Sudan 1885 Read online

  The curious ‘mushroom’ shaped sun helmets seen in some campaign photos were made in India, and shipped to Egypt and the Sudan for issue. They were a thick pith hat, mostly worn by members of the Royal Engineers, and were preferred by the medical corps over the standard issue helmet, which did not offer the same sun protection for the wearer. A number of New South Wales troops wore this type of headgear. The rest wore the standard issue Foreign Service helmet. In the field sand goggles were usually attached by cord to the helmet. Fly veils and neck covers were also attached.

  NEW SOUTH WALES ARTILLERY

  New South Wales artillery Source: National Archives of the United Kingdom.

  A 9-pounder could fire three different types of ammunition (each weighing about 4.3 kilograms):

    •  case shot (against an enemy at close quarters);

    •  common shell (for destroying buildings and earthwork); or

    •  shrapnel shell (against an enemy at long range)

  A crew of nine men (including a gun sergeant) served each gun, while there were usually three drivers for the six horses pulling the gun and its limber. The limber carried 18 projectiles and 18 cartridges, together with two Henry carbines for close personal protection, a range of fuses, friction tubes, and assorted tools.

  Australian infantry on the march through mountainous terrain. Note beards and variations in uniform Contemporary sketch. Source: John Grant, Cassell’s History of the War in the Soudan, Volume IV, Cassell, London, 1885, p. 72.

  In the Sudan different corps were distinguished by the colour of the cloth pagris (or puggaree) worn around the helmet. For example:

    •  divisional staff – khaki with a dark blue stripe

    •  brigade staff – khaki with a red stripe

    •  cavalry staff - red

    •  administrative staff - khaki

    •  artillery - blue

    •  cavalry – khaki with green twisted through it

    •  infantry – khaki (but COs could authorise specific colours)

    •  engineers – red and blue

    •  commissariat/transport - khaki

  The Royal Navy contingent wore blue jumpers with white trousers, canvas gaiters and ankle boots, and straw hats. Officers still wore white helmets.

  The New South Wales Contingent’s adjutant, Captain Charles Bartlett, issued Regimental Orders on arrival at Suakin on 30 March: ‘Helmets, braces straps and white belts will be stained with a solution of coffee. The use of pipeclay [whitener] being discontinued until further orders’. In his diary, Sergeant Arthur Butler mentioned the use of tobacco juice as another staining agent.

  Before deploying the Contingent commander, Colonel John Richardson, suggested to the government that every man be issued with blue spectacles (sunglasses) and bushmen’s fly veils.

  FIELD KIT

  Before deployment, infantry officers in Sydney were advised under Regimental Orders to take with them a helmet, drill jacket, trousers, shooting boots, socks, drawers, flannel shirt, handkerchief (silk), gaiters, clasp knife (with tweezers in it), drinking cup and water bottle, pocket book, telescope or field glasses, compass, watch, waterproof coat, haversack, and a map of the country.

  The last item is of interest, because officers were expected to buy their own map, but no recommended supplier, map scale, or other details were given. The Colonial Secretary in London authorized the payment of between £30 and £50 to officers as an ‘outfit allowance’. The Colonial Secretary also approved the issue of two months’ advance pay to all officers.

  Officers’ valises or bags were to contain a greatcoat with cape, one blanket, one pair of trousers, shooting boots and six spare boot laces, two pairs of socks, one pair drawers, one flannel shirt, one silk handkerchief, one woollen nightcap, one uniform cap and a hold-all containing one comb, one small hairbrush, one small clothes brush, one pair scissors, one metal soap box, one small sponge in bag. A housewife, one tin of blacking, one portfolio containing pen, ink and paper, one journal book, one cholera belt, one calico bandage, one candle lamp, one tin match box, one tin plate; one cup in leather bag containing knife, fork and spoon, pepper and salt pot, an India rubber or canvas basin, tobacco, and a soldier’s pocket book were also required. This brought the total weight of the bag to just over 18 kilograms.

  The cholera belt, also known as a Kummberbund, was a cotton or flannel waistband first issued to British troops in the Crimean War (but used in most European armies until the 1890s). They were believed to prevent cholera through stopping chills, and to protect the spine against solar radiation, thereby preventing sunstroke.

  Preparing to deploy. Tents at Sydney‘s Victoria Barracks Source: Dictionary of Sydney.

  PAY RATES

  All those deploying to the Sudan would be paid five shillings a day, seven if they were married, with a further sixpence for each child. Their British Army counterparts received about a shilling a day. The standard rates of pay for soldiers ‘at home’ (annual for officers, daily for other ranks) were:

  Commander

  £1,250

  Lieutenant Colonels (in command)

   £650

  Lieutenant Colonels

    £600

  Majors

    £500

  Captains

    £400

  Lieutenants over three years’ service

    £355

  Lieutenants under three years’ service

    £325

  Surgeons

    £400

  Veterinary Surgeon

    £400

  Chaplains

    £200

  Sergeant-Majors

  £0.5.6

  Quartermaster Sergeants

  £0.5.0

  Sergeants

  £0.4.0

  Corporals

  £0.3.1

  Bombardiers

  £0.3.2

  Trumpeters, Buglers, Gunners and Privates

  £0.2.3

  THE NEW SOUTH WALES OFFER

  William Dalley was acting premier of New South Wales in 1885, standing in for the premier, who had suffered a stroke the previous year. A staunch imperialist and a political opportunist, Dalley wasted no time in making a public show of support for British efforts to avenge the death of Gordon, the empire’s foremost hero. On Thursday 17 February 1885 he called in senior officers of the colony’s defence force to brief him on the readiness and capacity of their organisation to deploy. He also took steps to contact shipping contractors to secure maritime transport, and sent a cable to the colony’s agent in London.

  Front cover of the Echo newspaper. Source: National Library of Australia.

  William Bede Dalley, acting Premier of New South Wales, 1885 Contemporary sketch. Source: Wikipedia Commons.

  The initial contribution

  ‘This Government offers to Her Majesty’s Government two batteries of our Permanent Field Artillery, with ten sixteen-pound guns, properly horsed; also an effective disciplined battalion of infantry, five hundred strong … Can undertake to land Force at Suakim [sic] within thirty days of embarkations. Reply at once.’There were risks for the imperial government if it did not accept. First, it would provide ammunition for those in the Australian colonies who, if not anti-British, sought more autonomy from London. Second, it would send a negative message to the British public that, having delayed so long in a rescue attempt, it was now writing-off Gordon. Despite misgivings on the part of the Secretary of State for War, Lord Hartington, the New South Wales offer was accepted.

  However, there was one caveat to Britain’s acceptance of the force. It would have to come under the control and command of senior British officers. This arrangement would be followed in the Boer War and often in two World Wars and since.

  The New South Wales Contingent still had no clear mission, although later, when it reached its destination, its mission became to protect the gangs
working on the construction of a railway line from Suakin to Berber. The British government did not share the colonial government’s enthusiasm, as the force was an unknown quantity, and could prove to be a real liability in the field.

  Legally the New South Wales government was not entitled to make an offer of troops, as it could not enlist any soldier for overseas service. This meant that retrospective legislation had to be introduced to its Parliament on 17 March – two weeks after the contingent sailed. Dalley had not waited for the Parliament to convene to approve the force formally, fearing that he would be outbid by one of the other Australian colonies. The legality of the deployment was therefore questionable. The news of the death of Gordon in Khartoum reached Australia on 6 February 1885. It created an enormous and unprecedented outpouring of imperial fervour, and cries for revenge.

  ‘The fall of Khartoum and the death of Gordon had been announced to the world. The hearts of the English nation was heavy at the sacrifice of one of its most noble-minded men. The sorrow was universal but through the dark gloom came a raging light that illuminated the breasts of the British people. A ready willed Australian politician … took a step that will forever cause his name to be associated with the history of Australia.’

  Hamilton St. Clair Dick, Sydney 1885

  Dalley’s object in offering troops for the Sudan was:

  to testify to the readiness of the Australian colonies to give instant and practical help to the Empire … conceiving that such a course cannot be without a beneficial effect upon those who may, in dealing adversely with the Imperial interest, fail to recognize the esteem, the sympathy, and the adherence of the Colonies.

  The reality was that Dalley was stealing a march on the other colonies. This was a period of intense inter-colonial rivalry in Australia. Britain declined offers of military support from South Australia, Queensland and Victoria (which offered three gunboats) mainly because of imperial red tape. It therefore fell to soldiers of New South Wales to be the first of any self-governing colony to serve in an imperial war.

  The proposed New South Wales Contingent consisted of:

    •  artillery: four officers, 26 non-commissioned officers (NCOs), eight artificers, three buglers, 168 gunners and drivers, 172 horses; 21 limbers and carriages, ten 16 pounder guns (later rejected), four ammunition wagons (to carry the infantry’s ammunition), one spare gun carriage, one forage wagon, one store wagon, one general service wagon, one store cart, six small arms wagons, 300 rounds of shot for each gun.

    •  infantry: 19 officers, one bugle major, one colour sergeant, 50 NCOs, eight buglers, 133 other ranks and 24 horses.

    •  Health and veterinary: two surgeons, four staff surgeons, one veterinarian.

  The original deployment plan envisaged a force of one infantry battalion (522 men and 24 horses) and an artillery battery of 209 men and 172 horses. They constituted a quarter of the New South Wales permanent and reserve forces. In Sydney, barracks and recruiters were overwhelmed by a massive public response as men clamoured to be enlisted. Not all were successful, and of the first group of 143 volunteers who arrived at Victoria Barracks, 23 were rejected on medical grounds.

  THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE SWORN BY NEW SOUTH WALES VOLUNTEERS

  Queen Victoria (24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901), Queen Empress. Source: Wikipedia Commons.

  I, …, swear that I will well and truly serve our Sovereign Lady the Queen, in the New South Wales Infantry, for the term of one year, or for two years if required for that period, or until sooner lawfully discharged, dismissed, or removed; and that I will resist Her Majesty’s enemies, and cause Her Majesty’s peace to be kept both on land and at sea; and that I will in all matters appertaining to my service faithfully discharge my duty according to law.

  Shoeing forge of the NSW artillery at Suakin Contemporary sketch. Source: John Grant, Cassell’s History of the War in the Soudan, Volume IV, Cassells, London, 1885, p. 164.

  The War Office advised that it would provide artillery ammunition, rations for the troops, and forage for the animals at the same scale as issued to imperial units. All the colonial artillerymen would also be issued with a revolver on landing. The result of the overall arrangements was that one, not two, batteries of artillery would deploy. This meant that Colonel Charles Roberts did not go with the Contingent, but his second in command, Lieutenant Colonel Warner Spalding would command its artillery.

  The War Office had committed to supply much of the Contingent’s operational equipment. Initially a battery of Nordenfelt guns was proposed to be sent to Suakin for the colonials. In addition, the British army would supply six ammunition wagons, six forage carts, one portable pack saddle forge, 12 large forges, 1000 felt-covered water bottles and webbing, tentage, 250 pistols (with holsters and ammunition), 1000 individual charcoal water filters, 1000 field dressings, and khaki uniforms for all members.

  The senior staff officers of the contingent were listed in the New South Wales Government Gazette on 27 February 1885:

  Colonel John S. Richardson, General Staff, in command.

  Lieutenant Colonel William Christie, General Staff, major of brigade, second in command.

  Captain Henry D. Mackenzie, Permanent Artillery, adjutant of brigade and staff officer for artillery, with temporary rank of major.

  Captain Thomas Blanchard, ordnance storekeeper, to be paymaster and commissariat officer, with rank of major.

  Captain Thomas Samuel Parrott, volunteer engineer, to be engineer officer.

  Staff Surgeon William Williams, Principal Medical Officer, with relative rank of major.

  Usher G. Doyle to be surgeon, with the relative rank of captain.

  George Proudfoot to be surgeon, with the relative rank of captain.

  Henry B. Copeland, medical clerk.

  COLONEL JOHN SOAME RICHARDSON

  Colonel John Soame Richardson A 48-year old former British officer and Crimea veteran, Richardson was given command of the New South Wales Contingent despite being junior in rank to Roberts, an officer of similar experience, who headed the colony’s permanent artillery. Source: Sydney Illustrated News.

  Richardson’s immediate staff included four officers - three full-time and one from the volunteers. Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Wells, the senior infantry officer, was a reservist, as were two of his four company commanders. The other two were former British regular officers.

  This mix made some in the War Office nervous about the overall competence of the command at staff rank and above. Two of the three medical officers were staff surgeons; the veterinary officer was a civilian who was given the rank of captain; while five artillery officers were from the New South Wales Permanent Force. There were also a Catholic and a Protestant chaplain.

  Age Distribution of the Contingent Graph.

  Of the infantry who were about to deploy, over one third had previously served in the British army or the Royal Navy. As with Australian units sent to South Africa in 1899 and in both world wars, there was a broad economic and social mix: professional men, skilled tradesmen, policemen, clerks and others. Most of the men were what we would now term reservists, and had belonged to the New South Wales Volunteers.

  They had an average age of 26, and over 80 percent were single. Just over half of them had been born in Australia, and it was an all male force. Several women volunteered in Sydney to deploy as nurses, but their services were refused because Dalley believed they would be unnecessary for such a small contingent that would operate as part of the imperial military machine.

  Enlistment, Medicals and drills, Sydney Illustrated News, 1885.

  NATIONAL ORIGINS AND PRIOR MILITARY SERVICE OF MEMBERS OF THE CONTINGENT

  Number

  Prior Service

  Canada

  4

  2

  Cape Colony

  2

  1

  Denmark

  2

  0

  England

  168

  71


  Germany

  1

  0

  Ireland

  46

  24

  New Zealand

  11

  3

  New South Wales

  182

  6

  Queensland

  2

  1

  Scotland

  45

  15

  South Australia

  2

  0

  Tasmania

  6

  2

  Victoria

  20

  3

  Wales

  4

  1

  Total Infantry

  495

  129

  The troopships Australasian and Iberian. Sydney Mail, 28 February 1885.

  GETTING THERE

  Dalley had one advantage over the other Australian colonies: immediate access to suitable shipping. At the time he made his offer to the British government, Sydney Harbour was crammed with ships. He negotiated with the Orient Shipping Company to lease one of its steamers, the Iberia. The White Star Line also offered one of its vessels then in the harbour, the Australasian, as a second troopship.