Damaged artillery, Fort Mex, Alexandria Harbour, Egypt, 12 November 1882

Damaged artillery, Fort Mex, Alexandria Harbour, Egypt, 12 November 1882. Photograph of shells and damaged guns on the walls of Fort Mex, captioned This gun is very noticeable on leaving the harbour. Fort Mex was one of several forts defending Alexandria Harbour which was bombarded by a British fleet on 11 July 1882. The refusal of a British ultimatum demanding the removal of modern artillery pieces such as these led to a ten-and-a-half-hour bombardment. The photograph is from an album entitled 'Algiers Egypt &c 1882-3, owned by Brigadier General Herbert Conyers Surtees (1858-1933), antiquarian and MP for Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. It is a curious mixture of photographs of North African tourist subjects and views of Egyptian battlefields. ©SSPL/National Media Museum