An Enduring Commitment: The British Military's Role in Sierra Leone

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Notes

I am grateful to Dr Ashley Jackson, David Steeds and Major Jonny Bristow (SCOTS/IMATT) for reading draft versions of this article and the most helpful comments and suggestions they provided. The analysis, opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the JSCSC, the UK MoD or any other government agency.

1 ‘Sierra Leone is Like a Tinderbox. It Will Only Take One Spark’, The Independent, 28 Nov. 2006; ‘Diamond War in Sierra Leone is Over, but the Pain Lingers’, The Observer, 1 April 2007; ‘The War is Over but the Poorest of the Poor are Still Suffering’, The Times, 6 April 2007; ‘Sierra Leone: Troubled Nation’, The Guardian, 26 May 2007; ‘Sierra Leone's Chance to Change’, Independent on Sunday, 5 Aug. 2007.

2 Christopher Fyfe, A History of Sierra Leone (London 1962) p.146; S.C. Ukpabi, ‘West Indian Troops and the Defence of British West Africa in the Nineteenth Century’, African Studies Review 17/1 (April 1974) pp.136–49.

3 David Killingray, ‘The Maintenance of Law and Order in British Colonial Africa’, African Affairs 85/340 (July 1986) pp.420, 427; Col. A. Haywood and Brig. F.A.S. Clarke, The History of the Royal West African Frontier Force (Aldershot, UK: Gale & Polen 1964) pp.18–19.

4 Fyfe (note 2) pp.522–91; Haywood and Clarke (note 3) pp.23–5, 33; ‘A Forgotten Campaign: Sierra Leone 1898’, The National Army Museum Annual Report, 1980–81, pp.41–6; J.D. Hargreaves, ‘The Establishment of the Sierra Leone Protectorate and the Insurrection of 1898’, Cambridge Historical Journal 12/1 (1956) pp.71–80.

5 David Killingray, ‘The Mutiny of the West African Regiment in the Gold Coast, 1901’, International Journal of African Historical Studies 16/3 (1983) p.444.

6 Bryan to Elgin, 15 July 1906, Colonial Office (hereafter CO) 445/4/25932 (National Archives, London) [hereafter ‘NA’].

7 Haywood and Clarke (note 3) pp.31, 40, 43; in the period up to 1919 the Battalion had a further five commanding officers drawn from the Royal Artillery, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, the Suffolk Regiment, the Manchester Regiment, and the North Staffordshire Regiment.

8 A.F. Ferryman‐Mockler, British West Africa: Its Rise and Progress (London 1900) p.46.

9 Maurice Hankey to Adeline Hankey, 6 Aug. 1906 (Churchill Archives, Cambridge) AHKY1/1/5.

10 ‘Report on Inspection in Sierra Leone (1911)’ pp.3–14, Hamilton Papers (Liddell Hart Archives, King's College London), Hamilton 5/3/9.

11 E.D.A. Turay and A. Abraham, The Sierra Leone Army: A Century of History (London: Macmillan 1988) pp.10–14; Richard West, Back to Africa: A History of Sierra Leone and Liberia (London: Cape 1970) p.287.

12 Michael Crowder and Jide Osuntokun, ‘The First World War and West Africa, 1914–1918’ in J.F. Ade Ajayi and Michael Crowder (eds.), History of West Africa, Volume Two (Harlow, UK: Longman 1987) pp.546–55; Capt. Newstead of the Suffolks was the most senior officer to be killed in action – a total of 24 European troops were killed and a further 30 wounded during the campaign, see Haywood and Clarke (note 3) pp.97–175 and Brig.‐Gen. F.J. Moberly, History of the Great War, Military Operations: Togoland and the Cameroons, 1914–1916 (London: HMSO 1931).

13 West (note 11) p.288.

14 Col. M. Everett, ‘Sierra Leone’, Journal of the Royal United Service Institution 81 (Feb.–Nov. 1936) p.501.

15 Maj. Arthur Chrystal Papers, Oxford Development Records Project (Rhodes House Library, Oxford) MSS. Afr.1734 [Box 2/92] [hereafter ‘ODRP’].

16 ‘Reminiscences of Sierra Leone, 1925–1927’, Lt. G.S. Renny Papers (National Army Museum, London) 8410‐82‐8.

17 Brig. J.D.A. Lamont Papers, ODRP [Box 7/251].

18 Brig. George Laing Papers, ODRP [Box 7/249].

19 Haywood and Clarke (note 3) pp.318–62.

20 Michael Crowder, ‘The 1939–45 War and West Africa’ in Ajayi and Crowder, History of West Africa (note 12) p.666; Ibrahim Abdullah, ‘Rethinking the Freetown Crowd: The Moral Economy of the 1919 Strikes and Riot in Sierra Leone’, Canadian Journal of African Studies 28/2 (1994) pp.212–13; in July 1919 at the time of what became known as ‘The Syrian Riots’, the result of alleged inflation of rice prices by Syrian traders, the assistance of the military was requested by the Governor. These forces forcefully halted looting at Port Lokko, the outpost nearest to Freetown, with all the actual firing on the looters, except for one incident, being done by non‐Africans. It was recorded that some local troops joined with the mob and even led the affray.

21 Maj. Charles Lane Papers, ODRP [Box 7/252].

22 Jardine to Dawe, 15 Oct. 1939, CO 267/673/32285, NA; Capt. John Amsden Memoirs, p.32 (Imperial War Museum, London), 87/23/1; Giffard puts the number at a maximum of 236 ocean‐going ships with 150 being the norm, Gen. Sir George Giffard, ‘The Royal West African Frontier Force and its Expansion for War’, Army Quarterly 50/1 (April 1945) p.194.

23 Haywood and Clarke (note 3) pp.363–484.

24 Peter C. Smith, ‘French Air Strikes on Gibraltar’, World War Two Investigator (Sept. 1988) pp.19–22.

25 ‘Musketeer’ (aka Brig. F.A.S. Clarke), ‘Memoirs of a Professional Soldier in Peace and War’, Chapter 11, pp.2–3 (Liddell Hart Archives) Clarke 1/1.

26 ‘Musketeer’, ‘A Staff Officer in Africa’, Journal of the Royal United Service Institution 94 (Feb.–Nov. 1949) p.445.

27 Clarke (note 25), p.17.

28 ‘Africa's Hong Kong’, Time, 26 May 1941.

29 ‘History of the 1^st Bn the Sierra Leone Regiment, Royal West African Frontier Force’ (The Regiment, October 1945) pp.1–5.

30 Maj.‐Gen. C. G. Woolner to Col. A Dunlop, 20 Aug. 1946, Woolner Papers (National Army Museum) 9211‐162‐11‐1.

31 Brig. J.D.A. Lamont Papers, ODRP [Box 7/251].

32 BSM Roy Symons, ‘The War Years’, pp.6–7 (Imperial War Museum) 05/69/1.

33 Capt. John Amsden, ‘Memoirs’, (Imperial War Museum) 87/23/1, p.38.

34 Haywood and Clarke (note 3) p.479; on 12 Feb. 1955, with no water supplies available and orders to use firm action to stop fire raising and persistent looting, a platoon of troops under Lt. Cox became heavily involved with looters. There was only one platoon in reserve and he took the decision to fire aimed bursts into the mob. Some 30 rounds were fired from the platoon Bren gun leading to a number of fatalities. Almost immediately, however, the looting stopped and the pressure on the police ceased. Later that afternoon the strikers returned to work, ‘Report by GOC‐in‐C West Africa Command on Disturbances in Sierra Leone, February 1955’, 10 June 1955, p.4, WO216/881, NA.

35 Ibid., Lt.‐Gen. Sir Otway Herbert to Field Marshal Sir John Harding, 17 May 1955.

36 ‘Stern Action in Sierra Leone’, The Times, 3 Sept. 1957, p.10.

37 Maj. D.P. Monckton Papers, ODRP [Box 8/307]; besides Wilberforce there were three other officers' messes and a total of four BCNOs' messes.

38 ‘Naval Aspect of the Defence of the Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone’, Office of the Commander‐in‐Chief, South Atlantic, 1 March 1950, ADM 1/23845, NA.

39 Ibid., ‘Proposed Base Complement for Freetown, Sierra Leone’, 8 Aug. 1952.

40 ‘Future Constitutional Development in the Colonies’, Colonial Office Print, May 1957, p.10, CAB 134/1353, NA.

41 Ibid., Minutes of Cabinet Africa (Official) Committee, 20 Feb.1959; Ritchie Ovendale, ‘Macmillan and the Wind of Change in Africa, 1957–1960’, Historical Journal 38/2 (June 1995) pp.464–5.

42 Sir John Smyth, Bolo Whistler: The Life of General Sir Lashmer Whistler (London: Frederick Muller 1967) pp.196– 202; for a general account of this period written from the perspective of a then senior Sierra Leonean officer see also Turay and Abraham (note 11) pp.86–9; the war had, of course, done a great deal to begin the process in so much as large numbers of African troops were trained as mechanics, electricians and in similar technical and clerical roles. Such training would likely not have taken place, certainly not at the pace at which it did, without the exigencies of the war. Considerable infrastructure was also provided that greatly enhanced post‐war development. For a good general description of the many positives see M. Fortes, ‘The Impact of the War on British West Africa’, International Affairs 21/2 (April 1945) pp.206–19.

43 ‘Sierra Leone: Draft Defence Agreement’, 1 Sept. 1960, CO 968/716, NA.

44 According to a Colonial Office report produced in April 1960 financial contributions were not to cease until 1964/65 but with having been agreed prior to independence it was thought to be no longer valid; ibid., ‘Sierra Leone Constitutional Conference 1960’, April 1960.

45 W.F. Gutteridge, ‘Sierra Leone's Military Forces’, West Africa, 12 Aug. 1961, p.889.

46 Ovendale (note 41) pp.459–61; ‘Prospects for the African Territories for which the Colonial Office is Responsible’, Colonial Office, Jan. 1959, CAB 134/1353, NA.

47 Minute by P.A. Carter, 2 Feb. 1960, CO968/716, NA.

48 Milton Margai to High Commissioner's Office, 23 July 1962, DO 223/4, NA.

49 Lansana Gberie, A Dirty War in West Africa: The RUF and the Destruction of Sierra Leone (London: Hurst 2005); Christopher Allen, ‘Sierra Leone Politics since Independence’, African Affairs 67/269 (Oct. 1968) pp.323–9; Yekutiel Gershoni, ‘War without End and an End to War: The Prolonged Wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone’, African Studies Review 40/3 (Dec.1997) pp.55–76; Ibrahim Abdullah, ‘Bush Path to Destruction: The Origin and Character of the Revolutionary United Front/Sierra Leone’, Journal of Modern African Studies 36/2 (1998) pp.203–35.

50 Peter Penfold arrived in Sierra Leone in spring 1997 as British High Commissioner; six weeks later the latest in the long series of coups took place. He was bitterly critical of the support he received from London and the Foreign Office in particular – their attitude was that ‘Africa is always the place where anybody can do it as long as they have average intelligence’ – and subsequently found himself the scapegoat for the role played by mercenary forces. He was effectively sacked from his post in April 2000; see ‘Peter Alfred Penfold CMG, OBE’, British Diplomatic Oral History Programme, pp.30–51, (Churchill Archives Centre) DOHP 80.

51 Stuart Griffin, Joint Operations: A Short History (Shrivenham, UK: Joint Doctrine and Concepts Centre 2005) pp.196–212; Gwyn Prins, The Heart of War: On Power, Conflict and Obligation in the 21st Century (London: Routledge 2002) pp.194–200; Maj. Gen. David Richards, ‘Expeditionary Operations: Sierra Leone – Lesson for the Future’, World Defence Systems 3/2 (July 2001) pp.134–6; Richard Connaughton, ‘The Mechanics and Nature of British Interventions into Sierra Leone (2000) and Afghanistan (2001–2002)’, Civil Wars 5/2 (Summer 2002) pp.82–6; Richard Connaughton, ‘Organizing British Rapid Reaction Forces’, Joint Forces Quarterly (Autumn 2000) pp.91–4; Ab Jowett, ‘1 Para Battlegroup Operation Palliser’, Infantryman (2000) pp.105–7; Maj. A. R. Mack, ‘Military Intervention in Sierra Leone’, British Army Review No.125 (Autumn 2000) pp.38–45.

52 ‘Statement to the House of Commons’, 23 May 2000, House of Commons Debate, Hansard, Vol.350.

53 ‘IMATT (SL)’, Ministry of Defence website 〈http://www.army.mod.uk/operations‐deployment/overseas‐deployments/932.aspx〉; Ann M. Fitz‐Gerald, Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform – Security Sector Reform in Sierra Leone (Cranfield UP 2004) pp.11–12.

54 ‘Sierra Leone Vote Seen as Test of British Efforts’, Daily Telegraph, 13 Aug. 2007; ‘British Claims to Be a Global Force for Good Will be Tested by Today's Election in Sierra Leone’, The Guardian, 8 Sept. 2007; ‘Struggling for a Future in Sierra Leone’, Financial Times, 17 Sept. 2007; ‘Sierra Leone Finds Peace But Are They Out of the Woods?’, Belfast Telegraph, 21 Sept. 2007.

55 ‘Corruption Threat to Aid’, The Observer, 10 June 2007; Udy Bell, ‘Sierra Leone: Building on a Hard‐Won Peace’, UN Chronicle No.4 (2005) pp.42–3; Joseph Hanlon, ‘Is the International Community Helping to Recreate the Preconditions for War in Sierra Leone?’, The Round Table 94/381 (Sept. 2005) p.469.

56 ‘Sierra Leone: the Election Opportunity’, Crisis Group Africa Report No.129, 12 July 2007, pp.12–13.