TOPIC:

Frederick William Ensor

Trooper, Driscoll’s Scouts – Anglo Boer War
Private, 1st Mounted Brigade Scouts – German East Africa – WWI

- Queens South Africa Medal with clasps Orange Free State, Transvaal and South Africa 1901 & 1902 to 908 Tpr H.W. Ensor, Driscoll’s Scts.
- 1914/15 Star to Pte. F.W. Ensor, 1st M.B. Scouts
- British War Medal to Pte. F.W. Ensor, 1st M.B. Scouts
- Victory Medal to Pte. F.W. Ensor, 1st M.B. Scouts

Frederick Ensor was born on 22 October 1876 in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape the son of Frederick Ensor, a Surgeon and his wife Frances (Fanny).

Ensor senior was a highly respected medical man who was also the District Surgeon in Port Elizabeth. As a young man fresh out from England he had worked on a farm in the Uitenhage area before deciding to study medicine which he did by returning to England. He was, once qualified and back in South Africa in 1857, attached to the Uitenhage Volunteers as their Medical Officer. Perhaps it was his father’s connection to the military that decided the younger Ensor, and the subject of this work, to do his military bit.

According to Dr Ensor’s obituary in the January 1906 edition of the South African Medical Journal he had “lived and died a poor man” which was scant solace for those whom he left behind.

Our first exposure to Frederick William Ensor comes courtesy of the 1881 England census. Dr Ensor it seems had taken his entire family over to England for a period of time. They were resident at 105 St. Mary Street, Melcombe Regis in Dorset. Besides the good Doctor and his wife were offspring Minnie (17), Ellen (12), George Courtaise (7) and a 4 year old Frederick. Interestingly they had brought their Zulu retainer along with them on their travels. This worthy known as “Jumbo” was a female aged 11 and, according to the census return, a Kleptomaniac!

Having returned to South Africa and Port Elizabeth in particular the family settled back into their routine. This period of rusticity was to be shattered by the advent of the Anglo Boer War. Essentially a fight between the two Boer Republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State on the one hand and the might of the British Empire on the other the Boer War was to drag on for two and a half years and occasion inconvenience to many.

At first the Boers invaded parts of the Northern Cape and Natal laying siege to important towns such as Ladysmith, Mafeking and Kimberley before turning their attentions elsewhere. The British military presence in the country was found to be woefully inadequate in number and the call went out to the Colonial militia to join the fray. This led, in turn, to the raising of many small corps to assist in the fight.

One such was Driscoll’s Scouts - This corps was raised, on a modest basis as regards numbers, at about the time Lord Roberts landed at Cape Town. Their leader, Captain Driscoll, was a British resident in Burma, who made his way to the front.

In the second phase of the war – that which followed the end of the conventional phase - the corps was greatly augmented in numbers; having done well and made a name for itself, it attracted recruits. One of these was Frederick Ensor who attested for service with them at Bulawayo in Rhodesia on 26 July 1901.

By May the strength of the regiment was 422 men and 489 horses and at that time, and for some months prior, they had been operating in the Orange River Colony both east and west of the railway, along the Vaal River, and in the south of the Transvaal. In August 1901 Colonel Western's column was taken to the Cape Colony, and operated for a short time against Myburg about Jamestown. In September the corps was taken to the south-east of the Orange River Colony, where for about four months they operated under General Knox, Colonel Rochfort, and Colonel Western. In the despatch of 8th January 1902 Lord Kitchener remarked that Colonel Rochfort's troops, under Lieutenant Colonel Western and De Moulin and Major Driscoll, were moved to the west of the railway in pursuit of straggling bands of the enemy.

In the despatch of 8th February 1902 Lord Kitchener stated that, “On the 26th January Major Driscoll, whose column had called at Petrusburg to obtain supplies there, learned that on the previous evening Nieuwhoudt's commando had been seen in the vicinity of Makaw's Drift on the Modder. He at once started in pursuit, and crossing at the drift, came up with the Boer force, which was in movement on the Boshof road about eight miles to the north of the river. A short engagement ensued, in which Major Driscoll was successful in capturing 17 prisoners, including 2 field-cornets, 12 waggons, 69 riding-horses". \

Driscoll’s Scouts was then sent to the extreme south-west of the Orange River Colony. The despatch of 8th March 1902 mentions that in February Western and Driscoll's troops moved north towards Boshof; they had an engagement on the way at Simon's Valley, capturing 6 prisoners, 180 horses, mules, some cattle, waggons, and ammunition.

The enemy having been very aggressive in the south-west of the Transvaal in February and the first half of March, Driscoll's Scouts, acting as one of Colonel Rochfort's columns, were taken to the valley of the Vaal. On the 11th April they crossed the river, and paid some surprise visits to various likely resorts of the enemy. A forced march on the 15th resulted in a successful surprise near Schweizer Reineke, when 57 prisoners were taken, including two of De Wet's staff. Other efforts also met with success. After this Driscoll's Scouts took part in the final great drives in the Western Transvaal under General Ian Hamilton leading up to the end of the war on 31 May 1902.

As can be gauged from the above there were instances when Ensor and his comrades would have been in the thick of things but it wasn’t always plain sailing – on 3 January 1902 an article headed “How Driscoll Scouts Were Outwitted” appeared in the Dundee Courier. It read as follows:

“Bloemfontein, January 1

On Christmas Day 400 Driscoll Scouts near Phillipolis sighted the enemy under Hertzog, who fled. Our men pursued leaving a small escort with the waggons. The escort was attacked in the rear by another body of Boers who, after a stiff fight, burned a waggon and its contents, taking away only the drinkables.

Boer casualties – Five killed, eight captured, many wounded.”

Ensor took his discharge from the Scouts, time-expired, at Cape Town on 21 February 1902 having served for 211 days and with a Character rating of Very Good. His address after discharge was Park Drive, Port Elizabeth. There is a note in the column alongside his entry in the nominal roll to the effect that he had subsequent service with the Royal Engineers but no trace of this can be found.

Twelve years later the world was at war – on this occasion South Africa, now a united Union of all former colonial governments and territories, was called upon to aid the British side. This was not without difficulty as those who had fought the British in the Boer War were reluctant to aid them. Botha, the Prime Minister, persevered and, after quelling initial internal resistance, German South West Africa was invaded by South African troops. After an exhausting six months or so the Germans surrendered leaving the South African chaps free to volunteer for service either in German East Africa or France.

Ensor had played no part in the initial stages of the war but, with the conflict now moving eastwards, he attested for service with a little-known but highly specialised unit known as Van Deventer’s Scouts, a part of the 1st Mounted Brigade at the age of 38. Assigned no. 1358 and the rank of Private he was taken on strength on 29 December 1915 – just in time to be one of the few who fought in German East Africa who qualified for the award of the 1914/15 Star. He provided his brother George Courtaise Ensor of P.O. Krantzpoort Station, Transvaal as his next of kin.

Having reached East Africa it wasn’t long before he succumbed to one of the many malaises that befell white men in the tropics – in his case Malaria – and was admitted to the Base Hospital at Kajiado on 11 January 1916 being discharged to duty on 16 January only to be readmitted to the Clearing Hospital at Bissil. But what did the Scouts get up to in the theatre of war?

The action at Mlali, German East Africa, on 24 August 1916 where Captain William Anderson Bloomfield of Van Deventer's Scouts was awarded the Victoria Cross illustrates the role they played.

In mid-August 1916 the British theatre commander in East Africa, General Jan Christiaan Smuts, optimistically planned to force main elements of Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck’s Schutztruppe into a decisive battle near the Central Railway in German East Africa. The British 1st Division under Major General A.R. Hoskins and the 3rd Division under Major General C.J. Brits had pushed south from the Pangani River towards Morogoro. Meanwhile the 2nd Division under Major General J.L. Van Deventer had marched on a broad front from Kondoa Irangi, cutting the Central Railway in three places west of Morogoro. South of Morogoro lay the steep and rugged Uluguru Mountains and General Smuts planned to cut the Central Railway to the east and block the routes on both sides of the Ulugurus, thus forcing the Schutztruppe to stand and fight near Morogoro.

On 21st August 1916 General Smuts ordered the 2nd South African Mounted Brigade from 3rd Division to move from Dakawa to Mkata on the railway line to support 2nd Division’s advance from the west that was nearing Kilosa. The 2nd South African Mounted Brigade was commanded by Brigadier General B.G.L. Enslin and contained the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th South African Horse, the 3rd Battery South African Field Artillery and a detachment of the South African Scout Corps commanded by the 43 year-old Captain William Anderson Bloomfield of Van Deventer’s Scouts.

On the following day the 2nd Division took Kilosa and so General Smuts ordered Brigadier General Enslin to move his brigade to Mlali and block the trail on the west side of the Ulugurus that led south to Kisaki. General Van Deventer was ordered to send his 1st South African Mounted Brigade commanded by Brigadier General A.H.M. Nussey to join Enslin as soon as possible. However Nussey’s brigade was exhausted and many horses had died or broken down and the brigade did not arrive at Mlali until 26 August.

Enslin’s brigade reached Mlali at around 07h30 hours on 24 August and 5th, 6th and 7th South African Horse were ordered to occupy Kisagale Hill which overlooked the route south to Kisaki. German outposts on the hill withdrew east across the river below abandoning a supply dump containing about 600 tons of food and ammunition and some cattle. The ammunition included 200 rounds of 4.1-inch ammunition for the remaining Konigsberg guns and 300 shells for other guns.

Captain Bloomfield’s Scouts were deployed forward of the ridge but the other South African troops on the ridge were halted by heavy fire from higher ground to their front and from a defended farm to the north. Two German field guns came into action east of the farm.

However von Lettow’s observers on the flanks of the Ulugurus had seen the dust cloud made by Enslin’s brigade and on the evening of 23 August von Lettow despatched a formation under Captain Otto (23rd and 24th Field Companies, 14th Reserve Company, 1st and 6th Schutzen Companies and a 6-centimeter field gun) to Mlali. Otto arrived shortly after Enslin and immediately turned the German defence into attack, making Enslin withdraw his troops on the ridge back across the river. The German supply dump was blown up as the South Africans moved back. Enslin then moved his artillery battery further north along the river bank to cover his left flank.

The South African Scouts had been left in an exposed position without supporting fire, and as Captain Bloomfield saw that the enemy were working round his flanks he withdrew his men back towards the South African main body on Kisagala Hill. By now von Lettow himself had arrived on the scene with more Field Companies and the Scouts were subjected to intense machine gun fire. One of the Scouts was killed and five others including Corporal D.M.P. Bowker were wounded. Captain Bloomfield ordered a withdrawal and detailed a two-man carrying party for Bowker. However on arrival in safe ground Captain Bloomfield saw that the Corporal responsible for carrying Bowker had refused his duty and had come back alone stating that the enemy fire was too hot.

Two other Scouts were ordered by Captain Bloomfield to return for Bowker but they refused to go. Captain Bloomfield, accompanied part of the way by Sergeant Theron, crawled and ran back about 400 yards (365 metres) under heavy machine gun fire until he reached Bowker. Here he found the other man detailed for carrying duties, Scout Hurley, with Bowker and another Scout named Trickett. Hurley and Trickett were not strong enough to move Bowker who was a big man.

Captain Bloomfield, himself smaller than Bowker, put the wounded man on his back and, sending Hurley and Trickett ahead, crawled back with his burden using what concealment he could find from the enemy machine guns.

On four occasions Corporal Bowker urged his rescuer to abandon him to his fate but Captain Bloomfield successfully and very gallantly carried Corporal Bowker back to the horses. Here, due to enemy fire and confusion, Bowker was nearly abandoned again, as Captain Bloomfield was too exhausted to carry him further. Hurley obtained a horse for Bowker but was wounded himself, and Sergeant Theron came forward with another horse for Hurley, allowing both the wounded men to be removed to safety and medical attention.

It wasn’t very long after this engagement that Ensor was transferred to the 9th South African Horse – this took place on 25 October 1916. He was repatriated to South Africa aboard the H.M.T. “Professor” disembarking at Durban on 26 January 1917 from where he was discharged as Temporarily Medically Unfit on 4 May 1917.

For his efforts in the war he was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Back at home Ensor continued with his civilian pursuits finding the time to marry Kate Caldwell in the Dutch Reformed Church, Cape Town on 23 July 1923. He later became a Christian Science Practitioner returning to Rhodesia in order to follow his calling. On 13 December 1931 he and his wife arrived in England making the return trip on 23 January 1932 where they departed from Liverpool back to South Africa aboard the “Ceramic” – they had been visiting 7 Princes Square in Bayswater.

Frederick William Ensor passed away in Salisbury, Rhodesia on 5 August 1959 at the age of 83. He had been resident at Plot 13, Rolf Valley at the time of his death. His wife, Kate, passed away on 9 October 1971 whilst resident at 28 Rolf Valley, Highlands, Salisbury. There were no children of the marriage.

Thank You Rory......

If I have not said it before I hope that you are putting these together in a book form......

Mike

Duncan Mitford Pringle Bowker was my grandfather. The family still have his leather belt with 2 bullet holes which went through his body. A very interesting article, thank you.
I'm going to have to research his boer war service record.

Hi Rory
Just been reading this. A very interesting article. Do you have Ensor's medals? I would be interested in acquiring them. I used to live in Rolf Valley in Harare by the way. Life is full of these little parallels
Regards
Tim (Zimscout)

Hello Tim

Yes, I still have Mr Ensor's medals. I'm not wanting to part with them just yet but, at some point in the future I will make that call and bear you in mind.

Regards

Rory

Hi Rory
Thank you, as a Driscoll scout collector, these and the story you have told are always a great attraction.
Regards
Tim