With the centenary of the First World War receding into history, there is less being posted on the events in Africa. However, there does seem to be a growing interest in research into the war on the continent. So to assist researchers and consolidate what is on the GWAA site, I’ve started putting together some themed posts. The first are below. (Hopefully subscribers don’t get bombarded with too many inbox notifications).
Please feel free to comment/provide additional information on the post or email me.

Archival sources – https://gweaa.com/archive-sources/
British Empire Medal Rolls and Medal Cards – https://gweaa.com/british-empire-medal-rolls-and-medal-cards
Planes and Africa in World War 1 – https://gweaa.com/planes-and-africa-in-1914-1918

The British Overseas Railways Historical Trust has been updating its African Reference Sources. There is some coverage of the 1914-1918 years if you look carefully.

In the news, a statue of John Chilembwe is to be placed on the 4th plinth on Trafalgar Square (2021 announcement; TimeOut)

There have also been some updates on the CWGC Enquiry into Non-Commemoration (scroll down to the end of the page for the latest news).

There is not much for this month, but a few items have tight deadlines so I thought I’d post this sooner rather than later…

Names missing from a memorial in South Africa – CWGC announcement; memorial design competition closing date 2 June 2022 (Heritage Portal article)

Info on SS Mendi Memorial in Rondebosch, SA

For anyone in the neighbourhood wanting to do a Tsavo Battlefield Tour, Tom Lawrence has today released the following:
Apologies for the short notice of this trip, but it has been cobbled together, but it will provisionally be as follows;
• Friday 10th June. Meet at Tsavo River Station (please come with a packed lunch). Over lunch we will set the scene. Next will be a brief look at the Tsavo River defences inside Tsavo West. That night will be spent at Kitani Bandas (these are self-catering and depending on the nature of the group we will either eat at Severin Lodge, or work out our own catering.
• Saturday 11th June. Drive to Kitchwa Tembo Fort. This has only recently been revisited having probably not had a soul visit it for some twenty of so years (the last time james Willson was there was about 25 years ago. This will be 4×4 ONLY. From there we will go to Taita Hills Lodge where we will stay.
• Sunday 12th June. Go down to Taveta, visiting Maktau (where the main British garrison was), and Taveta Cemetery, and the old police station where the first shot of the East African Campaign was fired. Lunch will be at Grogan’s Castle. If there are those who need to get back to nairobi, you can do so direct from Taveta up to Oloitokitok and then on the brand new tarmac to Emaili, or Kajiado.
• Monday 13th June. For those who don’t have conventional jobs, and can afford an extra day and not have to drive back to Nairobi, I have to go and try to locate some graves of the 130th Baluchis on Kasiagu mountain… we have been so close for three trips now, but have narrowed it down -so fingers crossed!!!
For further info and costings please contact Tom direct on atomlaw50[@]gmail.com”

In March there was a talk on the “The South African Motorcyclist Corps. (1916-1918)” by Errol Back-Cunningham. The Zoom recordings are available at Part 1 and Part 2. The talk is based on the diary of Alan Stuart-Findlay, Platoon 8, Potchefstroom 1916 to 1918.

A fairly new organisation has set up to remember South African Indian involvement in World War 1 amongst other conflicts. More about the SA Indian Legion is on the Legacy page. They’re operational on Facebook.

For anyone interested in Egypt during the First World War, there is now a dedicated website. It is managed by Stuart Hadaway.

In Mauritius, the 100th Anniversary of the War Memorial was observed on the 15th April 2022 at the Royal College Curepipe in collaboration with the association ‘SOS Patrimoine en Peril “Save our Heritage”‘ (represented by Arrmaan Shamachurn & Akilesh Gunputh, also former student of RCC). A history of the memorial was posted in the March Newsletter. You can see photos of the commemoration service here. For anyone interested, you might still be able to obtain a copy

The 2022 CWGC review, a year after the enquiry into Non-Commemoration is now available. The CWGC team are currently in Kenya speaking to local communities about the impact of the war and aspects of commemoration.

Something slightly different – a look at South and East Africa from a travel perspective before war breaks out.

The resources page has been updated – well, rather let’s say the dud links have been removed. It’s much shorter now and you probably have to do a bit more digging on some of the sites to find their 1914-1918 Africa material. I’m thinking of introducing themed newsletters listing useful sources on a topic, both in print and online, perhaps including some archive references. Let me know if you have strong feelings either way.

GWAA will be at the Britannia Medal Fair in London on 8 May 2022 to answer questions. Books will also be on sale. Please email Anne if you would like to pre-order or reserve your copy. This includes Harry Fecitt’s recent book on The King’s African Rifles and East African Forces in both world wars, James Willson’s Guerrillas of Tsavo, Peter Charlton’s Cinderella’s Soldiers and more.