pictured, the Merchant's Exchange, which boasted a library and offices for businessmen. A second building was completed in 1904 at a site three miles away. The newer building was badly damaged in the 1906 earthquake but managed to stay intact. The damage inflicted by the earthquake across the city was valued at around $500million at the time, the equivalent of around $10.5billion now.

Pictured, San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. 4,000 troops were drafted into the city after the earthquake to help with the rescue mission. When the public soon started looting shops and rioting, police were able to shoot anyone caught looting, to act as a deterrent 

That summer was ripe for change. It was only two years after the Watts riots in Los Angeles, 3 1/2 years after the Kennedy assassination, and more and more American troops were being sent to fight in the Vietnam War. Against the backdrop of an ever widening chasm between the nation's youth and their parents that would eventually be dubbed "the generation gap," young people all over the country headed toward San Francisco.

1966 Fox Plaza, it stands on the site of the former Fox Theatre, demolished in 1963. I remember  walking thru Van Ness and Market St. the strong winds of San Francisco magnified like a wind tunnel. It Acts like a sail, that many times my hat blew away. My recollection about this building were all positive, all the five years of my stay in Highway design and Urban Planning. The first twelve floors contain office space. Unlike many buildings, Fox Plaza has a 13th floor actually labeled "13", although this floor is the service floor and is not rented out. The 14th floor contains a gymnasium and laundry facilities as well as apartments, while floors 15 through 29 are exclusively rental apartments. The main attraction during coffee break was the fashion show atmosphere of beautiful young ladies well chosen by private companies at Fox Plaza to the delight of bachelors like us. San Francisco was undeniably one of the most important epicenters of change. The city's history with the Renaissance poets, the Beats, and a vibrant folk scene left it in a good position to serve as a cultural engine, and the ignition of the San Francisco Sound came from dozens of sources, from Bob Dylan, Paul Butterfield, and the British Invasion to UC-Berkeley's 1964 Free Speech Movement, the evolution of freeform FM radio, and the proliferation of hallucinogenic drugs. By 1967, San Francisco was the most psychedelic city in America, if not the world

A few customers stand beneath the doomed marquee on the night of February 10, 1963. The building was demolished and in its place the "Fox Plaza" was constructed a combination office and apartment building. Fox Plaza 5th floor was the site of my office in Urban Planning, Dept. of Transportation, State of California in the late 60's.  The last film's were shown on February 15, 1963. The following night an event called "Farewell to the Fox" tookplace. After a week or so of selling off artifacts from the theater the wreaking ball took over The 1906 Great Earthquake of San Francisco in colour: never-before-seen photos uncovered a century later in the Smithsonian

 

The snaps were unearthed in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History of what is considered the worst natural disaster in US history . Thought to be the first colour photos from the devastating earthquake were taken by pioneer photographer Frederick Eugene Ives

The first colour images of what is considered the worst natural disaster in U.S. history have emerged, showing in beautiful and horrific detail the deadly force of the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. The subsequent fire that engulfed the city left more than 3,000 dead and thousands more injured. Images of the devastation left behind were captured by pioneering photographer Frederick Eugene Ives. The never before seen snaps of the city's downtown area were taken from the roof of the Hotel Majestic, where Ives stayed on an October 1906 visit, and were unearthed by a volunteer at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Skyline: These images look South East from the Hotel Majestic roof, towards what appears to be the dome of City Hall on the horizon (centre right) His shots show the devastation in the North East of the city, near San Francisco Bay. They were stowed amid other items donated by Ives' son, Herbert, and discovered in 2009 by volunteer Anthony Brooks while he was cataloguing the collection.   Hand-colored photographs of the quake's destruction have surfaced before, but Ives' work is probably the only true color documentary evidence, Shannon Perich, associate curator of the Smithsonian's photography history collection believes.

Previous images: The subsequent fires tore through the city leaving nearly two-thirds of the population homeless The pictures are street-level shots of San Francisco's shattered downtown and rooftop views overlooking miles of ruins. They depict buildings damaged by fire and broken by the shaking ground. Some of the buildings still exist. The process he used to produce colour images, creating separate slides for each primary colour in the light spectrum, required a long exposure and therefore was not conducive to capturing people and objects in motion. Ives is well-known for inventing the half-tone reproduction process still used to print photographs in newspapers. The Great Earthquake measured 7.9 on the Richter Scale as was felt as far away as Orgeon, Los Angeles and Nevada. Around 227,000 and 300,000 people were left homeless out of a population of about 410,000 and lead to refugee camps set up along the coast, which were still operational two years after the quake. The cost of the damage from the earthquake was estimated at the time to be around $400million, which is around $9.5 billion in today’s money. She said Ives was one of only a few photographers experimenting with colour photography in the early 20th century and that his San Francisco images were meant to be viewed through a 3D device he invented but which never became a commercial success. Perich told the San Francisco Chronicle: ‘Can you imagine how shocking these were?’ The Hotel Majestic, Ives base for these photographs, was built in 1902 - four years before the earthquake struck - and still stands on Sutter Street today. It claims to be 'San Francisco's oldest continuously operating hotel'. The history section of its website, relating to the time of the disaster, states: 'The terrible fires that ravaged the city were halted at Van Ness Avenue, two blocks from The Majestic.'

San Francisco hill

San Francisco view today from the Coit tower.

Downtown San Francisco Bay View from Kite Hill in San Francisco

This map of San Francisco shows the hotel where Ives stayed and from its roof he pointed his camera East to Union Square and South to City Hall to photograph the destruction in color .

The quake caused around $9billion-worth of damage in today's money, and the extent of it can be seen in this shot of Union Square, with the Victory statue in the distance Vibrant: Downtown San Francisco before the  1906 earthquake

San Francisco City Hall, 1906 The 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco largely gutted City Hall. Source: U.S. Geological Survey

Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

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THE FIGHT FOR INDEPENDENCE: THE MAU MAU REBELLION

Sarah Onyango, Barack Obama's grandmother has revealed Mr Obama's grandfather was tortured by the British during the Mau Mau rebellion

Barack Obama's grandfather was imprisoned for two years and tortured by white British soldiers during Kenya's bloody fight for independence, his family have said.

Hussein Onyango Obama, the U.S. President-Elect's paternal grandfather, worked as a cook for a British army officer after the war. 

He became involved in Kenya's independence movement, which spiralled into a terrifying uprising by guerilla fighters known by the mysterious name 'Mau Mau'.

Hussein Onyango was arrested in 1949 and jailed for two years in a high security prison as the British struggled to quell one of Africa's bloodiest and most desperate rebellions against colonial rule.

'The African warders were instructed by the white soldiers to whip him every morning and evening till he confessed,' Sarah Onyango, Hussein Onyango’s third wife, told The Times. 

Describing how white soldiers visited the prison every two or three days to carry out 'disciplinary action', the 87-year-old said her husband was subjected to horrifying violence.Share

'He said they would sometimes squeeze his testicles with parallel metallic rods. They also pierced his nails and buttocks with a sharp pin, with his hands and legs tied together with his head facing down,' she was quoted as saying.

The alleged torture was said to have left Mr Onyango permanently scarred, and - like many Kenyans arrested and accused of being part of Mau Mau - bitterly anti-British.

Terror: Mau Mau fighters are rounded up by spear-carrying local defence troops and men of the Lancashire fusiliers in Kenya during the rebellion

'That was the time we realised that the British were actually not friends but, instead, enemies,' Mrs Onyango said. 'My husband had worked so diligently for them, only to be arrested and detained.'

The British response to the Mau Mau rebellion - officially known as the Kenya Emergency - is widely controversial.

Barack Obama mentioned his grandfather's imprisonment in his book 'Dreams from my Father'

The guerilla nature of the uprising, combined with wild rumours of terrifying 'oathing' rituals and even the name itself - the meaning of which has never been determined - struck terror into the hearts of the outnumbered white settlers in Kenya.

The response was, in many cases, as Mrs Onyango described: a horrific crackdown on Kenyans, even those with no link to Mau Mau. 

The movement had its roots in the Kikuyu tribe, but other tribes in Kenya - such as the Luo tribe, which Mr Onyango was part of - sympathised with the independence movement, especially once British anger turned on all Kenyans. 

British fear became such that some academics have argued their response to the uprising only radicalised Kenyans who may otherwise not have felt as strongly about the violent path to independence.

One scholar, John Lonsdale, wrote: 'If one were treated as Mau Mau by police, it looks as if it seemed prudent to become one.'

A full ship's company crowded with shoulder to shoulder with spectator march through the streets of Mombassa. The parade was held as a deliberate show of force in the fight against the Mau Mau

Mr Onyango, according to Mrs Onyango's account, was one of those embittered against the British, though there is no suggestion he actually became a Mau Mau fighter after his imprisonment.

Mr Obama refered briefly to his grandfather’s imprisonment in his best-selling memoir, Dreams from My Father, but stated that his grandfather was 'found innocent' and held only for 'more than six months'.

The Mau Mau uprising officially lasted from 1952 until 1960, though the insurgency was growing in the years before that when Mr Onyango was arrested. 

It was eventually quashed by the British - but the tensions it created, not only between Kenyans and the British, but between white Britons in Kenya and the British Government, may have hastened Kenyan independence in 1963.

Castration and conspiracy: How British government covered up torture of the Mau Maus for 50 years

• 'Torture victims' in court for landmark claim against British government
• Files exposing abuse were flown out of Kenya on eve of independence
• 50 year cover up as damning papers languished in Foreign Office
• Successful case could open floodgates from claims around world

A Government ‘cover-up’ of one of the darkest episodes in British colonial history emerged yesterday on the eve of a High Court battle by veterans of  Kenya’s independence war.

Around 300  boxes of documents ‘lost’ for almost half a century have been unearthed as four elderly Kenyans claim compensation for torture carried out against Mau Mau rebels.

The Kenyans say they suffered ‘unspeakable acts of brutality, including castrations and severe sexual assault’ in  British-run detention camps during the rebellion against colonial rule between 1952 and 1960.

Prison camp: Thousands of suspected rebels were rounded up during Kenya's Mau Mau rebellion

Arrests: Alleged Mau Mau terrorists go before a court charged with beating and hacking a number of people to death

The 1,500 files –  documenting efforts to put down the Mau Mau guerrilla insurgency –  were spirited out of Africa on the eve of Kenya’s independence in 1963 and brought to Britain. The missing documents, with material that ‘might embarrass her Majesty’s Government’ removed, were thought to have been lost or destroyed.

But after a High Court judge ordered the Government to produce all relevant evidence, the files – which filled 110ft of shelving – were found in the Foreign Office.

They are expected to play a key role in the court action beginning tomorrow by Kenyan claimants who want a statement of regret from the Government and a welfare fund for victims. With at least 1,400 other former Mau Mau detainees still alive, Britain could face a multi-million-pound compensation bill if the Kenyans win their case.

Court case: (left to right) Ndiku Mutua, Paulo Nzili, Jane Muthoni Mara, Gitu Wa Kahengeri and Wambugu Wa Nyingi are taking the British government to court over alleged torture during the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya

At least 12,000 rebels were killed in the bloody fight for independence but appalling atrocities were committed by both sides.

Among those rounded up as the British colonial administration tried to suppress the Mau Mau was Hussein Onyango Obama, the U.S. President’s grandfather, who was imprisoned for two years and tortured, according to his family. One of the four Kenyans due to give evidence in the High Court next week is Ndiku Mutwiwa Mutua, 79, a herdsman who according to court documents was arrested after supplying food to Mau Mau rebels. He was allegedly castrated.

Round up: Members of the Lancashire Fusiliers flush out a Mau Mau suspect from a hut in Kikuyu village in Nairobi

Accused: Twenty-seven suspects accused of taking part in a massacre are taken into court at Githunguri

Another claimant, Wambugu wa Nyingi, says he was suspended by his feet and severely beaten while cold water was poured on to his face to stop him breathing, in treatment echoing water-boarding. 

The only woman claimant says she was subjected to sexual torture. Lawyers for the four elderly Kenyans will argue that detainees were subjected to ‘gross abuse and torture’ as part of a systematic policy.

But Government lawyers will argue that the case should be dismissed because the alleged abuse was carried out by the colonial government, which passed all rights and responsibilities to independent Kenya in 1963.

The Foreign Office declined to comment on the documents.

Incredible pictures reveal British soldiers suppressing the Mau Mau rebellion in the harsh African jungle during the Kenya Emergency 

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• Pictures show British and African soldiers navigating harsh and treacherous landscapes in Kenya Emergency  
• The rare photographs were taken during British counter-insurgency operations in Kenya between 1952-1956
• In period of increasing violence, villages were plundered before 1st Lancashire Battalion was sent from Egypt

Never before seen images have revealed the harsh and treacherous landscapes British soldiers had to endure during the Kenya Emergency as they sought to suppress the Mau Mau Rebellion.

Incredible photographs show British and African soldiers navigating a rocky river and wading through a semi-tropical forest where rebel forces would ambush them.

Other shots show a Mau Mau gang proudly posing for the camera, Mau Mau prisoners being guarded and soldiers checking identity cards in Nairobi during a period of increased internal security threat.

The striking images were captured during British counter-insurgency operations in Kenya between 1952 and 1956.

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In this photo taken in the mid 1950s, a Kenya Police officer uses a fingerprinting kit - a reliable forensic method for identifying a body - however it would have proved unsuitable in wet conditions

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A soldier searches a Mau Mau suspect in the depths of the semi-tropical forest, where rebel forces would ambush British and African soldiers. The striking images were captured during British counter-insurgency operations in Kenya between 1952 and 1956

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Four (Uganda) KAR on the ranges with Bren light machine guns. While the askaris were happy with small arms, they were less confident with mortars. The Mau Mau was a secret society confined almost entirely to the Kikuyu tribe who inhabited parts of the Central Highlands

KENYA'S BLOODY CONFLICT: THE MAU MAU UPRISING

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Home Guard and a police officer escort four captured Mau Mau. The Mau Mau had suffered badly from the introduction of British colonialism in the late 19th Century and had lost grazing grounds and homesteads to white farmers, many from the British upper classes

The Mau Mau was a secret society confined almost entirely to the Kikuyu tribe who inhabited parts of the Central Highlands.

The Mau Mau uprising was a military conflict which took place in British Kenya between 1952 and 1960.  

Kikuyu hostility first emerged after the First World War and developed into a political movement that was first proscribed for subversive activities in 1940.

They had suffered badly from the introduction of British colonialism in the late 19th Century and had lost grazing grounds and homesteads to white farmers, many from the British upper classes. 

Independence was not widely supported by other Africans, many of whom retained loyalty to the colonial authorities. So extremists formed the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), which became known as the Mau Mau.

As tension increased in 1952, the State of Emergency was declared in 20 October and the 1st Lancashire Battalion was sent from Egypt.

Britain dealt with the Mau Mau by seeking to confine them to the Prohibited Areas around Mount Kenya.

Various war crimes took place on both sides including the Chuka Massacre where members of King's African Rifles B Company killed unarmed people suspected of being Mau Mau fighters. The people executed belonged to the Kikuyu Home Guard — a loyalist militia recruited by the British to fight the guerrillas.

British interrogation techniques also involved torture while Mau Mau militants carried out the Lari massacre where they herded Kikuyu men, women and children into huts and set fire to them.

According to David Anderson in Histories of the Hanged (2005), Mau Mau attacks were mostly well organised and planned - contrary to British propaganda. 

He wrote: 'the insurgents' lack of heavy weaponry and the heavily entrenched police and Home Guard positions meant that Mau Mau attacks were restricted to nighttime and where loyalist positions were weak. When attacks did commence they were fast and brutal, as insurgents were easily able to identify loyalists because they were often local to those communities themselves. 

'The Lari massacre was by comparison rather outstanding and in contrast to regular Mau Mau strikes which more often than not targeted only loyalists without such massive civilian casualties. "Even the attack upon Lari, in the view of the rebel commanders was strategic and specific.'

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Members of the Kenya Regiment sit and enjoy a drink together following what would no doubt have been a stressful and life-threatening patrol. The never before seen images have revealed the harsh and treacherous landscapes British soldiers had to endure during the Kenya Emergency as they sought to suppress the Mau Mau Rebellion

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A Rifle Brigade patrol flanked by two former Mau Mau. The tall figure seen in the middle is Sergeant Oulton of the Kenya Regiment. The Mau Mau was a secret society confined almost entirely to the Kikuyu tribe who inhabited parts of the Central Highlands

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A wounded soldier is unloaded by his comrades from the only Sycamore helicopter which had been deployed to Kenya. Many of the service personell were National Service, some of whom had seen active service in Korea. Among the regulars were veterans of the Second World, the Palestine Emergency, Malaya and Korea

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In this image taken on 16 February 1954, the wounded General Chinaí is loaded into an ambulance at Nyeri for transfer to Nairobi

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Privates Horsely and Green, of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, were attached to 1 Rifle Brigade. They are pictured here standing in the camp with their Labradors

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Gray Leakey, accompanied by his family outside Buckingham Palace, after collecting the Victoria Cross awarded to his son. Leakey was murdered by the Mau Mau on 13 October 1954

Mau Mau fighters raped, castrated and beaten in Kenya's uprising against Britain get £14m compensation

In 2013 the UK government announced it was to pay £14million in compensation to some 5,000 elderly Kenyans tortured by British colonial forces -  following a legal battle which lasted four years. 

The admission came at the end of a test case brought by the law firm Leigh Day which established UK courts did have jurisdiction to hear historical claims brought by those detained in military camps. 

Negotiations began after a London court ruled that three elderly Kenyans, who suffered castration, rape and beatings while in detention during a crackdown by British forces and their Kenyan allies in the 1950s, could sue Britain. 

With legal fees, the total bill for the brutal treatment of thousands of prisoners tortured and raped under colonial rule was some £20million.  

But Foreign Secretary William Hague stopped short of issuing an apology. Mr Hague told MPS the the British Government continued to deny liability for what happened during the uprising as he only conceded 'we understand the pain and grievance felt by those who were involved'. 

The torture took place during the so-called Kenyan 'Emergency' of 1952-60, when fighters from the Mau Mau movement attacked British targets, causing panic among white settlers and alarming the government in London.

Then- Foreign Secretary William Hague said at the time: 'The British Government recognises that Kenyans were subject to torture and other forms of ill-treatment at the hands of the colonial administration. The British Government sincerely regrets that these abuses took place and they marred Kenya's progress towards independence.

'Torture and ill-treatment are abhorrent violations of human dignity which we unreservedly condemn.'

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Christmas lunch in a forest camp: British service personell, in an attempt to regain some sort of normality, celebrated Christmas day with a hearty meal together amidst the violence and fighting around them 

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Nairobi, April 1955: 1 Rifle Brigade march past Governor Baring on leaving Kenya. Military ceremony was deemed important in maintaining civil morale so would be made into something of a spectacle, watched by members of the public

Little Lynn Munro pictured boarding her school run bus  - which for many service children was a Bedford one tonne Army lorry

The pictures are showcased in a new book, The Mau Mau Rebellion, by Nick van der Bijl and published by Pen and Sword. 

'The book adds to the understanding of the Mau Mau Emergency by describing the purpose and lives of British Service personnel serving in Kenya,' said Mr van der Bijl.

'Many were National Service, some of whom had seen active service in Korea. Among the regulars were veterans of the Second World, the Palestine Emergency, Malaya and Korea.

'The Army was thoroughly familiar to adapting to different environments - in 1952, Malaya, Korea, Egypt. Lessons learnt in Burma during the Second World War and being applied in Malayan Emergency (1948-1960) and Kenya developed into the British counter-insurgency strategy that is largely current today. A training school was established. British units arrived direct from UK, Korea and Egypt.

'After the Mau-Mau was banned in 1951, the Mau Mau Central Committee established camps in the Aberdare Highlands, Mt. Kenya, the Rift Valley, the 'White Highlands' and gained support in the Kikuyu reserves.

'While the Mau Mau intimidated loyalist Kikuyu though murder, burning of crops and grasslands and hamstringing of cattle, Governor Mitchell dismissed their oath ceremonies as primitive therefore not unusual.' 

'While there was ill-discipline among the Kings African Rifles and other Kenyan units, the British Armed forces maintained their discipline,' said Mr van der Bijl.

'The concentration camps were the responsibility of the Kenyan colonial government and not the Army. The Kikuyu also committed war crimes is conveniently forgotten.

'The Kenya Emergency was essentially a peasants' revolt against dominant colonists who had occupied the land they had usurped less than 50 years previously.

'It was fought between peasants who knew how to exploit the forest against young British and African soldiers who learnt to survive in a hostile environment.

'Militarily, the peasants were defeated. Politically, they won, are still in power.'

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