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A R.E. Sapper in the Mashonaland Rebellion and the Boer War 3 years 8 months ago #77411
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Charles Cornelius
Sapper, 43rd Company, Royal Engineers – Mashonaland Rebellion 1896 Sapper, 29th Company, Royal Engineers – Anglo Boer War - British South Africa Company Medal with 1896 reverse to 17795 SAPR. C. CORNELIUS, R.E. - Queens South Africa Medal with Cape Colony clasp to SAPR. C. CORNELIUS, R.E. - Long Service and Good Conduct Medal to 17795 SAP. C. CORNELIUS, R.E. Charles Cornelius was born into a military family at Saugor in the state of Bengal, India on 30 November 1868. His father, Thomas, was a serving soldier and Officer’s Servant at the School of Military Engineering, both at home in England and on his many deployments to India. His mother was Ellen, born Frail. Both parents had been born in Ireland. Our first glimpse of a young Charles comes courtesy of the 1871 England census where aged 3, he was at home with his parents in the Anglesea Barracks at Portsea in Hampshire. By no means the youngest child, he was preceded by Thomas James (7) and Richard (4). As has been mentioned, his father was posted to the East Indies on a number of occasions, on one of which Charles had been born. However, by the time the 1881 England census called round, the family were back in Great Britain, where Charles, now all of 12, was a pupil at the Royal Military Asylum in King Road, Cheltenham. This illustrious institution, founded by the Duke of York in 1803, provided the children of military personnel with a decent (for its time) education. It was overwhelmingly Protestant, which must have been difficult for a Catholic Cornelius to adapt to. 
Having just turned 14, Cornelius completed the Long Service Attestation forms at London on 9th December 1882. His education had been of a more practical nature and he considered himself a Tailor by trade, albeit a very young one. As was the case with the Royal Navy, the Army classified anyone below the age of 18 as a Boy and it was with this status that Cornelius was assigned no. 17795, commencing his career with the Royal Engineers. Physically he was reckoned to the equivalent of a child of 13 years and 6 months, partially because of his small stature; he was only 4 feet 7 inches in height and weighed a mere 70 pounds. Additionally he had a fresh complexion, blue eyes and fair hair with a scar on his forehead and a mole on his left collarbone and left shoulder blade by way of distinctive marks. A year later he was mustered as a Bugler, a rank he retained until 15 February 1888, the day he was posted to the ranks as a Sapper. For a brief period, he was appointed as a Lance Corporal, a status he enjoyed until 6 May 1894. The very next day he was engaged for the Royal Engineers at Okehampton “for such term as shall complete 21 years of service.” The first 13 years and 162 days of Cornelius’ service was spent at home. This changed on 21 May 1896 when he and his regiment, the 43rd Company, Royal Engineers, were posted to the idyllic Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, sailing aboard the SS Garth Castle. This ship docked at Durban on the 26 June 1896 and throughout the voyage from England, and particularly since leaving Cape Town, the thoughts of the vessel's passengers, and especially those of the 110 military personnel on board, had switched from loved ones left behind or their ultimate destination in Mauritius to the news of the rebellion in Matabeleland. Not that there seemed anything to worry about; only three years earlier the settlers had, with minimal imperial assistance, comprehensively defeated Lobengula's 20,000 warriors with barely 700 men and duly annexed the Matabele kingdom. But now events had taken a serious turn. Press telegrams gave news of the spread of the rebellion to Mashonaland, it was even rumoured that Fort Salisbury had been captured by the rebels. The following day Captain A E Haynes RE, commanding troops on the Garth Castle telegraphed the GOC in Cape Town: "43rd Coy RE under my command, fully equipped and armed, leave Durban Sunday to augment Garrison Mauritius, also 50 men York and Lancaster Regt whom I could arm and equip. Could we not serve strengthen force proceeding Pungwe. I have experience of African expeditions having served on General Warren's Staff, Bechuanaland." Conditional approval of Haynes' request awaited his arrival at Delagoa Bay and he made arrangements for equipment to be shipped to Beira. With enviable speed, his telegram was acknowledged the same day and the tools, including carpenters, bricklayers, masons and smiths chests, explosives and entrenching equipment, were despatched on the first of July. The previous evening Haynes had received approval from the High Commissioner in Cape Town to report to Lt Col Alderson, commanding the Mashonaland Relief Force, at Beira. The SS Garth Castle arrived at Beira on the 3 July 1896 and Haynes met Lt Col Alderson who had arrived earlier on the SS Arab. As the column gathered itself together, on the 5 July it had been designated the Mashonaland Field Force, Haynes and his men became responsible for the transport of the force’s heavy equipment. Alderson had under his command the Rifle Company, the Irish Company, 14 RA, 39 RE, 50 York and Lancaster, 14 Medical Staff Corps and some locally recruited scouts; a total of 358 men, 22 officers and 284 horses. After many difficulties presented by the terrain and the lack of draught oxen, Haynes and his sappers arrived exhausted in Umtali on the 25 July, only two days after the main column. There was a pause for breath, reorganisation and the requisition of waggons and horses. Haynes was put in charge of the line of communications with detachments at Umtali, Devil's Pass and Headlands. Most white Rhodesians believed that the Shona were "unaffectedly pleased to see the white man in their country". Such a view was the product of arrogance and ignorance. The whites believed that all Shona had been subject to regular raids, and brutal raids at that, from the Matabele. This had been true of many Shona living close to Matabeleland but the flood of guns into the country in the 1880s had stemmed even those depredations, but in the east Matabele raids were virtually unknown. Further, Matabele raids had the character of acts of God; they came, they exacted tribute and then they left but the whites, who arrived with the Pioneer Column in September 1890, had come and stayed. They exacted tribute, in the form of forced labour and hut tax, persistently, and imposed their own laws and moral values. In addition the whites believed that the Shona's "principal characteristics are avarice, cowardice and a complete callousness to the sufferings of others". Consequently, there was confidence in the established maxim that "a white man with a sjambok and a box of matches can take any Mashona kraal. They're not fighting men." Thus the whites ignored early signs of discontent: the desertion of labourers, theft, abandonment of kraals rather than pay tax and violence against tax collectors, enforcers or the employers of labour. Despite this, the actual rising came as a complete surprise and in a very short time almost 100 whites had been killed. After this "first ferocious wave of murders had expended itself, the rebels simply withdrew into fortified kraals and caves, which had been well stocked up with water, grain and cattle.” Despite the rumours at Durban, Salisbury had not fallen to the rebels but morale in the laager there was fragile and it was vital to re-open links with Umtali and thereby the coast at Beira. Alderson determined not to cede ground to the rebels and strove to open the road and telegraph to Salisbury whilst at the same time establishing small garrisons along the route. The major obstacle facing the MFF lay in the tumbled kopje country between the Odzi and Lesapi Rivers. Here lay the narrow defile of the Devil’s Pass, the huge granite boss of Mount Zonga and the slug-like rock called Manda at the tip of which Chief Makoni had his kraal. Makoni had never paid tribute to the Matabele and had successfully defended himself against threats from the east. Although he treated individual whites with courtesy, he was understandably indignant at the pegging out of his territory for farms or gold claims. The kraal itself was defended by a series of concentric walls and fences constructed of thorn scrub; within the kraal, passages led to caves deep inside the rock. The column left Umtali at noon on 28 July and reached the Rusapi River the next day. They skirted Devil’s Pass but came under fire from the right flank of its defenders, and without further incident rejoined the main road at 11 a.m. on the 2nd August. Alderson had decided to attack Makoni’s kraal at daybreak on the 3rd August after a night march and the rest of the day the men made ready for battle with the engineers preparing dynamite charges and scaling ladders. The sappers were awakened at 1 a.m., to find Haynes already up and stood to with their picks, shovels, scaling ladders and dynamite charges. Alderson then addressed the entire force: “Men, today is a Bank Holiday and we are going on a little picnic. We shall attack Makoni’s stronghold, and, in case of women and children putting their hands up, you must on no account fire on them. During the march there will be no smoking or talking; everything must be done as quietly as possible.” The 295 men and 20 officers moved off at 2 a.m. under a three-quarter moon and a gentle breeze blowing from Makoni’s. The chief had placed a piquet on top of a rock beneath which the direct route to Manda lay and this necessitated a detour over rough ground and through mealies and rice gardens. At 5.15 a.m. the column reached a point one mile south of the kraal. Here Alderson split his force; the Rifle Company M.I., machine gun and bulk of the volunteers under Captain Jenner moved one mile south of the kraal to act as a stop group and to attack once the main attack had been launched from the north with the Irish Company M.I. and the detachment of R.E. supported by the 2 seven pounders. Forty minutes later the men were in position and the light had improved sufficiently for the guns to be laid. Two rounds were fired into the main kraal and in minutes the whole kraal was stirred up like an ants nest with men shouting, drums beating and natives fleeing from their advanced positions outside the kraal. The main attacking force approached the kraal under heavy fire, some of which was uncomfortably accurate and, given that most of the defenders were firing “family guns”, ancient muzzle loaders that fired pot legs, pieces of glass, rough stones and even entire necks of Worcestershire Sauce bottles, they moved with some caution. The engineer detachment which, with the Irish Company, was aiming for the western corner of the kraal, took up a position behind some rocks where the natives fires were still smouldering, with cooking pots set upon them and meat hanging in the trees nearby. Once the men had worked their way to within 150-200 yards of the corner and could see that the 7 foot high wall could be scaled, Alderson signaled to the force to the south of the kraal to advance. The Rifle Company charged with fixed bayonets and as soon as Alderson saw that they would gain the wall, he ordered the advance of the engineers and the Irish Company. “Captain Haynes then gave us the order to fix bayonets and get at them. This was done and away we went at the double, charging up to the stone wall, the natives retiring before us. The Captain led the way over the wall, and we followed, pushing our way between the huts, which were entwined with brambles and fired on the natives who, in return, fired on us as they retired to their caves.” By 8 a.m. the kraal had effectively fallen with both wings of the attacking force within the walls and the natives in retreat. But within the walls there were many other walls and stockades that had to be cleared one by one whilst natives hidden in huts continued to fire. The MMF left Salisbury for the coast in December 1896, leaving 26 dead behind. The 43rd Company, R.E., with Cornelius among their number, had already left for their intended destination – Mauritius – on 25 September 1896, 83 days after their arrival in Mashonaland. For his efforts, Cornelius was awarded the British South Africa Company Medal, one of only 47 R.E. men to receive it. It was issued to him off the roll signed at Curepipe Camp, Mauritius in September 1897. Altogether Cornelius was to spend a further 2 years and 209 days on the lush, tropical paradise island before embarking for South Africa on 23 April 1899. Having landed at Cape Town the 43rd went into camp and about their business, little knowing that in a short six months they would be back in action – on this occasion not against a band of native tribesmen with rudimentary weaponry and very little else – but against a highly organised Boer army armed with the very latest Mauser rifles which, moreover, they knew how to use to good effect. War between the two Boer Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal and Great Britain erupted on the world stage on 11 October 1899 and within days the towns of Mafeking, Ladysmith and the city of Kimberley were under siege. There were very few Imperial troops to hand in South Africa to help stem the tide until more gradually began to make their way from India, the motherland and other colonies. Before the outbreak of hostilities there was one company, the 7th in the Cape Colony; in November it was joined by the 11th out from home. These two companies with the 8th Railway, 31st Fortress, and part of the 29th Fortress Companies (Cornelius had been transferred to them on arrival in South Africa), accompanied Methuen’s advance up to Magersfontein, being largely employed on railway repairing. The 29th, spefically, was deployed on the railway lines at Naauwport Junction, De Aar Junction and Stormberg. The units for general engineer work on the lines of communication were at first the 29th and 6th companies, though gradually other fortress companies were so employed. Operations commenced early in 1899 with the arrangement of all sorts of accommodation for possible troop concentrations near the Cape Town base and continued, when war became imminent, with similar work and with the work of making defences on the frontier. They included the preparation of camps for the original concentrations, for permanent garrisons, and for prisoners of war, as they began to trickle in. sheds, storehouses and hospitals were also erected on their watch. His service in the Boer War wasn’t a long one, on 10 June 1900 he departed for home and, on arrival on 25 June, was transferred to “G” Company based at Chatham. He was awarded the Queens Medal with Cape Colony clasp off the roll dated at De Aar in August 1901. Having arrived safely back in England, Cornelius lost almost no time in tying the marital knot with Ellen Atkins at Holy Trinity in Brompton Road on 4 September 1900. What followed were a long list of children born to the couple. First came Kathleen on 3 August 1902 followed by George on 5 August 1904, Joseph on 2 August 1905 and Hilda May on 25 July 1907. 1907 was also the year that Cornelius, now with the 9th Company, R.E., after 25 years of service, took his leave of the army at Colchester on 8 December of that year. Now 39 years of age, his Conduct was described as Exemplary. He must have switched from being a tailor to a painter as his work in this field was rated as “Very Superior.” Physically, he had now grown to a height of 5 feet 5 inches. He had retained his fresh complexion, blue eyes and fair hair and still sported a scar on his forehead. His intended place of residence was given as 3 Shrubland Road, Colchester and, for his years of exemplary service, he was awarded a gratuity to go with his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. 
Cornelius and his family were next sighted at the time of the 1911 England census – the family had moved up the road to 17 Shrubland Road and, interestingly, the claim made on the census form was that he had been married for 16 years – we know this to be untrue (he had married in 1900). The discrepancy is soon explained when we learn that, aside from the children a fore listed; the couple also had Aileen (14), obviously born out of wedlock which was rather taboo in those days. Charles, an army pensioner, was now employed by the government as a Storeman. Life continued for the Cornelius family and, in 1939, on the eve of the Second World War, he and his wife were still in the same house. Now 68 years of age, he had retired from all forms of occupation. He passed away at St. Mary’s Hospital, 14 Pope’s Lane, Colchester on 6 August 1944 at the age of 73. The cause of death was Senile Dementia. His was a life well lived. 
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A R.E. Sapper in the Mashonaland Rebellion and the Boer War 3 years 8 months ago #77412
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A R.E. Sapper in the Mashonaland Rebellion and the Boer War 3 years 8 months ago #77416
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