Anyone interested in the campaigns in Togoland, Cameroons and German South West Africa may like to know of the Naval & Military Press recent reprint of the History of the Great War: Medical Services General History. Volume 1 by Major-General W.G. Macpherson includes the three African campaigns but not East Africa. Any suggestions as to why this is?

Included in the book are short descriptions of the campaigns followed by how the medical services were set up and run. The distances involved in evacuating wounded soldiers were often formidable. For the British column operating in the Northern Cameroons anyone unfortunate to go sick or get wounded faced a gruelling five day trek to Maiduguri in the extreme north of Nigeria.

To give a flavour of the book I thought it might be useful to make broad comparisons between the various campaigns. I've added in Tsingtau in China to provide an extra comparison. Unfortunately my attempt to paste in a table failed so the figures will be a little hard to follow.


South West Africa

Men who served 76,467
Killed in action 122 (1.)
Died of disease 115
Wounded 263 (2.)
Total 500
% casualties 0.7%

Cameroons

Men who served 18,632 (3.)
All casualties 3,472 (4.)
% casualties 18.6%

Togoland
Men who served 716
Killed 22 (5.)
Died of wounds1
Died of disease ?
Wounded 51
Total 74
% casualties 10.3%

Tsingtau
Men who served 24,500 (6.)
Killed 454
Died of wounds ?
Died of disease 29
Wounded 1525
Total 2008
% of casualties 8.2%

Notes
(1.) Includes died of wounds.
(2.) From Official History of the Great War, Campaign in German South West Africa by Brigadier General J.J. Collyer, 1937.
(3.) General Dobell's column 7,362, General Aymerich's column 7,270 and General Cunliffe's column 4,000.
(4.) Figure is for all casualties. Detailed figures only available for General Dobell's column of 474 killed and 1,206 wounded giving a casualty rate of 22.8%.
(5.) British (European and native) troops only.
(6.) Japanese 23,000, 2^nd South Wales Borderers and 36^th Sikhs 1,500.

Some figures are rounded and comparing like with like is not straightforward plus some of the figures in Medical Services differ from those in the relevant Official Histories. Despite this the figures are still a useful guide. Certainly if you were to volunteer to serve in one of the campaigns you really wouldn't want to be in the Cameroons.

For South West Africa the number of men killed in action more or less equals those who died of disease. The book makes a useful comparison with the Boer War where disease killed far more than Boer bullets. In the Boer War cases of enteric fever ran at 38.8 per 1,000 men compared to only 0.78 per 1,000 in the South West Africa campaign clearly demonstrating the value and effectiveness of inoculation.

On a less positive note the native (African) carriers widely employed in the Cameroons and German South West Africa were not immune to being killed in action or succumbing to disease as the table below shows.

South West Africa

Number 33,500
Killed 12 (a)
Died of disease 92
Total 104

Cameroons

Number 30,000
Killed 38
Died of disease 472
Total 510

Notes
(a) Includes 3 died of wounds



Sanitary arrangements were often the biggest challenge. There is a wonderful reference to the mounted troops in South West Africa using the wooden latrine seats for firewood and tethering their horses to the standpipes. At Lomé in Togoland the troops of the Gold Coast Regiment were simply marched into the sea when they needed the latrine.



A small army of trained sanitary inspectors was set up in South West Africa and in the words of Medical Services "did invaluable work." Must have been a popular job. They were aided and abetted by "a small and copiously illustrated handbook on field sanitation in English and Dutch." Has anyone ever come across a copy of this handbook?



Numerous accounts from the South West Africa campaign relate tales of the retreating Germans poisoning the water wells. In a country where water can be very scarce this was rightly viewed as a heinous crime. General Botha, in charge of the South Africa troops, referred to this flagrant breach of the Hague Convention and reserved to himself the right at any time to exact reprisals.



Medical Services has a contradictory position on the poisoning of wells. On the one hand it reports the Germans poisoning the wells at Swakopmund with arsenic but goes on later to say that the suspicion of wells being contaminated was never confirmed.



Has anyone come across a first hand account of a poisoned water well? I've found one account of an officer using his native servant to test the water first. Fortunately he lived.



In the event of finding a suspect well an appendix in the book gives a full description on Field Poison Testing Equipment – Directions for Use. Handy.



The section on the campaign in South West Africa is not as comprehensive as it might be. It finishes in August 1915 so deaths caused by the outbreak of Spanish Influenza in late 1918 are missing. The Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery at Aus on the road to Lüderitz contains several graves of South African troops, guarding the nearby prisoner of war camp, who died of influenza.



The history is largely uncritical. It is evident that changes are made as experience is gained but it would be useful to compare Medical Services with some first hand accounts of what it was like to be wounded and evacuated. Does anyone know of such accounts?



Beyond the African campaigns Volume 1 covers Tsingtau, Bermuda, Jamaica, the Mediterranean garrisons, Hong Kong, the Straits Settlements, Ceylon, South Africa and the home front.



Overall this is a fascinating book on an often neglected aspect of the war in Africa. This is not intended to be an advert for the Naval & Military Press but more to highlight a potential research resource.



Indeed the main downside to the book is the price, £28 for a paperback, and the poor quality reproduction of the photographs. This is a great shame as there are many unusual photographs but alas nearly all Naval & Military Press reprints suffer from this. The photograph of the German Camel ambulance deserves better!

For those without the 28 pounds a free download is available on the internet.

Yesterday I happened to come across a gunners service record which noted that his service in West Africa counted 'double' towards his pension ,, with an explicit note that this gave him 21 years pensionable service while serving some years less in fact .. i presume this reflects the high mortality rate amongst West African postings...?

david

Is it possible to provide a link to this please?

Sue

Does the book contain any references to medical officers who served in west africa, i have been researching a captain matthew william fraser, he served in colums operating in togoland, he later became chief medical officer of the gold coast, if there is any reference i would be greatful of any advice

Operations in East Africa are included in volume four.

Sue

There are certainly quite a few mentions of officers, but mainly the more senior ranks. The indexing is fairly minimal, although this first volume is rather better than some of the others, and there is no mention in the index of a Matthew Fraser. My query about an online version was really to see if a search would be made easier - I have to admit I haven't seen this online anywhere, but would be interested if it is.

Sue

cheers sue, i would like to see the online version also

I've had another look through Medical Services and can find no reference to a Captain Fraser either. I also checked the Offical History Military Operations in Togoland and the Cameroon but to no avail.

The on-line version is a bit of a mystery. Plenty of online sites refer to it but none so as far I can see have downloadable versions.

Thanks Sue for pointing out East Africa is in Volume 4. The Naval & Military Press miss this key bit of info from their advert!

james w

I downloaded it one day but did not keep the reference.

It is a University of Toronto version.

Sorry.

Thanks for the check on MWF