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DIE SOMALILAND BURGHER CONTINGENT

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Gerhard Genis at University of Pretoria
Gerhard Genis
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Abstract

The Somaliland Burgher Contingent, consisting of Afrikaans and English speaking South Africans, was the first South African volunteer unit who fought on foreign soil. Volunteers hailed not only from South Africa but from Britain, Rhodesia, America, Ireland, Scotland, Canada and Austria as well. This truly cosmopolitan unit fought during the Third Expedition (1902-1903) in Somaliland against Mohammed Abdulle Hassan (1856-1920) - the so-called Mad Mullah. During this expedition the South Africans fought side by side with British troops of the King's Royal Rifle Corps, Indian troops and the King's African Rifles whose members consisted of Somalis, Sikhs, Sudanese and Yaos (Africans). These troops endured many hardships during the campaign: they had to march in extreme heat in thick bush country with meager rations and water. The Somaliland Burgher Contingent was involved in skirmishes with the Dervish forces of the Mullah but not in the disasters of Gumburu and Daratoleh during which two British forces were cut up. The Third Expedition was a military failure for the British and a victory for the Mullah who wanted to rid his country of the British infidel. The Mullah resisted British and Abysinian intrigues in his country until his death in 1920. Apart from the campaign, the composition, character, mobilization, demobilization and compensation of the Somaliland Burgher Contingent as well as the reasons why volunteers joined up, are discussed.
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‘Britain, India, and the Somaliland Campaigns of 1901–04’
Chapter
  • Aug 2019
The Somaliland Campaigns of 1901–1904 were, perhaps, the final ‘Victorian’ colonial expedition of the British Empire. In subsequent years, the rising threat of Imperial Germany and the ententes with France and Russia would focus British attention on European tensions. But, these expeditions demonstrated the stresses placed upon imperial resources at the turn of the century, as well as some of the conflicting interests which existed within the empire, particularly between the perceived interests and obligations of Britain and British India. The Somaliland conflict resulted from the rise of the ‘Mad Mullah,’ Muhammad Abd al-Hasan, as a fundamentalist Islamic leader in the region in the 1890s and came at a particularly vital point in the transition of the Empire and Britain’s position in the world. When the operations began, the Boer War was still underway and all available regular troops were committed there. As such, over these four years, a broad array of imperial resources were committed to Somaliland. Local levies and imperial forces from Aden, India, and Central and Eastern Africa were all utilized, as well as officers sent from Britain. London set policy (and paid the bills), but officials sent from India largely ran the campaign. This essay examines how and why these arrangements came to be, as well as their effectiveness and what they tell us about the state of the Edwardian Empire. It also considers how changing technology and diplomatic arrangements impacted this conflict as Britain transitioned from an era of imperial conflicts toward World War I.
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NAB, Pretoria: LTG, Houer 114, Leer 102/3 vol I, (Capt Scott Hardin War Gratuity-Somaliland), Brief, (Signed) H.S. Scott Harden Capt. Late Lieut Burgher Contingent -Lieutenant Governor of the Transvaal Colony, Bloemfontein, 10 November 1903; NAB, Pretoria: LTG, Houer 165, Leer F1, (Code Telegrams Secretary of State 1 June to 4 July 1903), No 565 Boers returning after serving in Somaliland, Copy of Telegram no 2 Governor Johannesburg -Secretary of State London, 30 June; NAB, Pretoria: LTG, Houer 114, Saamgebind met Minute No 155/04, P1131. (signed) Station Paymaster CapeTown -The Private Secretary to HEThe Lieutenant Governor Pretoria, No 4285 The Treasury 15 August 1903; NAB, Pretoria: GOV 629 PS 401, Captain A.A. McHardy Commanding Somaliland Burgher Contingent -Military Secretary LO His Excellency the High Commissioner, Durban, 17 July 1903;
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NAB, Pretoria: GOV 629 PS 401,Telegram No 1, Secretary of State London -Governor Johanesburg, 18 June 1903: Ibid, Brief, Captain G.R. Kewick -Henley, 26 June 1903; NAB, Pretoria: LTG, Houer 165, Leer F1. (Code Telegrams Secretary of State 1 June to 4 July 1903), No 565 Boers returning after serving in Somali land, Copy ofTelegram no 2, Governor Johannesburg -Secretary of State London, 30 June 1903;