NOSTALGIA: Regimental Cottages, Risbygate Street, c1904 - from the Spanton Jarman collection

This pair of red brick cottages was built by subscription in memory of the officers and men of the Suffolk Regiment who lost their lives in South Africa 1899-1902.

They also commemorated Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein, who died in South Africa. Accommodation was offered to aged or disabled pensioners of the regiment.

A plaque above the door shows the regimental crest and the date 1903.

They were officially opened on April 12, 1904, by HRH Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, third daughter of Queen Victoria.

The photograph was taken before modernisation in 1963, in memory of Capt Robert de Z Mansen, 1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, killed in action near Dunkirk 1940.

-- This picture is part of a remarkable collection of 4,000 photographs in the care of Bury St Edmunds Past and Present Society which offers a glimpse into the town’s history.

Taken by two families of professional photographers, the Spantons and the Jarmans, the images span a period from the 1860s through to the outbreak of World War Two. The fragile glass plate negatives were donated to the society in 1997 and in recent years many of these have been ‘digitised’ thanks to a Lottery grant and donations - a furtehr £2,000 is needed to complete the task. They can be viewed at www.burypastandpresent.org.uk where you can also find details about membership and the group’s programme of events and lectures. The Spanton-Jarman collection is held at the Bury St Edmunds branch of the Suffolk Record Office. For more details about the Record Office, including its programme of talks and courses, visit www.suffolk.gov.uk/sro.