Lt in Nigeria Regt who was KIA on Camarooon/Nigeria border on 7 Apr 1915

[corisande]

I am trying to get the war service of Christopher John Hebblethwaite (sometimes spelt with one "b"). He came up in a thread on the Soldiers forum

The bits that exist of his West Africa service are sparse. Can anyone fill in any more info. @athelstan and @bushfighter may have something

• Sep 1914 commissioned in Nigeria Regt
• 
•  
• KIA Apr 1915
• Facebook entry that says
• Less than 140km away, in a lonely grave surrounded by grass and building blocks at Mayo Kalaye Village in Jada Local Government Area of Adamawa State lays another soldier killed in battle just three weeks before Captain Pawle. On his tombstone was the inscription LIEUT C.J. HEBBLETHWAITE, MINING ENGINEER, KILLED IN ACTION, 7TH APRIL 1915.
  On that day at dawn, Lieut. C.J. Hebblethwaite led a British border patrol of 30 men to attack a notorious German fort. Their attack was repelled and Hebblethwaite was killed. He was recorded in the General List and 1st Battalion, Nigeria Regiment, West African Frontier Force, (W.A.F.F.) as - killed in action on Wednesday, 7th Apr 1915 and buried at MAIO KALEI MILITARY GRAVE, Nigeria.
• This is the photo of the grave that the writer gives, but it is too blurry to read
• 
• And his CWGC entry has. Curiously it is not a standard CWGC headstone
• 
• 
• 

[corisande]

To try to avoid too much info, I will put his prewar details in this post

• Born Apr 1884 in Liverpool. Son of J H Hebblethwaite of Chester
• Jan 1899 Went to Uppingham School as a boarder
• Left Uppingham Dec 1901 to go to South Africa Police. Aged 17
• Goes to  Trinity College , Cambridge in  October 1903.
• Degree in Law & Languages (Presumably in 1906)
• Northern Rhodesia between 1906 and 1910. He served as a District Commissioner at a place in Barotseland (now Western Province of Zambia).
• He resigned from the Colonial Service in 1910 after it was found out he had children with a local woman
• Upon resignation he is believed to have moved on to Congo , though I think it could have been anywhere in South or West Africa as a Mining Engineer
• Apr 1910 travels UK to Capetown from UK . He is a Miner . This is probably him. Note he appears to be a mining engineer on his tombstone
• Sep 1914 commissioned in Nigeria Regt
• KIA Apr 1915

[bushfighter]

Corisande.

Greetings.

I regret that I cannot offer more information than that which you have obtained from the Official History.

Christopher Hebblethwaite was an experienced Africa Hand, and the story of his life would be an interesting tale.

Harry

[corisande]

Thanks Harry

As you say his life would make an interesting tale, but I doubt I have the skills to nail it :-)

Passed through Madeira a few months ago on way to Cape Verdes

[athelstan]

Hello Corisande

Doesn’t add a great deal I'm afraid but worth a look at this extract from W095-53861 HQ Northern Cameroons March 1915 to February 1916.

  

Will dig a bit further to see if I can find anything else.

James W

 

 

Edited 1 May , 2023 by athelstan
Repeated the image twice.

[corisande]

Thanks James

It does clarify where and how he was killed. Up to reading that I was not altogether sure if the British attacked the Germans or vice-versa, or if it took place in Cameroon or Nigeria.