update 4 November: Apologies for the faulty map link. It has hopefully now been resolved. Thanks to all who alerted me.
The re-post also allows me to share the website link for the SA World War 1 project which has now gone live: https://www.southafricaww1.com/
Western Front Association has some podcasts on campaigns in Africa.
The last Consul General of the Ottoman Empire and South Africa
CWGC on remembrance in Sierra Leone
And discoveries in Kenya – Karungu and Kisii
There is going to be a Remembrance Service in Taita-Taveta at the end of November 2022.
In Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, on 11 November – the launch of a South Africa World War 1 exhibition
Noel Donagh has kindly made the following map available for use. If you do use it, please let Noel know (or let me and I’ll pass on the message). Similarly, if you would like to further develop maps with Noel, get in touch.
click on the map to access legible version.
Noel’s accompanying explanation for how the map was composed:
At the turn of the 1900’s mapping in Africa was at 1:5,000,000 to 1:500,000. Little in the latter scale.
I came across 4 maps surveyed in 1911 and published in Germany in 1913.
The composite map in the link dropbox is made from two maps,
The lower 2/3 is the 1911/1913 German map @ 1:100,000 scale.
Not having a BEA map at that scale I imported the 1:500,000 BEA map and made it to a 1:100,000 scale.
They are maps from different surveys and the upper 1/3 because of its scale will have less detail.
They are not a perfect match but if you examine the area and detail where they meet each other they are a fair match and allow one to use the lower part where there is more detail with the upper BEA area.
Incidentally putting the German 1:100,000 map on top of a modern accurate map it was a good representation. Especially considering the technology available then.
The other point I see with this map set. (There are four maps – the bottom 2/3 is the top left of the four.
Tanga is on the to its left & the remaining 2 maps below these two.)
If one compares the 1911 survey of Tanga it is clear that many maps in various published documents are because of the additional road network are based (unknowingly) on later surveys.
That’s assuming there was no building boom at Tanga between the 1911 survey and 1914.