East African Mounted Rifles
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| East African Mounted Rifles | |
|---|---|
 Members of the unit, 1915 | |
| Active | 1914–1917 |
| Country | Colony of Kenya |
| Allegiance | British Empire |
| Type | Mounted infantry |
| Size | c. 400 men |
| Engagements | |
The East African Mounted Rifles was a regiment of mounted infantry raised in the British Colony of Kenya for service in the East African Campaign of the First World War. Formed at the start of the war from volunteers, it was entirely white and drawn primarily from Boer settlers and members of the Legion of Frontiersmen. With horses in short supply, some men were mounted on polo ponies or mules.
The East African Mounted Rifles, around 400 strong, deployed to support the recapture of Kisii, Kenya, in September 1914. They also served in an attack on Longido in German Tanganyika in November. Further action on the frontier followed until April 1915, when the unit was posted on guard duty on the Uganda Railway. The East African Mounted Rifles was a good source of leaders for other units, such as the King's African Rifles. Detachments of men for this purpose and the return of volunteers to their farms depleted the force. It served on a small scale in actions in 1915 and 1916 but mustered just four men by the end of 1916. It was still extant, with three men, in May 1917, but is afterwards described as having "faded away". Veterans' reunions were held post-war, and the East African Reconnaissance Squadron in the Second World War is regarded as a successor unit.
Kenya was a British East African colony bordering German East Africa to the south. Tensions in Europe had been rising following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the July Crisis. Lieutenant Colonel Launcelot Ward, recently retired and headed for England, was recalled to the colony to assume command of British East African forces. He oversaw the creation of self-defence forces to supplement the relatively small British garrison, primarily consisting of elements of the King's African Rifles.[1]
Britain declared war on Germany on the night of 4/5 August 1914, following the German invasion of neutral Belgium. The following morning a recruitment office opened for self-defence forces in Nairobi, the capital of the Colony of Kenya. Several small units were formed, including the Plateau South Africans, Arnoldi's Scouts, Wessel's Scouts and William Bowker's Bowker's Horse. These were amalgamated to form the East African Mounted Rifles. A small infantry unit, the East African Regiment, was also established but was soon broken up to provide men for other units.[2]
The East African Mounted Rifles was envisaged as a regiment-sized mobile unit intended to strike against German forces threatening to invade from Tanganyika.[3][4] It was intended to be formed of six mounted infantry squadrons, a Maxim gun section and a unit of signallers.[3]
The unit welcomed any white volunteer who could ride a horse and carry a rifle.[3][5] It was formed primarily from Boer settlers and members of the civilian Legion of Frontiersmen.[6][2] Some of the men had prior experience with the British forces in India or during the Second Boer War and many were big game hunters.[3] A number of experienced men served in leadership roles, including as commanding officer, second-in-command, adjutant, regimental sergeant major and as quartermasters. A unit of scouts, formed under the command of Frank O'Brien Wilson as the Magadi Defence Force, was integrated into the unit.[3] Bertram Gurdon, 2nd Baron Cranworth, with prior service in the Norfolk Artillery, served as a lieutenant.[7]
There were initially no uniforms available so volunteers wore their own shirts, onto the shoulders of which local women sewed the initials "EAMR" and, sometimes, the initials of the preceding units.[8] A standardised uniform was eventually made available in July 1915, though even then many members preferred not to wear it.[9][5] Sometimes the horses of the regiment were camouflaged as zebras, with stripes being painted on in iodine.[10][3][11]
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The East African Mounted Rifles were initially armed with breech-loading rifles supplied by the colonial government. An intervention by Boer War veteran Davies Evans led to issuing of more modern magazine-fed rifles.[8] The unit was also issued with pigsticking spears, but these were soon withdrawn after several near-fatal accidents.[3] Horses were commandeered from local farms, but insufficient were available, and some of the men were mounted on polo ponies or mules.[8][12]
The East African Mounted Rifles trained in Nairobi. Their drills were often watched by the daughter of the governor Henry Conway Belfield, and the unit came to be known after her as "Monica's Own".[8] By the end of August 1914 the unit reached 400 men in size but many of its men were taken to provide officers and non-commissioned officers to the King's African Rifles and other units.[3]
