Northern Rhodesia 1914 - 1915

[bushfighter]

Should any Member be interested in the first deployment of the Belgian Congolese Force Publique against the German East Africa Schutztruppe, then please glance at:

http://www.kaiserscross.com/188001/363401.html

Harry

[ShirlD]

As always a fascinating, detailed read of units and battalions rarely studied. Interesting that Capt. O'Sullevan dug up the graves to discover ammunition!

Thanks Harry

Cheers

Shirley

[medals2]

Much appreciated as always.

Jean-Paul

[athelstan]

Thanks Harry for another great article on a neglected aspect of the campaign in East Africa. I agree the Belgian contribution deserves more recognition especially in Northern Rhodesia.

Interestingly Captain J.J. O'Sullevan, the hero of the battle of Saisi, did acknowledge and pay tribute to their role in an address to the African Society on 17 February1916.

"I cannot close without referring to the Belgian Forces who so ably assisted us during along and trying period, and with Major Olsen, who commanded a group of battalions, and to Major de Konnick with whom I am very glad to have been associated.

We had not enough troops to do the job by ourselves, and the Belgian troops helped us to keep off the savage enemy, and on many occasions behaved with conspicuous gallantry.

I had the honour to have the Belgian troops under my command for almost all last year, and am glad to pay a tribute to the good and energetic work done by them on all occasions."

O'Sullevan was a larger than life character in all senses. As one early settler in Northern Rhodesia recorded:

"O'Sullevan of the Barotse Native Police was undoubtedly the strongest man in theTerritory. An Irishman, standing well over six feet in height and built in proportion, he would pick up a couple of rookies by the scruff of their necks on the parade ground for not paying attention to their drill and bump their heads together before setting them down. Once, while riding through a patchof forest, a leopard leaped on to the neck of his horse, whereupon O'Sullevan gave it such a mighty blow with his fist that the beast was knocked off half stunned."

He later went onto serve as a Colonel on the Western Front before retiring to Ireland to breed horses. This provides a clue as to whom his son was – the racing commentator Sir Peter O'Sullevan and not Ronnie O'Sullivan the snooker player as my wife once suggested!

On another point I'd always thought the 7 pounder gun used at Saisi was 'May Jackson' hauled up from Salisbury to the northern border of Northern Rhodesia in December 1914 and named after a "big hearted barmaid at Salisbury long years ago, a good friend to and much loved by all the police at Salisbury depot in her day." See link below for more on its history.

http://samilitaryhistory.org/mjackson.html

Finally didn't Lieutenant McCarthy end up in Dunsterforce?

james w

Sources

Journal ofthe African Society, Vol XV, NO. LIX, April 1916

NorthernRhodesia Journal Vol 1, No 4

[bushfighter]

James

Thank you.

You are correct about the gun, but that story has been flogged to death.

Hopefully soon you will see an article that lists a Mention in Despatches to one of the British South Africa Native Policemen who accompanied the gun as part of the crew and who fought at Saisi - their story hardly gets told.

Yes to McCarthy - he got a Mesopotamian CBE as a T/Lt Col.

Harry