TOPIC:

The name Bodle is synonymous with the British South Africa Police - John Bodle's uncle was the founding father thereof and he was recruited by him to serve in its ranks. the story of his life is told, in the main, in his own words.

John Ernest Bodle

Trooper, Matabeleland Relief Force
Sergeant, British South Africa Police – Anglo Boer War
Sub – Inspector, – British South Africa Police

- British South Africa Company Medal (no clasp) to TROOP^R. J.E. BODLE, M.R.F. (Matabeleland Relief Force)
- Queens South Africa Medal (Rhodesia/ Relief of Mafeking/ Transvaal) to 104 SERJT: BODLE. B.S.A. POLICE
- Kings South Africa Medal (South Africa 1901 and 1902) to 104 SERJT: BODLE. B.S.A. POLICE
- Permanent Forces of the Empire over the Seas Long Service Medal to TPR. JOHN ERNEST BODLE. BRIT. S.AFRICA POLICE

John Ernest Bodle was born in Chelsea, London on 1 July 1874 the son of John Bodle, a career soldier with the 38th Company, Royal Engineers, and his first wife Sarah Ann Bodle (born Revell).



In 1958 he supplied, at the request of a Lieut. Colonel Hickman, a rather full account of his life for inclusion in the B.S.A.P. magazine and I will be referring to this account from time to time in this work - after all who better to tell us his life story than the man himself in his own words (with the odd bit of information thrown in?)

Bodle led a nomadic life subject to the vagaries of his father’s service. He described his early years thus:

“’My Dad’s name was John and I was the second child of his first family. The eldest was a sister and the third child and my mother died at his birth (this was on 20 June 1877). At the time my father was a Sergeant Major in the Royal Engineers stationed at Chatham, England. About 1878 he was transferred to Bermuda and having by then remarried, his wife and I accompanied him. (Bodle senior married his second wife, Fanny Brickwood, at Chelsea on 12 July 1879) We travelled in the H.M.S. Crocodile and had a pleasant voyage.

Life at Bermuda was quiet and nothing of interest occurred during our stay of about 3 years there and we were next transferred to Malta.
This trip was done in the H.M.S. Himalaya and I can remember that as we boarded her a very large shark was noticed to be swimming round the ship. It was eventually taken on a hook but it being so large, it straightened the hook and got away.

On the way to Halifax at which point we were to embark another regiment, we were caught in a violent hurricane when we were travelling under full sail as well as steam. It was a very near thing for everybody as it was so rough that the sailors were washed overboard trying to cut the sails clear.

Eventually, the Captain called for volunteers and two of my Dad’s Royal Engineers went up the rigging and cut the sails away. This eased the vessel a lot but it had already been reported by another vessel that must have been in the vicinity and heard, our distress signals that our ship had sunk. This could quite be expected as the vessel rolled to such an extent that she shipped water down the funnel. However we arrived safely at Halifax and took on the regiment and left for Malta which we reached safely and sound.

At Malta we were stationed, for most of the time, overlooking the Grand Harbour at which all the warships arrived. There were often foreign ships in the harbour and we were able to see all who went out to them. On one occasion we saw an English soldier board a Russian warship and try to hide up in the rigging but unfortunately for him his movements were noticed from where we were and he was brought back and put in gaol.

We must have stayed in Malta about three years and next left for Gibraltar where I think my sister and I could only have stayed for two years as my Dad sent us home to his father at Alfriston so that we could be educated.

At the end of Dad’s term at Gibraltar, he was re-transferred to Bermuda from whence, at the end of his 21 years of service, he took his pension and returned home to England eventually. Coming back he bought a grocery business in Alfriston and I used to help him with it.

According to the 1891 England census, 16 year old Bodle was a Gardener Assistant living with his grandparents in the High Street of Alfriston. With him in the house were his 18 year old sister Annie and various aunts and uncles.

During this time my Uncle Bill came home as one of the Jameson Raiders, spending the weekends with his parents and the weeks at the Charter Company’s office arranging for the Police to sail back to Rhodesia as soon as possible. (the Uncle Bill referred to here was none other than William Bodle, the first Commissioner of the British South Africa Police)

The last week in March 1896 he came down as usual and my Aunt, having previously asked me if I would care to go back with my Uncle to Rhodesia and I had replied in the affirmative, spoke to him. The next day he asked me if I really wanted to go out with him and on my saying that I did, enquired what my father said about the idea. When I told him that I had not mentioned it to him, uncle said he would. He later advised me that everything had been fixed up and I could consider myself a recruit for the Matabele Police but that I would not be sailing for a month or more. However, things happened that changed the sailing date and the next Saturday afternoon found me sailing to South Africa with my uncle.

On the way down to Southampton I was in a compartment with several Matabele Mounted Police who were returning to Rhodesia and talk started about the Matabele Rebellion. I asked one of them, a chap called Langton what he thought of it and he said that he was of the opinion that it was going to be a very big affair and that he had a feeling that he, for one, would not see the end of it. This I overheard him say repeatedly to other people and sure enough he was killed at Tabasamamba.

The voyage out in the Rosslyn Castle was a pleasant one and on arrival at Cape Town, we were soon on our way to Mafeking where I was officially signed on as a member of the Matabele Mounted Police attached to the Mafeking Relief Force. Here we were issued with our uniforms, saddlery etc. and detailed to our horses after which we were soon on our way to Bulawayo.

Nothing unusual happened en route except that it was the first time I had ridden a horse and suffered painfully therefore. And we arrived at Hope Fountain where we joined the rest of the M.R.F. the column then left to fight the Matabele down at Gwaai but although we trekked for 25 days we did not find any and returned to Bulawayo.

The next move was to Tabasamamba where we did have a fight defeating the Matabele but we lost heavily for a native fight. Then about 250 of our men under Capt. Drury went out to Filabusi way looking for the enemy but found none. Fighting then started in the Matoppo Hills where the Matabele had gathered and after defeating them at several places, the natives had had enough, giving into Cecil Rhodes who held an Indaba with them.

After this my squadron under Captain Drury, garrisoned the Tuli Road having forts at Umlugula, Grainger and Manzimyana – the latter being the headquarters. Here we had a very hard job building the fort as the ground was granite and we had to blast a lot of it in order to build and this took a long time. We also cleared a Parade Ground, Rifle Range and Camp Ground but it was hard work.



For the material for our quarters we went round to the abandoned camps and mines and took the poles, timber and iron that we found there and, as some of the men were used to building, we soon had sleeping quarters up.

Life eased down a lot after the Fort quarters were built and we played cricket and football in the afternoon or went bathing but the Camp routine was military with guards and grazing guards. Owing to the bushy nature of the country horses often got lost and on one such occasion I was detailed to hunt for three horses that had strayed. During the search I also got lost but found my bearings too late to risk travelling in a lion-infested area in the dark so decided to camp out on a small kopje. That night passed quietly but in the early morning a wolf suddenly started yelling close to me. This startled my horse which stumbled over a large stone and fell down close to the tree to which I had tied him. I untied him, got him to his feet and the wolf made off.

At daybreak I saddled up and made for camp arriving there about 11 a.m. to find that all the men had wanted to go out and try to find me but the Captain had given me till 2 p.m. when if I had not returned, he would sanction the search.

A short time after this episode Captain Fraser and Beresford arrived in camp and invited our Captain to accompany them on a lion hunt. As they also wanted a man to accompany the Sergeant who was looking after their transport, I was offered the job and accepted. The hunt turned out to be a failure and at about noon the following day I was given some letters to take back to the Sergeant Major in camp. As I started off in the direction of the camp,
Captain Drury called out asking me where I thought I was going and when I replied that I was returning to the camp, he told me I was going in the wrong direction. I insisted that I was right and pointed out a kopje where we had started our Rifle Range. He was not satisfied until he had referred the matter to the others and they agreed with me with the result that Captain Drury praised my sense of direction saying I was a better man than he was in the veldt.

The Fever was very bad during the year 1897 and ’98 when several men died. In fact the whole of the Garrison got malaria and only one man stayed through it but he died the following year. On my return from Bulawayo Hospital, I was sent to Geelong to take charge of the Police there.

For his efforts in the Matabele Rebellion Bodle was awarded the British South Africa Company Medal he applied for this on 22 August 1899 when still a Sergeant and confirmed in his claim papers that he had seen action taking part in “the Gwaai Patrol; the fight at Thabas A Mamba; the several fights in the Matopo Hills and the Filabusi Patrol to Cummings Store, and then down the Thuli Road and was then left at Manzimyama as one of the garrison under Captain Drury who I served the whole time in “E” Squadron, M.R.F.”

He continued,

“Here life was very quiet and as I had only three men, I arranged that should war break out with the Dutch I could go down to Tuli - this I did and continued with Plumer’s Column throughout the war except the very end when I damaged my eye (right) riding through Mimosa bushes and having a thorn penetrate it. This took me to hospital in Pretoria and back to Bulawayo direct as the B.S.A.P. were all being sent back to Bulawayo at the time.”

Bodle, at the outbreak of the “South African War” was “ordered to Tuli and there served with the B.S.A.P. until the Rhodesian Column left that place to relieve Mafeking. I took part in the several fights down the line and also in the Relief of Mafeking and after proceeded with the Column into the Western Transvaal and took part in the fighting that the Rhodesian Column participated in and returned to Bulawayo when the Column was disbanded.”

For his efforts he was awarded the Queens Medal with clasps Rhodesia, Relief of Mafeking and Transvaal along with the Kings Medal with the date clasps South Africa 1901 & 1902.



After the war he continued the story of his life,

On arrival there I was sent to Manzimyama to take over that station and Geelong from Capt. Chawner who had orders to take most of the men to reinforce Tuli. Things were very quiet until the end of March when I received orders to render the returns for “A” Troop. As I had been away for more than two years it was quite a big job but I managed it alright.

At this time there was a company of the Kings Own Scottish Borderers stationed at Manzimyama living in quarters specially built for them. Later I received orders to move into camp with them abandoning mine, they eventually moved down the road towards Tuli.

During this time I had applied for and been granted leave and Lieut. Chapman was sent to relieve me. He arrived with the B.S.A.P. Bulawayo Band duly armed but not with their instruments! The reason for this being that the Dutch were said to be massing to invade Rhodesia via Tuli.

My leave I spent in England and while there I saw a specialist about my injured eye and was told that an operation was necessary. The specialist mentioned that he had six students due to be passed out at his hospital and, as my case was rare and one that they would not often have the opportunity of studying, he would be pleased if I would allow him to operate at this particular hospital and them to look on. I agreed on condition that they only looked on!

The Doctor was most surprised when I refused to allow anyone to hold me as he was afraid that I might move and damage the eye more. I persisted and had my way to be congratulated by him on my nerve when it was all over. He also wanted to know if all the men in Rhodesia were this tough – naturally I told him we were a tough lot to which he replied that if I was a sample they must be!

After I returned to Bulawayo I was asked if I would transfer there instead of going to Gwanda – at first I hesitated but a fellow Sergeant begged of me to transfer so that he could get out of Bulawayo camp as things were being made very unpleasant for him so I agreed and transferred.

Life at Headquarters was very different, naturally, from that outside but it was not long before I had odd jobs to do outside. The first of interest was being escort to the body of the Hon. C.J. Rhodes Body from the Bechuanaland border to Bulawayo and then in charge of my troop to the Matoppos at the funeral.

Later I had to take charge of three posts along the Bulawayo Salisbury Road at the time the railway was being extended from the former point to the latter. At this time the cattle fever was rife and cattle died all along the road, our job was to see that the people using the road with oxen did not allow them to stray off on to the farms adjoin and so spread the disease. After several months I was recalled to Bulawayo and, owing my senior N.C.O.’s being away, I had to take on the duties of Regimental Sergeant Major as well as Troop Sergeant Major at the same time. As there were about 200 men in camp this was by no means easy and I was glad to hand over the R.S.M. part of the job to one of my seniors when he returned. At about this time I was promoted to Troop Sergeant Major.

My next move was to Enyati and here I found the camp to one of just loose stones with only footpaths leading from one place to another. I managed to get the camp into good order by using about twenty awaiting trial natives who were waiting for the magistrate to return from a period of tax collecting.
Captain St. John was very pleased when he saw the improvement and he was also pleased at the alteration I had made in the shorts worn by the Native Police. At the time the shorts issued were made too long and because of their reaching below the knee, the bottoms soon became frayed and untidy and also unnecessarily dirty. I persuaded my wife as an experiment to cut off about four inches from six pairs that were due to be issued to six of my native police so that they came only to the knee and not below. This made a marked improvement and stopped the fraying and raggedness and could be kept clean easier. This was the start of the issuing of shorter khaki shorts to the whole of the native force of the B.S.A.P.

I forgot to mention that during the time I was stationed in Bulawayo I married. My first wife to whom I was married in 1904 died less than twelve months after and I married again in 1906. My second wife was Violet Constance Bain who died on 27th August 1957 here in Port Shepstone. (She had been born in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape and had come up to Rhodesia with her parents by ox wagon in 1894.) I had no children from the first marriage but a boy and a girl were born during the second. The former died when still a baby and is buried in Cape Town. The latter is now married, a Mrs Swanby, and living next door to me in Port Shepstone.

At Enyati there was very little police work to do except native cases although there was one of housebreaking by two Europeans whom I arrested and were sentenced to imprisonment in Bulawayo. After a time I was recalled to Bulawayo where, besides my Troop S. Major’s work I used to prosecute ay court in B.S.A.P. cases. Later I was transferred to Fort Victoria where Capt. Williams was Officer Commanding but he was shortly afterwards pensioned. Fresh O.C’s seemed to follow each other every year or so for we had Capt. Brereton, Masterson, Lieut. Myburgh, Capt. Thornton in the few years I was there.

I recall one unusual happening there during Capt. Brereton’s time at Fort Victoria. It was necessary for the Captain to go out on special patrol to the Portuguese border and, as he could not be back by the end of the month, he instructed me to sign the cheques for pay for the Fort Victoria District. With all due respect I told him that as only a T.S.M. I did not have the power to do this but he insisted that I obey his instructions. I did this as I did not know but that everything had been arranged for me to sign.

The affair was the cause of a big row and I was choked off for doing it but I easily explained that I had strict orders and had no option but to obey. Captain Brereton also got into hot water over the matter and he was told he would have to make good any deficiency to which his only reply was that he was perfectly sure there would be none and was willing to comply if there was! As everything went off all right nothing more was said.

Instructions had been given that I proceed to Ndanga and take charge of Ndanga, Gutu and Bikita area but I was kept in Fort Victoria until the Head Office wrote asking the reason for my not carrying out the instructions so I had to go down without further delay. By this time I had been promoted to Sub-Inspector. Life at Ndanga was very quiet as there were only the Police, the Native Commissioner and his staff, their wives and a Store Keeper. The nearest Europeans were several miles away.

At this stage of his career Bodle was heading towards retirement and was querying the length of service with which he had been credited. In a dispute with the authorities he penned a letter to his Uncle William for help –dated 20 August 1916 it read thus,

“20 August 1916

Dear Uncle

I hope that you will not mind my worrying you about things that do not concern the war when I know that you are so very busy doing your bit toward the final crushing of the Germans but the truth is there has been some mistake made in my date of enlistment in the Police here for they want to say that I do not count my service towards pension until the date I signed on from the Matabele Relief Force as the Administrator has ruled that service in the latter does not count toward service for pension why I personally cannot think as it was in direct service of this country but that is beside the question as you will remember that you personally recruited me for the Matabele Mounted Police and that I signed on in Mafeking as a Trooper of the Matabele Mounted Police and was attached to the Matabele Relief Force.

I would be awfully obliged to you if you would kindly make an affidavit before some J.P. and forward it either to the Commandant General direct or to me so that I shall be able to claim this service toward my pension as it will make a material difference to me – if I am pensioned off before I complete25 years’ service from 1st November 1896.

You will no doubt remember that you recruited me as from the 1st April 1896 (it was really in March that you engaged me but it was not to count until 1st April)

How are you and Aunt keeping? I hope you are both enjoying the best of health as I am to date also the wife and child except minor troubles, I have not bothered to write you as I supposed you have plenty of correspondence from this country but should you care for it I will be very pleased to write any time also send the local paper – if of any interest to you.

Things here are very quiet and nothing of much interest going on; there are a certain number of our forces up in German East doing their little bit but they won’t let many go out of the country.

The natives so far have been on their best behaviour but there is a very bad famine on here now and at Ndanga alone they are issuing about 900 sacks of mealies a week to keep the natives going.

As you will see by my address I am stationed at Ndanga and am in charge of the Outstations of Gutu and Bikita as well but the arrangement does not work very well as it is easier for Gutu to deal direct with the District Headquarters than with myself as it would mean a week’s delay with every letter written.

When are you going to finish off the Germans? I sincerely hope that it will not be long before they get all they have been asking for and a good bit more, it will be a great to do when it is over as far as this Corps is concerned what with about half of the force taking their discharge and the other half being entitled to leave, and it will mean practically starting again with a new Corps.

But now dear Uncle I must wind up with sincere regards from us all to you both.

I remain Dear Uncle

Your loving nephew”

He continued his story,

“After two or three years at Ndanga, the climate began to tell on my wife’s health and acting on Capt. Materson’s advice I applied for a transfer which was granted and I went to Umtali, taking over the sub-district of Umtali Camp, Penhalonga and Odzi. Very little crime was experienced in the district.
Here I applied for and was granted six months leave and also my time for signing on again was at hand. My O.C. Lieut. Lark told Headquarters that my sight was worsening so I was sent to Salisbury to appear before a Medical Board.

The Board asked me if I thought it would be alright to sign on for another year but I declined, took my six months leave and discharge after 24 years and 220 days in the B.S.A.P. On my discharge certificate my character reads Exemplary.

In December 1920 the family and I left Umtali by train for Cape Town and spent a holiday at Three Anchor Bay. While we were there we met a lady who came from Port Shepstone and who advised us to come to these parts. We left the Cape early in February 1921 stayed a few days in Durban and came on to Port Shepstone. Here I bought property and settled down going in for a few fowls which did not pay and taking in an occasional boarder.



I was offered a job later on managing a grain store and mill and I continued doing this for some time until the business was sold. The same owner owned a timber and hardware business so I ran this for him for a while.

The butchery functioning here at the time gave me their books to do but I found that sort of work was too much for my eyes so had to give that up. Since then, for about 26 or so years now, I have done very little but the gardening around the property, mowing the lawn and listening to the wireless. I also served on the Local Town Board and was one of the first Councillor’s.
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A tall man of six feet he had dark brown hair and light brown eyes with a fresh complexion. He had been awarded the Permanent Forces of the Empire over the Seas Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.

Tragedy struck with the passing away of his wife at Addington Hospital in Durban on 27 August 1957. This was followed by his own demise at the age of 87 years and 6 months at the Provincial Hospital in Port Shepstone on 25 January 1962. He was survived by his daughter Lucy Violet Swanby.

A remarkable man who thankfully wrote down what he had remembered of his life.
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What a great group and great research. Thank you very much for posting this.