THE SILENT ONES
ASABA HINTERLAND OPERATION, NIGERIA, 1904
Sergeant Walter Bagge Mendham, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment
All Saints' Church, Maidstone
ASABA HINTERLAND OPERATION, NIGERIA, 1904
Sergeant Walter Bagge Mendham, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment
All Saints' Church, Maidstone
The Man
Most of the stories on this site feature men who were scions of the artistocracy or the professional classes, understandable given that their families could afford to pay for the memorials. Sergeant Walter Bagge Mendham is different – he was from a family of agricultural labourers, and his memorial was placed by his regiment in the regimental church.
He was born in the village of Shipdham, in the Breckland district of Norfolk, between Norwich and Kings Lynn, the seventh child of Henry Bagge Mendham and his wife Jane. A number of the children had that middle name “Bagge”, and in the 1881 Census the whole family is listed with Bagge as the surname, so there must be a story there somewhere. Perhaps Henry was illegitimate, but knew that his father was a Bagge, and so wanted to ensure that it would be difficult to forget it.
In 1891 all the working men in the family, including Walter, were farm workers, and the others seemed to have remained on the land, most as labourers, although brother Elijah was a gamekeeper in Nottinghamshire when he died in 1918. Walter, however, left the land early. In 1893, when he enlisted in the Royal West Kent Regiment, he described himself as a “draper”, aged 18 years and 11 months. He obviously made an impression in the army, as by 1903 he had been made a sergeant, and was seconded to the Southern Nigeria Regiment as a Colour-Sergeant. This rank was usually only awarded to senior sergeants as a reward for long service or for courage on the battlefield. As Walter had only been in the army for ten years, I assume the rank was awarded for bravery in action.
The Background
When Mendham was posted there Nigeria as we know it did not exist. The Northern Nigeria Protectorate covered the northern and eastern parts of the country, which had previously been ruled under the Sokoto Caliphate. The Southern Nigerian Protectorate had responsibility for the southern and coastal areas, which had consisted of a large number of independent kingdoms and city-states brought together as Southern Nigeria in 1900, though not without opposition.
The resistance faced by the British during the 1890s had been at its most effective when the various factions of the different states managed to overcome their differences and work together. At its most efficient this resistance came under the umbrella of an organization known as the Ekumeku, which translates roughly as “the silent ones”, a grouping which transcended states and factions, with its leaders sworn to secrecy about their contacts and organizational methods. For ten years they pursued guerilla tactics to harass the colonial forces, until, in 1902, the British went on the offensive and arrested all the suspected leaders. That was, thought the government, the end of the Ekumeku, but less than two years later it appeared again.
It is not surprising that the Ekumeku reappeared, given that it had as an expressed purpose “the driving out of the country all foreigners and everything foreign”. In particular, by mid-1903, its followers were upset by two major issues: one was the establishment of native courts, which were felt to undermine the traditional authority of tribal and city elders; the second was the increasingly successful activity of Christian missionaries, converting people away from their traditional beliefs. The activity of missionaries had caused unrest elsewhere, for example before the Indian Mutiny and the Boxer Rebellion, and in those places one can see their opponents’ point. From a Western point of view, however, it is difficult to have sympathy with the Ekumeku’s objections to Christianity; fetishism, human sacrifice and cannibalism are difficult to admire.
Many of the Delta Region’s people felt strongly enough, however, for the movement to became active again in the hinterland of Asaba, which lies on the West bank of the Niger, and was and is the chief city of the Niger Delta region. Towards the end of 1903 mission stations were destroyed, and “friendly natives”, which usually means Christian converts, were attacked, with some killed. In response the British put together a force under Captain I. G. Hogg of the 4th Hussars, which left Asaba on 17th January 1904. It was made up of six British officers, four British N.C.O.s, including Walter Mendham, two hundred and fifteen troops of the Southern Nigeria Regiment, a seven-pounder field gun, two Maxim guns, and three political officers.
The Campaign
Expecting to face the guerrilla methods of previous campaigns Hogg found that this time the Ekumeku had changed tactics. Instead of creating roving raiding bands, the Ekumeku forces now concentrated on the defence of individual towns. This had the advantage of allowing the towns to be defended more vigorously, with superior numbers, but against that Hogg’s forces could focus on one town at a time, with the confidence that the mud- and clay walls would not be able to withstand the British guns for long.
Although each town they approached presented fierce defence, in each case the Ekumeku were driven out. It was in the attack on Ukunzu, a town north-west of Asaba, that Colour-Sergeant Mendham was killed, amidst opposition so determined that Hogg decided to send for reinforcements. On the 11th February the force was joined by a further ninety men, two N.C.O.s, and another gun.
Thus strengthened Hogg attacked the enemy at a town named Okuruku, in an assault that was to see the end of the campaign. Storming the town the British forces left over four hundred defenders dead, and captured over three hundred, for the loss of one British officer and twelve troops. For the time being, ‘The Silent Ones’ had been gagged.
Afterwards
Colour-Sergeant Menhdam’s home regiment, the Royal West Kents, mounted a memorial to him in All Saints’ Church, Maidstone, which stands next to the regimental barracks. His commander at Ukunzu, Captain Hogg, only survived him another ten years. On September 1st, 1914, Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Graham Hogg, commanding the 4th Hussars, was shot while ordering the retreat from Compeigne, and died from his wounds the next day.
TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF WALTER BAGGE MENDHAM, SERGEANT THE QUEENS OWN ROYAL WEST KENT REGIMENT, AND COLOUR SERGEANT SOUTHERN NIGERIA REGIMENT, WHO WAS KILLED IN ACTION AT ONICHAALONA SOUTHERN NIGERIA 28TH JANUARY 1904
Most of the stories on this site feature men who were scions of the artistocracy or the professional classes, understandable given that their families could afford to pay for the memorials. Sergeant Walter Bagge Mendham is different – he was from a family of agricultural labourers, and his memorial was placed by his regiment in the regimental church.
He was born in the village of Shipdham, in the Breckland district of Norfolk, between Norwich and Kings Lynn, the seventh child of Henry Bagge Mendham and his wife Jane. A number of the children had that middle name “Bagge”, and in the 1881 Census the whole family is listed with Bagge as the surname, so there must be a story there somewhere. Perhaps Henry was illegitimate, but knew that his father was a Bagge, and so wanted to ensure that it would be difficult to forget it.
In 1891 all the working men in the family, including Walter, were farm workers, and the others seemed to have remained on the land, most as labourers, although brother Elijah was a gamekeeper in Nottinghamshire when he died in 1918. Walter, however, left the land early. In 1893, when he enlisted in the Royal West Kent Regiment, he described himself as a “draper”, aged 18 years and 11 months. He obviously made an impression in the army, as by 1903 he had been made a sergeant, and was seconded to the Southern Nigeria Regiment as a Colour-Sergeant. This rank was usually only awarded to senior sergeants as a reward for long service or for courage on the battlefield. As Walter had only been in the army for ten years, I assume the rank was awarded for bravery in action.
The Background
When Mendham was posted there Nigeria as we know it did not exist. The Northern Nigeria Protectorate covered the northern and eastern parts of the country, which had previously been ruled under the Sokoto Caliphate. The Southern Nigerian Protectorate had responsibility for the southern and coastal areas, which had consisted of a large number of independent kingdoms and city-states brought together as Southern Nigeria in 1900, though not without opposition.
The resistance faced by the British during the 1890s had been at its most effective when the various factions of the different states managed to overcome their differences and work together. At its most efficient this resistance came under the umbrella of an organization known as the Ekumeku, which translates roughly as “the silent ones”, a grouping which transcended states and factions, with its leaders sworn to secrecy about their contacts and organizational methods. For ten years they pursued guerilla tactics to harass the colonial forces, until, in 1902, the British went on the offensive and arrested all the suspected leaders. That was, thought the government, the end of the Ekumeku, but less than two years later it appeared again.
It is not surprising that the Ekumeku reappeared, given that it had as an expressed purpose “the driving out of the country all foreigners and everything foreign”. In particular, by mid-1903, its followers were upset by two major issues: one was the establishment of native courts, which were felt to undermine the traditional authority of tribal and city elders; the second was the increasingly successful activity of Christian missionaries, converting people away from their traditional beliefs. The activity of missionaries had caused unrest elsewhere, for example before the Indian Mutiny and the Boxer Rebellion, and in those places one can see their opponents’ point. From a Western point of view, however, it is difficult to have sympathy with the Ekumeku’s objections to Christianity; fetishism, human sacrifice and cannibalism are difficult to admire.
Many of the Delta Region’s people felt strongly enough, however, for the movement to became active again in the hinterland of Asaba, which lies on the West bank of the Niger, and was and is the chief city of the Niger Delta region. Towards the end of 1903 mission stations were destroyed, and “friendly natives”, which usually means Christian converts, were attacked, with some killed. In response the British put together a force under Captain I. G. Hogg of the 4th Hussars, which left Asaba on 17th January 1904. It was made up of six British officers, four British N.C.O.s, including Walter Mendham, two hundred and fifteen troops of the Southern Nigeria Regiment, a seven-pounder field gun, two Maxim guns, and three political officers.
The Campaign
Expecting to face the guerrilla methods of previous campaigns Hogg found that this time the Ekumeku had changed tactics. Instead of creating roving raiding bands, the Ekumeku forces now concentrated on the defence of individual towns. This had the advantage of allowing the towns to be defended more vigorously, with superior numbers, but against that Hogg’s forces could focus on one town at a time, with the confidence that the mud- and clay walls would not be able to withstand the British guns for long.
Although each town they approached presented fierce defence, in each case the Ekumeku were driven out. It was in the attack on Ukunzu, a town north-west of Asaba, that Colour-Sergeant Mendham was killed, amidst opposition so determined that Hogg decided to send for reinforcements. On the 11th February the force was joined by a further ninety men, two N.C.O.s, and another gun.
Thus strengthened Hogg attacked the enemy at a town named Okuruku, in an assault that was to see the end of the campaign. Storming the town the British forces left over four hundred defenders dead, and captured over three hundred, for the loss of one British officer and twelve troops. For the time being, ‘The Silent Ones’ had been gagged.
Afterwards
Colour-Sergeant Menhdam’s home regiment, the Royal West Kents, mounted a memorial to him in All Saints’ Church, Maidstone, which stands next to the regimental barracks. His commander at Ukunzu, Captain Hogg, only survived him another ten years. On September 1st, 1914, Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Graham Hogg, commanding the 4th Hussars, was shot while ordering the retreat from Compeigne, and died from his wounds the next day.
TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF WALTER BAGGE MENDHAM, SERGEANT THE QUEENS OWN ROYAL WEST KENT REGIMENT, AND COLOUR SERGEANT SOUTHERN NIGERIA REGIMENT, WHO WAS KILLED IN ACTION AT ONICHAALONA SOUTHERN NIGERIA 28TH JANUARY 1904
Sources
Photos
The Church of All Saints - by Evelyn Simak, from geography.org.uk
Nri Kingdom Eza Obelike - Wikimedia Commons, from 'Anthropological Report on the Ibo-speaking peoples of Nigeria', Thomas Northcote Widridge, (harrison, 1913)
Military
http://www.christianpost.com/news/nigerian-women-protest-ritual-killings-fetishes-and-forced-marriages-to-traditional-gods-110969/
http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/27830/pages/5832/page.pdf - online edition of Dispatches sent to the Secretary of State for the Colonies relating to military operations in the Nigeria Protectorate between September 1903 and May 1904http://www.mocavo.com/The-Bond-of-Sacrifice-a-Biographical-Record-of-All-British-Officers-Who-Fell-in-the-Great-War-Volume-1/899600/254#255
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekumeku_Movementhttp://wwrn.org/articles/26003/?&place=africa§ion=native-religions
'Understand Things Fall Apart: a Student Casebook to Issues, Sources and Historical Documents', Kalu Ogbaa, (ABC-CLIO, 1999)
'Colonialism and Violence in Nigeria', Toyin Falola, (Indiana University Press, 2009)
Genealogy
www.ancestry.co.uk
Photos
The Church of All Saints - by Evelyn Simak, from geography.org.uk
Nri Kingdom Eza Obelike - Wikimedia Commons, from 'Anthropological Report on the Ibo-speaking peoples of Nigeria', Thomas Northcote Widridge, (harrison, 1913)
Military
http://www.christianpost.com/news/nigerian-women-protest-ritual-killings-fetishes-and-forced-marriages-to-traditional-gods-110969/
http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/27830/pages/5832/page.pdf - online edition of Dispatches sent to the Secretary of State for the Colonies relating to military operations in the Nigeria Protectorate between September 1903 and May 1904http://www.mocavo.com/The-Bond-of-Sacrifice-a-Biographical-Record-of-All-British-Officers-Who-Fell-in-the-Great-War-Volume-1/899600/254#255
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekumeku_Movementhttp://wwrn.org/articles/26003/?&place=africa§ion=native-religions
'Understand Things Fall Apart: a Student Casebook to Issues, Sources and Historical Documents', Kalu Ogbaa, (ABC-CLIO, 1999)
'Colonialism and Violence in Nigeria', Toyin Falola, (Indiana University Press, 2009)
Genealogy
www.ancestry.co.uk