The Old and the Bold


War Diary

Copyright © 2012-2024 - All Rights Reserved - Steve Eeles - www.25throyalfusiliers.co.uk

PLACE



DUTHUMI

‘A’ Camp






























‘A’ Camp



















‘A’ Camp














POINT ‘A’

KISSAKI


































POINT ‘A’

KISSAKI

















DATE


1916

1 October



2 October






3 October



4 October

5 October

6 October








7 October



8 October






9 October

10 October



11 October

12 October

13 October



14 October


15 October

16 October

17 October

18 October

19 October

20 October

21 October


22 October


23 October



24 October


25 October


26 October

27 October

28 October

29 October

31 October

1 November

2 November

3 November



4 November

5 November

6 November

7 November

8 November

9 November

10 November


11 November

12 November

13 November

14 November

15 November

16 November

17 November

18 November



19 November

20 November

21 November

22 November

23 November

24 November

25 November

26 November

27 November

28 November

29 November

30 November

1 December

2 December


3 December

4 December

5 December

6 December

7 December

8 December

9 December

10 December

11 December

12 December


13 December


14 December

15 December

16 December

17 December

18 December

19 December

20 December

21 December

22 December

23 December

24 December

25 December

26 December 27 December

28 December

29 December

30 December

31 December


SUMMARY OF EVENTS AND INFORMATION



A wet night and morning up to 8.30.

Marched to ‘A’ Camp (OLD KISSAKI) 12 miles.  Camped inside old Boma.  Good sand soil but Boma very dirty.  Water MGETA RIVER ¼ mile away excellent, 20 yds wide, 1’ 6” deep, fair current clean sand.

Stood to arms.

Captain Gilham & Lieut. Cunningham & 30 rifles ‘A’ Coy. made up by ‘C’ Coy., to KISSAKI 3 miles. Natives clearing ground in Boma all day & gathering poles for Barrack Bandas.  Entrenchments commenced.  Scouts Patrol sent out over river to S.E.  Sketch by Lieut. Ryan.  Captain Welstead visited villages & opened negotiations for produce (all private buying stopped).  Inlying piquet of one third companies etc. sleeping in equipment.  17th Cavalry arrived, & camped outside Post.

Scouts Patrol worked at drift in conjunction with Cavalry Patrol daily.  Trenching, clearing & pole & grass gathering daily.  KISSAKI detachment sent mules daily for rations.  M.O.’s cart went to KISSAKI daily once or twice for corrugated iron etc. etc.

Hospital Bandas completed & one third others nearly finished.  Found 19 rifles, 3000 rounds ammunition etc etc at drift.

Entrenching, cleaning up.  2 signallers took over KISSAKI Station.

731 lbs. Matama meal received & issued in [lieu] of rations during the 3rd and 4th.  29th Punjabis arrived Lieut. Col. Ford took over Post.  7th Battery arrived later.

General Sheppard inspected the Post & spoke to Officers & men re position and to men re rations. Drift Patrol reported 1 white & 20 askaris, 200 yds. from river.  Captain Welstead & 20 rifles & 1 Rexer to reinforce.  Lieut. Ryan & 6 Scouts & 1 M/G to support.  German askari Patrol came from East & passed to West without touching drift or coming in contact.

Reinforcements & Supports returned to camp.  Native labour used for trenches to replace those masked by Punjaubis.

Indian piquet reported a company enemy advancing on drift.  45 mins done by every man improving trenches.  All quiet all night.

Lieut. Ryan & 13 scouts reconnoitred drift & found all clear.  Left usual standing patrol & returned. Lieut. Halstead & 11 rifles reconnoitred watering place, found all clear, left water piquet & returned. Started clearing field of fire.  Started clearing well.

About 10 shots fired by Patrol from Punjaubi post at Lieut. Brown & 12 rifles; reinforced water piquet. Reported all clear & returned to camp.  Lieut. Buchanan & Lieut. Lloyd sketch of river & road.

General Sheppard inspected camp.  Started road Patrol.  Lieut. Ryan & scouts out all day.

Small party supposed to be 1 white & 10 askaris cut wire on KISSAKI road & raided village 800 yds. to N.W.  Lieut. Buchanan & 2 rifles pursued them about 3 miles until Cavalry Patrol came up.  They escaped.  Major White & M.O. visited KISSAKI Fort.

Native labour helped Banda building.

On reported presence small party enemy 1 mile west, Capt. Welstead, Lieut. Halstead & Lieut. Brown with 35 rifles sent out by order O.C. Point ‘A’ (Col. Ford) to cut off retirement at river.  Lieut. Ryan took 15 scouts left ½ hour later to go direct to village whereat enemy reported.  Both parties returned at 23 hrs. having found enemy gone.

General Hoskins & General Sheppard visited the Post.  One askari deserter from last night’s party came in.

Enemy party reported present again as before.  Capt. Welstead out with 12 rifles at 7.30.

Lieut. Halstead special Patrol before day-break south of river with 7 rifles.  Good report.  General Sheppard, Col. Lyell & Major Money visited post and drift.  M/G porters training daily since 11th under O.C. M/G.  4 surrendered askaris sent in from KISSAKI Fort.

Major White visited KISSAKI FORT post.  2 askaris came in to water piquet at 19.30.  Col. Turner A.D.M.S. visited the post.  Capt. Hart, Veterinary Department inspected animals.

3 askaris & 2 porters surrendered to water piquet.

Dentist at Post.  Lieut. Halstead patrol 5 miles south of river 5 rifles returned on 17th at 11 hrs.

Lt. Brown & 12 rifles to investigate rumour of 1 & 6 enemy at river – found gone.

17th Cavalry left Point ‘A’.  Lt. Ryan & Scouts returned from hospital KISSAKI at 18 hrs.

Small enemy patrols reported by Punjaubi piquet at drift.

   "         "           "           "        "         "           "      "     "                                                                      

Ditto.  3 scouts layout on road towards DAKAWA.  Lieut. Halstead & 5 rifles left for reconnoitring patrol towards WIRANZI.

General Sheppard visited the post.

Pte. Henderson & 1 other rifle & 6 porters came in from Lt. Halstead.

33 best mules sent to MWUHA SUMMIT.  

Lt. Halstead returned.

Lt. Buchanan with 2 rifles & 5 natives to survey road KISSAKI to KASSANGA (Daressalam Road Map).

Lt. Ryan, 4 scouts, Pte. Henderson & 2 M/G porters reconnaissance to KIPENIO.  Lt. Landridge & 6 I.D. scouts captured 1 German porter in S.E. village at 20.30 hrs.  2 askaris there escaped.

General Sheppard visited the post and Fort.

Lt. Ryan returned nothing to report as bushfires.

40 M/G porters arrived.

Major White to DAKAWA for 2 days.

Short march at 6.45 for 1 hour.

4 askaris captured at KISSAKI FORT.  General Sheppard visited the post.  Lieut. Buchanan returned.

Practice firing, Machine gun & Rexers. 400 rounds.

Nil.

Machine gun & Rexers practice firing.

Baluchis took over Ford piquet from Punjaubis.

29 Punjaubis left post with 7 battery.  Lent them 40 M/G Porters to DUTHUMI.  Major White became O.C. Post.

General Sheppard visited Post and explained position.

Machine Gun Porters returned.  Accidentally fired bush West of Post.

Nil.

Dangerous fires from East & North East.

Baluchi piquet relieved.

General Sheppard visited the Post with Col. Capell and Col. Dyke.

Nil.

Major Hazzledine left for Dar-es-Salaam.  Machine Gun boy No. KSU 305535 Ngathi died.  12 enemy porters came in to Fort.

O.C. inspected Ford piquet.

Nil.

Nil.

Nil.

G.O.C. visited Post.

Party of 130 Baluchis passed through going West.  I.D. Agent Schenkel and his askaris left with Baluchis.

Nil.

Major White left with Lieut. Ryan, 2nd Lieut. Buchanan, 2 M/G and 22 other ranks R.F.  50 130th Baluchis, Lieut. Fitzpatrick and telegraph section for KIRENGWE to take over command of patrol already out, Nov.16th.  Capt. Welstead took command of Point ‘A’.

Nil.

Nil.

Ford piquet shot ALBRECHTSEN, mechanic of KOENIGSBURG.  1 askari deserter and 1 porter came in.

1 enemy porter came in.

Major White’s patrol returned having seen no enemy.

Nil.

G.O.C. visited Post.  17 enemy porters came in to Fort.

5 enemy porters came in to Fort.

Lieut. Buchanan made reconnaissance and sketch South of MAGETA to Fort for road.

Nil.

3 enemy porters brought in by Jumbi Hamesi.

3 enemy porters sent in from Fort.  G.O.C. visited Post.

Nil.

Lieut. Halstead, Pte. Goodall & Ginson left for SUMMIT to buy stores for the men.  2nd. Lieut. Buchanan made sketch of road from HOT SPRINGS to KIRENGWE ROAD.

Capt. Jones returned.

G.O.C. visited Post.

Nil.

Nil.

One white, 3 askaris and 1 porter seen by water piquet, piquet attacked capturing porter, remainder bolted.

2nd Lieut. Buchanan made sketch from FORD PIQUET – FIRST WATER.

Nil.

Nil.

Nil.

2nd Lieut. Buchanan left to make sketch from point where road will turn off to FIRST WATER to KIPENIO WATER.  Very heavy rain most of the night.

2nd Lieut. Buchanan returned.

Party 61st Pioneers arrived to build bridge over NGETA.

G.O.C. visited Post.

Nil.

Capt. Selous, D.S.O., 2nd Lieut. Dutch and 166 men arrived.

Nil.

G.O.C. visited the Post.  2nd Lieut. Scott & 118 men arrived. Col. Driscoll, D.S.O., arrived.

Nil.

47 men of ‘B’ Coy. relieved Baluchi piquet.

G.O.C. visited the Post.  2nd Lieut. Haggas and 5 men arrived.

Nil.

Nil.

Nil.

Nil.

Nil.

Nil.

Heavy rain.

Nil.

General Bevis’s Column passed going West.

The Battalion consisting of 18 Officers, 224 R & F, 2 Maxims & 2 Rexers join 1st E. A. Brigade in camp, North of MGETA RIVER bridge.

HOUR




10.30 hrs.


4.00 hrs.

6.00 hrs.










7.30 hrs.


9.00 hrs.



13.00 hrs.

6.30 hrs.


6.00 hrs.



6.45 hrs.


8.30 hrs.

3.30 hrs.




20.30 hrs.


















10.20 hrs.

10.00 hrs.

6.30 hrs.

12.45 hrs.

15 hrs.

4 hrs.


14 hrs.

17.30 hrs.









18.15 hrs.

16 hrs.

20 hrs.












































7 hrs.

10.30


















17.30 hrs.

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