Studies in Military and Strategic History

General Editor: Michael Dockrill, Professor of Diplomatic History, King’s College, London Published titles include: Nigel John Ashton EISENHOWER, MACMILLAN AND THE PROBLEM OF NASSER Anglo-American Relations and Arab Nationalism, 1955–59 Christopher M. Bell THE ROYAL NAVY, SEAPOWER AND STRATEGY BETWEEN THE WARS Peter Bell CHAMBERLAIN, GERMANY AND JAPAN, 1933–34 G. H. Bennett BRITISH FOREIGN POLICY DURING THE CURZON PERIOD, 1919–24 David A. Charters THE AND JEWISH INSURGENCY IN PALESTINE, 1945–47 David Clayton IMPERIALISM REVISITED Political and Economic Relations between Britain and China, 1950–54 Michael J. Cohen and Martin Kolinsky (editors) BRITAIN AND THE MIDDLE EAST IN THE 1930s Security Problems, 1935–39 Paul Cornish BRITISH MILITARY PLANNING FOR THE DEFENCE OF GERMANY, 1945–50 Michael Dockrill BRITISH ESTABLISHMENT PERSPECTIVES ON FRANCE, 1936–40 Robert Frazier ANGLO-AMERICAN RELATIONS WITH GREECE The Coming of the Cold War, 1942–47 John P. S. Gearson HAROLD MACMILLAN AND THE BERLIN WALL CRISIS, 1958–62 John Gooch ARMY, STATE AND SOCIETY IN ITALY, 1870–1915 G. A. H. Gordon BRITISH SEA POWER AND PROCUREMENT BETWEEN THE WARS A Reappraisal of Rearmament Raffi Gregorian THE BRITISH ARMY, THE GURKHAS AND COLD WAR STRATEGY IN THE FAR EAST, 1947–1954 Stephen Hartley THE IRISH QUESTION AS A PROBLEM IN BRITISH FOREIGN POLICY, 1914–18 Brian Holden Reid J. F. C. FULLER: Military Thinker Stewart Lone JAPAN’S FIRST MODERN WAR Army and Society in the Conflict with China, 1894–95 Thomas R. Mockaitis BRITISH COUNTERINSURGENCY, 1919–60 T. R. Moreman THE ARMY IN INDIA AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF FRONTIER WARFARE, 1849–1947 Kendrick Oliver KENNEDY, MACMILLAN AND THE NUCLEAR TEST-BAN DEBATE, 1961–63 Elspeth Y. O’Riordan BRITAIN AND THE RUHR CRISIS G. D. Sheffield LEADERSHIP IN THE TRENCHES Officer–Man Relations, Morale and Discipline in the British Army in the Era of the First World War Adrian Smith MICK MANNOCK, FIGHTER PILOT Myth, Life and Politics Martin Thomas THE FRENCH NORTH AFRICAN CRISIS Colonial Breakdown and Anglo-French Relations, 1945–62 Simon Trew BRITAIN, MIHAILOVIC AND THE CHETNIKS, 1941–42 Steven Weiss ALLIES IN CONFLICT Anglo-American Strategic Negotiations, 1938–44 Roger Woodhouse BRITISH FOREIGN POLICY TOWARDS FRANCE, 1945–51

Studies in Military and Strategic History Series Standing Order ISBN 0–333–71046–0 (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, War and Empire in Mauritius and the Indian Ocean

Ashley Jackson Research Fellow Mansfield College Oxford

in association with King’s College, London © Ashley Jackson 2001 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2001 978-0-333-96840-6 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2001 by PALGRAVE Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE is the new global academic imprint of St. Martin’s Press LLC Scholarly and Reference Division and Palgrave Publishers Ltd (formerly Macmillan Press Ltd). ISBN 978-1-349-42850-2 ISBN 978-1-4039-1954-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781403919540 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jackson, Ashley. War and empire in Mauritius and the Indian Ocean / Ashley Jackson. p. cm. — (Studies in military and strategic history) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-349-42850-2 1. Mauritius—History, Military—20th century. 2. Mauritius– –History, Naval—20th century. 3. Mauritius—Strategic aspects. 4. Indian Ocean Region—Strategic aspects. 5. World War, 1939–1945—Mauritius. 6. World War, 1939–1945—Indian Ocean Region. 7. Great Britain. Royal Navy. 8. Decolonization—Mauritius. I. Title. II. Series. DT469.M47 J33 2001 355’.009698’2—dc21 2001024551

10987654321 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 Dedicated to Rosa Poppy Jackson and Abigail Jane Jackson

Contents

Acknowledgements ix List of Abbreviations x Biographical Notes xiii Introduction: War and Empire 1 Mauritius, the Indian Ocean and the Second World War 7 1 Mauritius and the Indian Ocean in Imperial Wars and Imperial Strategy: from the Eighteenth Century to the Interwar Years 15 Mauritius and imperial warfare from the eighteenth century 19 The First World War 22 The interwar period to the eve of the Second World War 25 2 Defence of Empire and the Sea Lanes: the Royal Navy and the British Indian Ocean World 29 Sea power and the challenge to Britain in the Indian Ocean 31 The Eastern Fleet 35 Island naval and air bases in the Indian Ocean 39 The submarine and raider threat 44 Patrols and convoys 48 Madagascar and Reunion 51 3 Defending the Home Front: Local and Imperial Defence Measures 57 The threat to Mauritius and the imperial response 59 Local defence initiatives 63 The Mauritius Civil Labour Corps 66 The Mauritius Territorial Force and the imperial garrison 68 Fortifications 72 The Special Operations Executive and the scorched earth policy 73

vii viii Contents

4 Colonial Military Labour in and the Middle East 78 Recruitment in Mauritius 83 The Western Desert, Tobruk and Alamein 89 Central Mediterranean Forces 93 Welfare 95 Pioneers in the postwar world 97 Mauritians as military labourers and infantry soldiers 99 5 The Mauritius Regiment and the Madagascar Mutiny 101 The Mauritius Territorial Force and the Mauritius Regiment 104 Political opposition to overseas military service 107 Racial tension, morale and leadership 111 Fear of the Japanese and dislike of Africans 113 Mutiny: the official version 117 Mutiny: eye witness accounts 121 After the mutiny 126 6 The Secret War: Censorship, Radio Propaganda and Code-Breaking 131 Intelligence 132 The Censorship Department and Information Office 145 External radio propaganda and broadcasting 147 7 The Effects of War on the Home Front 152 War and politics 153 The economics of war 159 The food situation 163 Development, health and education 168 Franco-Mauritians 171 The Jewish detainees 174 8 The End of the War and Strategic Transformation in the Indian Ocean 176 The soldiers return 177 A continuing military role 180 Notes 187

Select Bibliography 225 Index 236 Acknowledgements

Thanks to the Hayter Fund, the Beit Fund, and the Modern History Faculty – all of the University of Oxford – for making it possible to visit Mauritius. Special thanks to two of the leading historians of Mauritius: to Raymond D’Unienville for supplying a wealth of information over the course of a year and for hospitality in Mauritius, and to Marina Carter for providing information and for translating articles from French to English and going some way towards compensating for the author’s shameful mono-linguality. I would like to thank the following people especially: Peter Twining for access to Sir Edward Twining’s papers, Kate Tildesley of the Naval Historical Branch, Louis Hein de Charmoy, the President and Committee of the Mauritius Ex-Services League (BCEL), G. Andre Decotter and the Royal Pioneer Corps Association (Mauritius), the East African Forces Dining Club, Andrew Morton, Archivist at the Royal Pioneer Corps Museum, Monica Maurel for a copy of her father’s diaries, Penny and Tony Ward of the British High Commission in Port Louis, Nicholas Bouchet, Michael Dockrill, and Terry Barringer of the Royal Commonwealth Society Library, Cambridge. Too numerous to mention but equally thanked are all of the corre- spondents and interviewees in Britain, Mauritius, South and America. A. J. W. J. Wadebridge, Cornwall Woodstock, Oxfordshire

ix List of Abbreviations

AAPC African Auxiliary Pioneer Corps ADC Aide-de-Camp ADS Assistant Director of Supplies AMPC Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps ARP Air Raid Precautions ATS Auxiliary Territorial Service AWOL Absent without leave BIOT British Indian Ocean Territory C-in-C Commander-in-Chief CB Commander of the CBE Commander of the Order of the British Empire CDWA Colonial Development and Welfare CMF Central Mediterranean Forces CMG Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George CO Colonial Office or Commanding Officer CRE Commander, Royal Engineers CSM Company Sergeant DFC Distinguished Flying Cross DID Detailed Issue Depot DDT Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane (an insecticide) DSO Distinguished Service Order EAAMC East African Army Medical Corps EAASC East African Army Service Corps EAC East Africa Command EAMLC East African Military Labour Corps FAA Fleet Air Arm FCB Fabian Colonial Bureau FCO Foreign and Commonwealth Office FMC Field Maintenance Centre FSS Field Security Section GHQ General Headquarters GOC General Officer Commanding GT General Transport HAA Heavy Anti Aircraft HCT High Commission Territories HMAS Her Majesty’s Australian Ship

x List of Abbreviations xi

HMIS Her Majesty’s Indian Ship HMS Her Majesty’s Ship HQ Headquarters HRH His or Her Royal Highness INC Indian National Congress IOL India Office Library IWM Imperial War Museum KAR King’s African Rifles LAA Light Anti-Aircraft MBE Member of the Order of the British Empire MC Military Cross MDF Mauritius Defence Force MEC Middle East Command MELF Middle East Land Forces MLP Mauritius Labour Party MNBDO Mobile Naval Base Defence Organization MP Military Police or Member of Parliament MR Mauritius Regiment MTF Mauritius Territorial Force NAAFI Navy, Army, and Air Force Institutes NCO Non Commissioned Officer OBE Order of the British Empire OCT Officer Commanding Troops POW Prisoner of War PRO Public Record Office RAF Royal Air Force RAMC Royal Army Medical Corps RAOC Royal Army Ordnance Corps RASC Royal Army Service Corps RCS Royal Commonwealth Society Library, University of Cambridge RCS Royal Corps of Signals REME Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers RFA Royal Fleet Auxiliary RGA Royal Garrison Artillery RHL Rhodes House Library, University of Oxford RN Royal Navy RNAS Royal Naval Air Station RNVR Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve RPC Royal Pioneer Corps Rs. Rupees xii List of Abbreviations

RT Radio Telephony RWAFF Royal West African Frontier Force SAS Special Air Service SEAC South East Asia Command SMF Special Mobile Force SOE Special Operations Executive TUC Trades Union Congress UK US United States VAD Voluntary Aid Detachment WO War Office WRNS Women’s Royal Naval Service W/T Wireless Telegraphy ‘Y’ Service British organization for intercepting radio communications Biographical Notes

Clifford, Captain the Honourable Sir Bede Edmund Hugh (1890–1969). Career in the Colonial Administrative Service, including a time as Imperial Commissioner in South Africa. Governor of Mauritius, 1936–42, then transferred to the Governorship of Trinidad and Tobago. Mackenzie Kennedy, Sir Henry Charles Donald Cleveland (1889–1965). Career in the Colonial Administrative Service, spent mainly in Africa (Northern Rhodesia and ), finishing as Governor of Nyasaland, 1939–42. Persuaded to take up the Governorship of Mauritius in 1942, where he remained until retire- ment in 1949. Platt, General Sir William (1885–1975). Soldier in the British Army. Officer in Command of the Defence Force, 1938–41, prominent in the East African campaign, and General Officer Commanding-in- Chief East Africa Command from 1941 to 1945. Madagascar, Mauritius, and the Seychelles came under his command. Shuckburgh, Sir John Evelyn (1877–1953). Transferred from the Indian Civil Service to the Colonial Office in 1921. Deputy Under Secretary of State for the Colonies 1931 until 1942. Appointed Governor of Nigeria in 1939, but the outbreak of war and retirement intervened. Narrator of the historical section of the Cabinet Office, 1942–48, and compiled the unpublished ‘Colonial Civil History of the War’. Smallwood, Major General Gerald Russell (1889–1977). Soldier in the British Army. British Military Mission to the , 1937–39. Commanding troops in Madagascar in 1942, and Commanding Officer of East Africa Command’s subordinate Islands Area Command, which included Madagascar, Mauritius, and the Seychelles. Somerville, Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Fownes (1882–1949). Career in the Royal Navy. Commander-in-Chief East Indies, 1938–39. Commander of Force ‘H’ in the Mediterranean, 1940–42. Commander- in-Chief of the Eastern Fleet, responsible for the Indian Ocean, 1942–44. Twining, Edward Francis (created Baron Twining of and Tanganyika) (1899–1967). Career in the Colonial Administrative

xiii xiv Biographical Notes

Service from 1929 after transfer from the Army. Transferred to Mauritius in 1939 as Deputy Director of Labour (later Director). Appointed Chief Censor and Information Officer on the outbreak of war. Responsible for the island’s use as an intelligence-gathering outpost of Bletchley Park. Appointed Administrator of St Lucia, 1944–46, Governor of North Borneo, 1946–49, and Governor of Tanganyika, 1949–58.