DOCSLIB.ORG

Last Outpost on the Zulu Frontiers

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Last Outpost on the Zulu Frontiers LAST OuTpOST on the Zu Lu FrOnTierS Fort Napier and the British Imperial Garrison GRAHAM DOMINY LAST OUTPOST ON THE ZULU FRONTIERS Dominy_Text.indd 1 1/22/16 3:01 PM T HE HISTORY OF MILITARY OCCUPATION Edited by John Laband and Ian F. W. Beckett A list of books in the series appears at the end of this book. Dominy_Text.indd 2 1/22/16 3:01 PM LAST OUTPOST ON THE ZULU FRONTIERS Fort Napier and the British Imperial Garrison GRAHAM DomINY U NIVERSITY of IllINOIS PRESS Urbana, Chicago, and Springfield Dominy_Text.indd 3 1/22/16 3:01 PM © 2016 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America c 5 4 3 2 1 ∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Dominy, G. A. (Graham Andrew) Title: Last outpost on the Zulu frontiers : Fort Napier and the British imperial garrison / Graham Dominy. Description: Urbana : University of Illinois Press, 2016. Series: The history of military occupation Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2015035921| ISBN 9780252040047 (cloth : acid-free paper) | ISBN 9780252098246 (e-book) Subjects: LCSH: Garrisons—South Africa—KwaZulu-Natal— History. | Fort Napier (South Africa)—History. | Frontier and pioneer life—South Africa—KwaZulu-Natal. | British— South Africa—KwaZulu-Natal—History. | Colonists— South Africa—KwaZulu-Natal—History. | Soldiers—South Africa—KwaZulu-Natal—History. | Imperialism—Social aspects—South Africa—KwaZulu-Natal—History. | KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa)—Colonization—History. | KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa)—History, Military. | Great Britain—Colonies—Africa—History. | BISAC: HISTORY / Military / General. | HISTORY / Africa / South / Republic of South Africa. | HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain. Classification: LCC U375.S6 D65 2016 | DDC 355.709684/75—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015035921 Dominy_Text.indd 4 2/18/16 10:20 AM For Anne, with love Sine qua non Dominy_Text.indd 5 1/22/16 3:01 PM Dominy_Text.indd 6 1/22/16 3:01 PM In the town itself the streets were prickly with waxed moustaches. Blanco and brass polish stood high on the list of life’s necessities. In the Imperial Hotel the mornings and afternoons were liquid among potted plants and wicker chairs with the music of a Palm Court orchestra. Sam Browne belts and whalebone waist pinchers restrained the officers and their wives who listened to the whine of the violins and recalled the shires and parishes of England with thankful melancholy. Many would never return and those who stayed and were not buried in the military cemetery in Fort Rapier would build their houses as close to the Gover- nor’s mansion as their seniority and overdrafts allowed. While the garrison stayed Piemburg prospered. Piemburg was even, briefly, gay.T he Garrison Theatre was made brilliant by performances of plays and revues that bred one great English actor and playwright and charmed the Governor and his wife. Bazaars and garden parties were bright with the parasols and bustles of wives who had been swept from the terraced suburbs and semi-detached houses of South London to the grandeur of the lawns and shrubberies of Piemburg by the surprising good fortune of having married husbands whose mediocrity won for them the reward of being posted to this distant sliver of the empire. The taste of the Victorian lower middle class imposed itself indelibly on Piemburg and has stayed there to this day. And with the taste there came an immutable sense of hierarchy. Viceroys, governors, generals, vice-governors, colonels, down the ranks swept, broadening as they went, through nuances too subtle to enumerate, where schools and wives’ fathers’ professions and a dropped aspirate or one retained “g” could cause a major to step in an instant above a lieutenant-colonel. At the bottom of the scale came private soldiers in the pay corps. Below these pariahs there was noth- ing left. Zulus competed with Pondos, Coloureds with Indians. What happened down there was simply nobody’s concern. All that one had to know was that somewhere even lower than the loyal Zulus and the treacherous Pondos there were the Boers. —TOM SHARPE, Riotous Assembly Dominy_Text.indd 7 1/22/16 3:01 PM Dominy_Text.indd 8 1/22/16 3:01 PM Contents Preface xi Acknowledgments xxi Technical Notes xxv 1. Fort Napier: A Garrison among Garrisons 1 2 From Whence They Came: An Overview of Queen Victoria’s Army 10 3. Establishing an Imperial Presence: Bayside Battles, Diplomacy, Women’s Revolts, and the Reluctant March on Maritzburg 23 4. Building a Fort: Plans, Impermanence, and Imperial Policies 34 5. Pageantry, Pioneers, Panics and Punitive Expeditions: The Pivotal Role of the Garrison in Creating a Colonial State, 1840s–1860s 44 6. Ceremonies and Crises: The Garrison in the Established Colony, 1860s–1890s 58 Dominy_Text.indd 9 1/22/16 3:01 PM 7. Soldiers in Garrison: Discipline, Indiscipline, and Mutiny 79 8. The Inniskilling Fusiliers: Bandits, Brawlers, or Mutineers? 93 9. The Garrison and the Wider Society: Placing the “Rough and the Respectable” in the Colonial Context 108 10. “For the Colonel’s Lady and Judy O’Grady Are Sisters under Their Skins”: Class and Gender Relationships in the Garrison 128 11. Spending the Queen’s Shilling: The Economic Influence of the Natal Garrison 143 12. The Garrison and the State: Changing Relationships of Power 160 13. Recessional: The Last of the Garrison, the Fate of the Fort, and Its Place in Folk Memories 178 Appendix. List of Regiments in Garrison in Natal/Pietermaritzburg, 1842–1914 191 Note on Sources 195 Notes 199 Bibliography 235 Index 267 Illustrations follow page 142 Dominy_Text.indd 10 1/22/16 3:01 PM Preface The Whys and Wherefores The “Last Outpost”: Why the Fort Napier Garrison? Military occupations during wartime are the stuff of drama and trauma and ex- pose many fault lines in the occupied societies. German-occupied France during World War II is an obvious example, yet such occupations are often of relatively short duration. Colonial occupations are often longer-lasting, and their impact can be more varied. The British military presence in Natal lasted for seventy-one years, and it has had a sustained and profound impact on surrounding societies. The occupation of Fort Napier was the longest British occupation of a single fort in South Africa (with the exception of the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town), and almost certainly in the whole of Africa. It profoundly influenced the heterogeneous communities around it, and its influence lasted long after British withdrawal. The duration of the occupation of Fort Napier even exceeded the British military occupation of their most important base in Ireland on the Cur- ragh, in County Kildare, by four years.1 This study focuses on the underplayed peacetime role of the Natal garri- son, but comparisons will also be drawn with other imperial garrisons in North America, the Mediterranean, and Australasia. Halifax, Nova Scotia, protected an important North Atlantic naval base and what are now known as the Canadian Maritime provinces. It was also a garrison of considerable longevity. Gibraltar, at the western end of the Mediterranean, was also a critical naval base and has an Dominy_Text.indd 11 1/22/16 3:01 PM even greater longevity as a garrison. In Australia, Bathurst in New South Wales and Port Arthur in Van Diemens Land (now Tasmania) were convict stations with small military garrisons. Auckland in New Zealand shared a characteristic with Fort Napier in that it protected settlers from a powerful indigenous foe. Natal, as one of four provinces in white-voting and white-ruled South Africa, was the most English and pro-British of all and voted overwhelmingly against the establishment of the Afrikaner-dominated republic in 1961. The other white-ruled provinces joked, with weary resignation, about the “Last Outpost.” So what is the origin of the term, outside the caricature cemented into the chants of rugby fans at big matches? The term can be traced to an unpublished memoir penned in 1943 by one of the scions of settler notability, Denis Shepstone, the administrator of the Prov- ince of Natal and grandson of the famous colonial administrator, Sir Theophilus Shepstone.2 The use of the phrase in public discourse apparently began in 1970, when the New Zealand All Black rugby team was touring South Africa, shortly before the anti-apartheid sports boycotts took effect. Not a single Natal player had been selected for the national Springbok rugby team. Tommy Bedford, the most promi- nent Natal player, said, somewhat bitterly, at a banquet in Durban in honor of the visiting New Zealanders, “Welcome to the last outpost of the British Empire.”3 The sport of rugby had been brought to Natal by the troops of the garrison, and the ideologies of empire were underpinned by the garrison. The after-effects of the prolonged occupation of the garrison still resonate, and its study might go some way to explaining the soubriquet. “The Last Outpost” in relation to Natal and its hankering after a vanished im- perial past resonates with similar yearnings in Australia. Craig Wilcox has coined the phrase “red coat dreaming” to describe the study of widespread respect for the army—of basking in victories won and last stands endured, of barracking loudly from the sidelines as the troops went to war, of occasional enlistments and living among veterans, of the way almost no one was quite immune to the beguiling color and historic associations of the red coat.4 The Context in South Africa Colonization changes the historical geography of a colonized country and the fate of its peoples.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Citing George Orwell, Michael Radu States That
    13 Scientia Militaria vol 40, no 3, 2012, pp.13-39. doi : 10.5787/40-3-1041 Accolades and Albatrosses: The South African National Defence Force’s Centenary and the Commemoration of Milestones in South African Military History Deon Visser • Abstract Peoples, societies, institutions and other entities frequently record their histories in terms of successive epochs, and commemorate those histories according to perceived milestones or turning points in their development. Since much of human history has been dominated by strife and warfare, national and international milestones are frequently embedded in notions of a military past. Milestones in military history may be divided into three broad categories, namely those representing significant strides in the evolution of warfare, those associated with bravery, heroic sacrifice and great loss, and those of decisive political importance. Defence forces in general, and individual military units in particular, are extremely conscious of their past and often commemorate milestones through customs, traditions, and splendid parades and ceremonial displays. This year (2012), the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) celebrates its centenary against the complex background of South Africa’s long history of internal strife interspaced with participation in foreign conflicts. This article reflects on the commemoration of South Africa’s military history within the context of the divergent historical heritages of the SANDF and its predecessors. It commences with a brief background on memory, identity and the commemoration of history and military history. Thereafter it outlines the commemoration of a few of the foremost milestones in South African • Lieutenant Colonel GE Visser is an associate professor of Military History at the Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University (South African Military Academy).
    [Show full text]
  • A.E. Cubbin Dtpartmt'nt of History Universityof Zululand
    A.E. Cubbin Dtpartmt'nt of History Universityof Zululand THEfact that it had been decided to celebrateDurban's 150th anniversaryin 1985,makes it interesting to r~-examinethe nascentyears of that urban complex in orde.rto ascenainthe exactdate of its establishmentand who its founders were. FYNN'S ORIGINAL SETTLEMENT MAY 1824 Henry Francis Fynw was the leader of the vanguard of Lieutenant Francis George Farewell's2trading and settling expedition to Pon Natal. Fynn wasthe supercargo of a small sloop,Julia, which arrived at the bay ofPon Natal from Cape Town during May 1824.3 Fynn's arrival ahead of Farewell with the stores was primarily to establish what wasto become the firSt permanent European settlement at Pon Natal. With Lieutenant James Saunders King, Farewell had realized as a result of an expedition to the south-easternshores of Mrica the previous year that Pon Natal wasthe only viable harbour for small vessels between Algoa Bay and Delagoa Bay.4 With Fynn came three 'mechanics': the F;nglishman Henry Ogle, the Prussian Catl August Zinke and an un- One of Fynn's priorities wasto meet the local inhabitants. known Frenchman. He was also accompanied by a couple With Frederick's assistancethey managed to establish contact of indispensable servants,the ColouredsJantyi Oantjie?) and with the reluctant Mahamba (alias Matubane, alias Fica), Michael, and Frederick, a Black interpreter from the Eastern regent of the emaTulini (later amaTuli) tribe of approximately Cape Frontier.5 60 members who were inhabiting the fastness of isiBubu- lungu (nowadays known as the Bluff).8 These people were the destitute vassalsof Shaka, King of the Zulu, eking out a precarious living on the Bluff.
    [Show full text]
  • Terrestrial Ecological Impact Assessment Appendix 7B
    Proposed Stormwater and Sewer Infrastructure for the Umhlanga Ridgeside Development Appendices Appendix 7: Specialist Studies Appendix 7A: Terrestrial Ecological Impact Assessment Appendix 7B: Heritage Impact Assessment Appendix 7C: Wetland Delineation Impact Assessment Appendix 7D: Specialist Declaration Forms Proposed Stormwater and Sewer Infrastructure for the Umhlanga Ridgeside Development Appendices Appendix 7A: Terrestrial Ecological Impact Assessment PROPOSED STORMWATER AND SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE UMHLANGA RIDGESIDE DEVELOPMENT TERRESTRIAL ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT REPORT MARCH 2019 PREPARED FOR: TONGAAT HULETT DEVELOPMENTS Title and Approval Page Proposed Stormwater and Sewer Infrastructure for the Umhlanga Project Name: Ridgeside Development Report Title: Terrestrial Ecological Assessment Report Authority Reference: - Report Status Draft Applicant Tongaat Hulett Developments Prepared By: Nemai Consulting (Pty) Ltd +27 11 781 1730 147 Bram Fischer Drive, +27 11 781 1731 FERNDALE, 2194 [email protected] PO Box 1673, SUNNINGHILL, www.nemai.co.za 2157 50048-20190307- Terrestrial Report Reference: R-PRO-REP|20170216 Ecological Assessment Report Author: Avhafarei Phamphe Author’s Affiliations Professional Natural Scientist: South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions Ecological Science (400349/2) Professional Member of South African Institute of Ecologists and Environmental Scientists Professional Member: South African Association of Botanists. This Document is Confidential Intellectual Property of Nemai Consulting
    [Show full text]
  • Relief of the Siege of Fort Port Natal
    RELIEF OF THE SIEGE OF FORT PORT NATAL Researched and written by Udo Richard AVERWEG Saturday 24th June 2017 marked the 175th anniversary of the arrival of the schooner Conch to the Bay of Natal (now known as Durban harbour). The ship’s arrival from Algoa Bay (now known as Port Elizabeth) on 24th June 1842, was instrumental in raising the month-long siege of the British garrison at Fort Port Natal (now known as The Old Fort, Durban). (Entrance plaque to present day Old Fort, Durban) In 1824 there was a settlement on the northern side of the Bay of Natal under the leadership of British Lt F G Farewell (1784 – 1829). Lt Farewell had established Port Natal as a place for ships travelling to India to stop and also to trade with the Zulus for ivory. With the arrival of migrant Voortrekkers (Afrikaner Boers, mainly of Dutch descent) from the Cape Colony at Port Natal, they sought to set up the Natalia Republiek with an independent port of entry, free from British control. At the Battle of Congella on 23rd/24th May 1842, these insurgent Boers had conquered the Port Natal trading settlement. However, the governor of the Cape Colony wanted to take military repossession of Port Natal and prevent the Afrikaner Boers establishing an independent republic on the coast and with a harbour through which access to the interior could easily be gained. P a g e 1 | 6 After the Battle of Congella, the besieged British force of ‘Redcoats’ (as the Boers termed the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot1), under the command of Capt Thomas Charlton Smith (1794 – 1883) at Fort Port Natal, was in a perilous state: their food was running out and they were subsisting on biscuit crumbs and a handful of rice.
    [Show full text]
  • The Battle of Congella
    REMEMBERING DURBAN’S HISTORICAL TAPESTRY – THE BATTLE OF CONGELLA Researched and written by Udo Richard AVERWEG Tuesday 23rd May 2017 marks an important date in Durban’s historical tapestry – it is the dodransbicentennial (175th) anniversary of the commencement of the Battle of Congella in the greater city of Durban. From a military historical perspective, the Congella battle site was actually named after former Zulu barracks (known as an ikhanda), called kwaKhangela. This was established by King Shaka kaSenzangakhona (ca. 1787 – 1828) to keep a watchful eye on the nearby British traders at Port Natal - the full name of the place was kwaKhangela amaNkengane (‘place of watching over vagabonds’). Shortly after the Battle of Blood River (isiZulu: iMpi yaseNcome) on 16th December 1838, Natalia Republiek was established by the migrant Voortrekkers (Afrikaner Boers, mainly of Dutch descent). It stretched from the Tugela River to the north to present day Port St Johns at the UMzimvubu River to the south. The Natalia Republiek was seeking an independent port of entry, free from British control by conquering the Port Natal trading settlement, which had been settled by mostly British traders on the modern-day site of Durban. However, the governor of the Cape Province, Maj Gen Sir George Thomas Napier KCB (1784 - 1855), stated that his intention was to take military possession of Port Natal and prevent the Afrikaner Boers establishing an independent republic upon the coast with a harbour through which access to the interior could be gained. The Battle of Congella began on 23rd May 1842 between British troops from the Cape Colony and the Afrikaner Boer forces of the Natalia Republiek.
    [Show full text]
  • January 2018
    National Boer War Memorial Association National Patron: Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin AC Volume 1, Issue 1 Chief of the Defence Force Monumentally Speaking - Queensland Edition Committee Newsletter - Volume 11, No. 1 Queensland Chairman’s Report Welcome to our first Queensland Newsletter of 2018; in The inaugural meeting of the new committee was held on th fact, the first newsletter of the new committee. Monday, 27 November, 2017, at the Sherwood- Indooroopilly RSL Sub-Branch. I am Gordon Bold, Chairman of the new Queensland Committee. Just to keep you up to speed, a little back- In Queensland, we are hoping to evolve into some form of ground first, leading up to the appointment of a new a Boer War „Descendants & Supporters‟ Association (a committee… new name is yet to be finalised). The new committee intend meeting quarterly. However, at the moment we Now that the Boer War Memorial in Canberra has been are still under the guidance and advice of previous com- built and dedicated, the role of the Queensland Boer mittee members as the NBWMA still exists, due to a num- War Memorial Association (QBWMA) needed to revisit ber of issues that need resolution, prior to 30th June, its charter. Was it to be disbanded, now that the Mem- 2018. It is envisaged the NBWMA will then step down. orial in Canberra is complete, or continued, with a differ- ent charter? The Committee decided to continue with the previous th financial support arrangements. Members are invited to On Sunday 17 September, a meeting was held at the show their support by continuing their financial contribu- Sherwood-Indooroopilly RSL Sub-Branch.
    [Show full text]
  • The Kafirs Illustrated in a Series of Drawings Taken Among the Amazulu
    rd 'd wm*£ ^vov-; mmp w^Y lr-^>Y/ w^o R^foYcViToT^T-'f Y fWimm’ YiF^-v1^^ T\l / W av/jBkw Mkl'MSwi t* If. ^iy 'Sf '■r/— m' £ ,W! - vy AWjraV mnw ***• W Mf P|£1E| a J& ip| jpl ay. d esa pPE ^PtIa 'ijrAll)rvV|f\i'^MuOiMIwVaV/ y/jVV yj ■ f ltf VI * & 9 I/S mm M^SE3f W./!>.iMr s-\U _ liX l jj dfc i.7 Jt.W/'O AU 1 *pv;“ [f^S fa y. Pi 1 fe1 ‘W1 flu \ A r r\'H hh, fa A d w 1m r YT^wtiiT l|o|2®p wnifWW . ■ ' THE KAFIRS ILLUSTRATED 2-D. •srnro of D min mgs TAKEN AMONG THE AMAZULU, AMAPON DA. AND AMAKOSA TRIBES ; A LSI), Portrait* OF THE HOTTENTOT, MALAY, FINGO, AND OTHER RACES INHABITING SOUTHERN AFRICA : TOGETHER WITH SKETCHES OF LANDSCAPE SCENERY IN THE ZULU COUNTRY. NATAL. AND THE CAPE COLONY. BY GEORGE FRENCH ANGAS, AUTHOR AUSTRALIA ILLUSTRATED ; “ THE NEW ZEALANDERS ILLUSTRATED;" “ SAVAGE LIEU AND SOLVES ; ” A TAI E OF REAL LIFE ; *’ “ A RAMBLE IN MALTA AND SICILY," ETC. I Lo! where he crouches by the Kloof's dark side. Eyeing the farmer's lowing herds afar; Impatient watching till the evening star Leads forth the twilight dim, that he may glide Like panther to the prey. With free horn pride He scorns the herdsman, nor regards the sear Of recent wound; but burnishes for war Ilis assagai and targe of buffalo hide." Piiim.le LONDON: PUBLISHED BY J. HOGARTH, H A Y M A R K ET.
    [Show full text]
  • 560 Curry Road, Durban
    Curry Road 560 FIRST PHASE HERITAGE IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF 560 CURRY ROAD, ETHEKWENI MUNICIPALITY. ACTIVE HERITAGE cc. For: DMI Attorneys Frans Prins MA (Archaeology) P.O. Box 947 Howick 3290 [email protected] 30 December 2019 Fax: 0867636380 Active Heritage CC i Curry Road 560 Details and experience of independent Heritage Impact Assessment Consultant Consultant: Frans Prins (Active Heritage cc) Contact person: Frans Prins Physical address: 33 Buchanan Street, Howick, 3290 Postal address: P O Box 947, Howick, 3290 Telephone: +27 033 3307729 Mobile: +27 0834739657 Fax: 0867636380 Email: [email protected] PhD candidate (Anthropology) UKZN MA (Archaeology) University of Stellenbosch 1991 Hons (Archaeology) University of Stellenbosch 1989 University of KwaZulu-Natal, Honorary Lecturer (School of Anthropology, Gender and Historical Studies). Association of Southern African Professional Archaeologists member Frans received his MA (Archaeology) from the University of Stellenbosch and is presently a PhD candidate on social anthropology at UKZN. His PhD research topic deals with indigenous San perceptions and interactions with the rock art heritage of the Drakensberg. Frans was employed as a junior research associate at the then University of Transkei, Botany Department in 1988-1990. Although attached to a Botany Department he conducted a palaeoecological study on the Iron Age of northern Transkei - this study formed the basis for his MA thesis in Archaeology. Frans left the University of Transkei to accept a junior lecturing position at the University of Stellenbosch in 1990. He taught mostly undergraduate courses on World Archaeology and research methodology during this period. From 1991 – 2001 Frans was appointed as the head of the department of Historical Anthropology at the Natal Museum, Pietermaritzburg.
    [Show full text]
  • Part I Setting the Scene
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-03176-0 — Conserving Africa's Mega-Diversity in the Anthropocene Edited by Joris P. G. M. Cromsigt , Sally Archibald , Norman Owen-Smith Excerpt More Information Part I Setting the Scene © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-03176-0 — Conserving Africa's Mega-Diversity in the Anthropocene Edited by Joris P. G. M. Cromsigt , Sally Archibald , Norman Owen-Smith Excerpt More Information 1 r Anthropogenic Inluences in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park: From Early Times to Recent Management MARISKA TE BEEST, NORMAN OWEN-SMITH, ROGER PORTER, AND JIM M. FEELY 1.1 Introduction Early humans (Homo spp.) have been an integral component of African savannas since their origination around 2 million years ago. These early humans inluenced their environment by harvesting edible plants, hunt- ing large animals, and at some stage through igniting ires, during the prolonged period while their tools remained constructed of stone. People with implements and weapons made of iron immigrated into southern Africa from the north nearly 2000 years ago, absorbing some of the hunter-gatherers, and displacing wild ungulates from where they grazed their herds of domestic sheep and cattle. Over 500 years ago, people in ships travelling from Europe towards East Asia set foot on South African shores. They established temporary settlements that soon became permanent and spread to become initially Dutch and later British colonies. Firearms were brought and an expanding trade in ivory and other wildlife products developed. Eventually the disappearance of the wild animals prompted legislation to establish ‘game reserves’ where hunting would be prohibited.
    [Show full text]
  • An Important South Africa and Crimea Group to A
    AN IMPORTANT SOUTH AFRICA AND CRIMEA GROUP TO A ROYAL SAPPERS AND MINERS WHO TOOK PART IN CAPTAIN SMITH’S RELIEF OF PORT NATAL AND SUBSEQUENT DISASTROUS BATTLE OF CONGELLA BATTLE FOUGHT AGAINST THE BOERS ON 24 MAY 1842 SOUTH AFRICA 1834-53 ‘J. JERVIS. RL. SAPRS. & MINRS.’, CRIMEA 1854-56, 1 CLASP, SEBASTOPOL, UNNAMED; TURKISH CRIMEA, BRITISH ISSUE, UNNAMED. John Jervis was born in 1818 in the Parish of St Mary’s, Woolwich, Kent, and attested for the Royal Sappers and Miners at Woolwich on 5 December 1836, aged 18, a miner by trade. He served for a total of 23 years 136 days, of which 20 years 6 months were spent on overseas service: Cape of Good Hope (Eastern Cape Frontier) 15 years 2 months, Crimea 1 year 4 months, and Malta 4 years. When discharged at Chatham on 19 June 1860, he was in possession of the Kaffir War medal for the campaigns of 1846-47 and 1850-53, together with the Crimea medal with Sebastopol clasp and Turkish Crimea medal. Jervis went with No. 2 Company to the Cape in April 1841 and, on 10 August, he was one of 20 men of No. 2 Coy who were transferred to No. 10 Coy, then at the Cape, and from this time on the musters record him as being on ‘Special Service’. He thus accompanied Captain Smith in April 1842 on his epic 600 mile overland trek from Fort Peddie to Port Natal (Durban) to the relief of the 27th Regiment, besieged at that place after their defeat in action with the Boers.
    [Show full text]
  • African Communist, No. 80
    African Communist, No. 80 http://www.aluka.org/action/showMetadata?doi=10.5555/AL.SFF.DOCUMENT.0001.9976.000.080.1980 Use of the Aluka digital library is subject to Aluka’s Terms and Conditions, available at http://www.aluka.org/page/about/termsConditions.jsp. By using Aluka, you agree that you have read and will abide by the Terms and Conditions. Among other things, the Terms and Conditions provide that the content in the Aluka digital library is only for personal, non-commercial use by authorized users of Aluka in connection with research, scholarship, and education. The content in the Aluka digital library is subject to copyright, with the exception of certain governmental works and very old materials that may be in the public domain under applicable law. Permission must be sought from Aluka and/or the applicable copyright holder in connection with any duplication or distribution of these materials where required by applicable law. Aluka is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to creating and preserving a digital archive of materials about and from the developing world. For more information about Aluka, please see http://www.aluka.org African Communist, No. 80 Alternative title African Communist Author/Creator South African Communist Party Publisher South African Communist Party (London) Date 1980 Resource type Magazines (Periodicals) Language English Subject Coverage (spatial) South Africa, Lesotho Coverage (temporal) 1980 Description Forward to People's Power - The Challenge Ahead; Long Live Proletarian Internationalism!; Editorial Notes; King Moshweshwe Who Built a Nation and Defeated the Boers; 'Petals of Blood' as a Mirror of the African Revolution; Africa Notes and Comment; Scientific Socialism and Franz Fanon; Book Reviews; The African Communist: List of Comments 1979.
    [Show full text]
  • Centre for Applied Social Sciences Univ Si.Y of Natal King Gec.-Ge V Avenue Du}4001 Sou H Africa I
    INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH UNIVERSITY OF NATAL, DURBAN. "FOCUS ON CITIES" CONFERENCE EXCURSION GUIDE - NORTH COAST Wednesday, 10th July, 1968. Centre for Applied Social Sciences Univ si.y of Natal King Gec.-ge V Avenue Du}4001 Sou h Africa I Page 1. Objectives, Itinerary and Route Map. 1 2. Leaving Durban : Some Notes on the Route. 3 3. Background to the Inanda Magisterial 8 District. 4. The Main Stops : Some Pacts and 20 Observations. 5. Re-entering Durban : Some Notes on 27 the Route. 1. OBJECTIVES The general objective of the day's travel and visits is to observe the character of the country immediately north of Durban. More specifically, the objectives are : a) to observe the patterns of rural land use, b) to observe the settlement patterns, and c) to observe industrial and development patterns. From our observations of these characteristics of the landscape, we may hope to gain some appreciation of: i) the geographic diversity of the lower North Coast, and ii) the impact on it of the Durban Metropolis. During our drive out of Durban and the drive through Durban on our return we may observe some of the features of the urban morphology and townscapes of the City. ITINERARY 1. Bus departs Howard College: 11.15 £ 2. Leave Durban via Innes, Umgeni and the North Coast Roads. 3. Visit Phoenix Settlement. 4. Visit to Verulam: Lunch 2. LEAVING DURBAN : SOME NOTES ON THE ROUTE Leaving the University campus, we drive north (South Ridge Road) along the southern section of the undulating Berea sand ridge {- 400 feet a.s.l.).
    [Show full text]