TOPIC:

Walter James Webb

Trooper, Natal Police – Anglo Boer War
2nd Class Sergeant, Natal Police – Bambatha Rebellion

- Queens South Africa Medal with clasps Relief of Ladysmith and South Africa 1901 to 1789 Tpr. J.W. Webb, Natal Police
- Natal Medal (Bambatha) with 1906 clasp to 2C Sgt, W.J. Webb, Natal Police
- Permanent Forces of the Empire beyond the Seas Medal to No. 722 1st Cl. Sgt. W.J Webb, 2nd S.A.M.R.

Walter Webb was born in Islington, Middlesex, England on 15 December 1874 and was baptised in the parish of Buttle Bridge on Valentine’s Day of 1875. His parents were Daniel Webb, a Warder in Her Majesty’s Prison Service and his wife Harriet Mary Ann. At the time of the baptism the family lived at 30 Roman Road.


Webb is the chap clutching a pipe in the dark suit

Six years later, at the time of the 1881 England census, the family had moved further up (or down) the same street and now lived at 13 Roman Road in Islington. Mr Webb was the Principal Warder and Cook (quite a separation of tasks) at the Pentonville Prison – an establishment built to house up to 1000 prisoners some of whom were destined for transportation. Older siblings Daniel (13) and Harriet (10) completed the household picture.


Webb is fourth from the right in the first row - next to Inspector Caminada

Ten years later, at the time of the 1891 England census the family had moved to 173 Scovell Road in Southwark, London. Mr Webb had come down in the world, quite literally, and now had the dirty job of Attendant at Lavatories – his wife occupied in the same pursuit. Young Walter, now 16 and presumably having finished his education, was employed, along with his brother, as a Printer’s Apprentice.

On 16 November 1896 Webb enlisted in England for service with the Natal Police. Providing his father of 22a Beresford Street, Camberwell as his next of kin. He was in possession of an Army Ambulance Certificate and testimonials from the Manager of the Printing Works in Finsbury Square (his previous employers), a Lecturer at the Borough Polytechnic Institute and Captain R.H. Hummal of the City of London Volunteers. Physically he was described as being 5 feet 9 inches in height with a fresh complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. He had a dark mark on his right temple (coal) and a scar on his right eyebrow. A Compositor by trade he was 21 years and 11 months old and a Protestant. Having been taken on strength he was assigned the rank of Trooper with no. 1789 and thus began his long career in uniform with his first promotion – that to 1st Class Trooper – on 16 November 1897.

On 27 May 1898 whilst stationed at Colenso he penned a letter to Sub-Inspector West which read as follows,

“Sir

I herewith send report and rough sketch, with names of friends of the girl (Nabokizi), who was run over by a goods train on the N.G.R. line on the night of the 25th.

I received information of the accident by a Kaffir boy at about eight o’ clock Thursday morning. I immediately sent a native policeman with an Indian Constable to stop anyone interfering with the body. Directly Trooper McIntyre returned from the railway station, off duty, we proceeded to the spot, which is situated about one mile and a quarter from Colenso railway station, in the Ladysmith police division.

We found that the body was completely severed (the legs and the lower portion of the abdomen forming one part, whilst the trunk, arms and head, another), and had been removed by a native boy to about 20 yards away from the metals.

Trooper McIntyre wired off to Sergeant Lewis, at Ladysmith, informing him of the accident, also one to Sub-Inspector West at Estcourt. We made full investigations and everything goes to prove that it was purely accidental – I have put down the names of the girls who were with her at the time of her death, on the sketch. The District Surgeon and Sergeant Stone, of the Railway Police, arrived by the 5.50 down goods train, to make an examination of the body.

At Sergeant Stone’s request, I have sent out a native Constable to warn all necessary natives to appear at the Magistrate’s Court, Ladysmith, on Tuesday, May 31st, to make their depositions. I left the body for her friends to remove, and bury it, by orders of the District Surgeon.

Your obedient servant.

Walter J Webb, Trooper in charge (For Lance Sergeant Gordon – on leave)



The sketch showing the train accident which cost the young girl her life

Webb wasn’t to know, like most men and women in late Victorian times, that a war was brewing in which he was to play a part. Tensions had been festering between the two Dutch Republics in South Africa – the Orange Free State and the Transvaal (or Z.A.R.) and the mighty British Empire. These tensions spilled over into open war on 11 October 1899 and the Natal Police, apart from performing their normal duties to the best of their abilities, were called upon to augment the Colonial forces gathering in Natal to come to the aid of the woefully inadequate number of British troops in the Colony. The force was divided into various segments – some were attached to Buller’s relief force finding themselves involved in some of the actions leading up to the Relief of Ladysmith whilst others were caught up in the town itself and formed part of the Defence thereof. Still more were assigned to the Melmoth Field Force and there was even a small number who were detached to Bethune’s Force who were used as a distraction to entice the Boers into having to defend another front.

Webb was in the force which occasioned after a long period (certainly for the inhabitants of that town) the Relief of Ladysmith. After much delay and many setbacks this force entered Ladysmith on 1 March 1900 thereby lifting the suffocating siege that had afflicted all residents. For his efforts Webb was awarded the Queens Medal with the Relief clasp. For reasons which were soon apparent he took his discharge from the Natal Police on 31 October 1900 - his character being regarded as Exemplary. A letter dated 3 November 1900 on a letterhead from the “Office of the Superintendent of Police, Durban provides us with the reason for his discharge. Signed by W.J. Webb it read as follows,

“To Colonial Under Secretary

Dear Sir

Kindly forward to the above address two application forms for Civil Service in the Transvaal and oblige you most obedient servant.”

On the 10th November the Principal Under Secretary obligingly replied enclosing forms of application for employment in what was called the New Territories and advising that, once completed, these should be returned in triplicate through His Excellency the Governor, to the Imperial Secretary, Cape Town. Seemingly nothing came of this and it wasn’t long before the lure of life in uniform claimed him again – on 30 April 1901 he re-attested for service and was promptly re-engaged. On this occasion his father’s residential details were altered to “Percer Villa, Ashburnham Road, Luton, Bedfordshire.”

The formal stage of the Boer War was over by this juncture with the Boers having been expelled from Natal and now pursuing guerrilla-type tactics elsewhere in the country to keep the conflict going. A last ditch effort was made by General Botha in September 1901 to re-invade Natal from the north of the Colony but this was repelled and the fight continued on other fronts. The war over on 31 May 1902 Webb and his comrades returned to normal policing duties – he had, on 21 March of that year, received a promotion to Lance Sergeant followed, on 15 July 1902 to 2nd Class Sergeant.

A further taste of what life for a Colonial policeman was like comes to us in the form of a criminal case – Rex vs Badal (an Indentured Indian) who was charged for contravening Section 31 of the Law (25/1891) on 20 April 1903.

Sgt. Webb appeared for the prosecution and charged “That accused states that he got a note from the Stationmaster at Glencoe Junction which he has lost. He also states that he left Glencoe in January last and that he spent the last 3 months between that place and Weenen; that his term of indenture (5 years) expired in December last.

Sergeant Webb produces wire from Stationmaster, Glencoe-Junction and Railway Police, Glencoe – stating that accused is unknown and did not get a pass from the Stationmaster.”

The witness statement from the Railway Police in Ladysmith read that, “The Indian named Badall is a free Indian and was in the employ of the N.G.R. at Ladysmith. He left his work last Monday the 13th instant without permission. The N.G.R. here do not want him back as he is practically useless but they have reported him as an absentee.”

Needless to say the verdict was Guilty and the sentence imposed was to pay a fine of 10/- or to be imprisoned for seven days hard labour. On expiry of sentence the accused was to be forwarded “under sufficient guard” to the Protector of Indian Immigrants, Durban for identification.

On 21 April Webb wrote to the Protector of Indian Immigrants as follows,

“Sir

I have the honour to state that Indian Badal was arrested at this place last week and was sentenced by the Acting Magistrate. This man paid his fine.”

On 6 June 1904 Webb was transferred to the Gaols Department and on 6 February 1905 he wed 22 year old Margaret Jane Barron in Weenen and was placed on the Married Establishment. Later that year, on 22 December 1905 he was transferred to the Mounted Branch – this was three weeks after the birth of his first child, Walter Daniel Barron Webb. As an aside an interesting link to his wife appeared in a publication in February 1910 – It read as follows,

“There is an interesting veteran in Ladysmith in the person of Mr. W. J. Barron, who is staying with his daughter, Mrs. Webb, wife of Sergeant Webb, who is in charge of the Railway Police. Mr. Barron served in the Crimea, Indian Mutiny, Zulu war, and the old Boer war, and gained many decorations. Even in his advanced years he volunteered for service under General Buller early in December, 1899, and was rather chagrined when his offer was declined owing to his age. He had, however, a son who took his place, and served with distinction.”

Tranquillity seemed to be the order of the day but this was to be rudely interrupted by the onset of yet another conflagration. Natal, post-Boer war, was not a happy place financially. The Colonial Government had had to shoulder much of the expenses inevitably incurred in the business of waging war and had been battling for some time to make ends meet. Demands on the fiscus were many and funds were few. The powers-that-be hit upon an ingenious scheme to raise revenue – they imposed a Poll Tax on the head of every Zulu male of 18 year of age and above.

This imposition was grudgingly but grumblingly accepted by the majority of Zulu Chiefs but not all were so compliant or acquiescent. A young hot-head by the name of Bambatha – a minor chief of the Zondi clan in the Kranskop area of Greytown went about the land openly fomenting rebellion and encouraging all who would listen to refuse to pay the tax to the Magistrates when they called round to collect it. Matters got out of hand very quickly and two Natal Policemen were murdered by rebellious Zulus when they went to collect the tax. The Natal Militia were called out by the Government in early 1906 but, after a few weeks the rebellion appeared to have fizzled out and they were demobilised and sent home. This move proved to be premature as Bambatha was actively seeking further support from his kinsmen, even venturing deep into Zululand to achieve this end. Again the Militia were called out in numbers with the Natal Police playing an important role. Webb, who had been transferred to the Railway Police on 2 March 1906, might very well have been one of those on hand at Mome Gorge near Nkandla when Bambatha and his warriors were finally brought to book – hemmed in on all sides and mowed down with nowhere to escape by the Natal volunteer forces.

For his role in the conflict Webb was awarded the Natal Medal with 1906 clasp. Now back home his second child, Percy George Fox Webb was born on 16 October 1907. His last child, Victor James Craig Webb was born on 5 August 1909. 1909 was to prove an important year in his police career – a Railway strike broke out in Ladysmith and, as is so often the case with a strike, matters soon turned nasty. Webb came in for a special mention for “Good service during Natal Government Railway strike, Ladysmith – Noted by S Troop Command.” This was tantamount to a Mention in Dispatches in the military sense.


Webb among a group of fellow Sergeants in 1911

On 1 May 1912 Webb re-attested for a further three years and was transferred back to the Mounted Branch in Pietermaritzburg on 1 July of that year – the fact that his first-born passed away at the age of six might have had something to do with that decision. For his considerable service he was awarded the Permanent Forces of the Empire beyond the Seas Medal for 18 years exemplary service in 1914. The Natal Police had ceased to exist not long before this - replaced by the South African Mounted Rifles of which Webb was a member of the 4th Squadron.

Walter James Webb settled in the Midlands of Natal where, at the age of 65 years and 9 months, he passed away at this residence in Estcourt “Barronda” on Friday, 20 September 1940. His estate, bequeathed to his wife and surviving children, was a sizeable on amounting to £2384.

Whilst sorting through my small archive of Natal Police photos I happened upon another featuring Webb (in 1911) and have added it to the story above.

Regards

Rory