TOPIC:

An example of a single entitlement QSA to a F.I.D. Intelligence Agent of which the research has lead me to be conclusion that he was in fact attached to the C.C.F.

S Matthewman, Intelligence Agent, F.I.D. - Attached to C Squadron (Malcolm’s Scouts) - 1st Division Cape Colonial Forces. Officially re-impressed.

Agent Matthewman, ironically, is a hard man to research. His role in the South African war is very apt. Upon inspecting the medal rolls, there were 3 “S Matthewman” listed, one to the KRRC, another to the Imperial Yeomanry, and a third to the Field Intelligence Department, Bingo.

It is remarked to Mr Matthewman, C Sqn C.C.F. Himself being 1 of 2 on that page remarked as such. The other being A McGeer, who as it happens saw service in a number of units. Not unsurprising in the least. However what I found interesting was that there is no medal roll of Matthewman having served in Malcolm’s Scouts, unlike McGeer who was also entitled to a KSA. This fuels my theory of him seeing service with the squadron on attachment from F.I.D.

A visit to the National Archives also appears to be in fashion.

The C.C.F were reorganised as such in December 1901, after the Colonial Defence Force was merged with the Colonial Forces.

This ties in nicely, as Agent Matthewman clearly was a latecomer to the war, his only entitlement being the Transvaal and 1902 clasps, the latter being a later issue and not affixed.

Intelligence gatherers embedded with combat units was not unknown in the dreading Boer conflict, their work was vital to the war effort in analysing political aims, Boer movements, and the landscape, all of which would be forwarded to the staff officers at formation headquarters.

On the eve of war in South Africa, only £18,000 was made available for intelligence gathering purposes, with limited availability to gather such prior to the outbreak of war.

Interpreters, Agents, Guides, Scouts. All eager to do their part in this “modern war”

The F.I.D. were already established by the time Agent Matthewman took his bite of the war, They were among several intelligence units raised. Rimington’s Tigers, Natal Corps of Guides, and National Scouts “Joiners” are all well known to historians and enthusiasts.

From 1900, Colonel Hume, the Director of Military Intelligence in South Africa, saw a “gap” in the war effort. He identified the requirement’s for an organised Intelligence body. Lt Col David Henderson of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders had used these ideas in the development of ‘Field Intelligence, Its Principles and Practice' (1904).

This manual was one of the first steps into the realisation of the importance of military intelligence, and was instrumental in the years preceding the Great War.

The year 1909 would see the emergence of Military Intelligence, Section 5 - Better known as MI5, founded under Captain Vernon Kell alongside the Secret Service Bureau, later know as MI6 with Cmdr Mansfield Cumming, the original “C”. Both of these intelligence powerhouses continue to leave their mark on the espionage trade.

Field Marshal Sir William Robertson wrote in 1921,

“The Boer War changed everything, at least everything that subsequently mattered.”

Information courtesy of Ancestry, Forces War Records, the Military Intelligence Museum, and “The British View of a War in South Africa (1899)” University of the Free State.

Aaron,

Thank you for a very interesting resume of Agent Matthewman. Excellent pictures too.

I have been through the attestation papers for the CCF without locating him. There are no attestation paper for the FID at TNA.

There is also very little information on C Squadron CCF.

He is listed in Buxton's FID book with the information you already have.

A Englishman called Sydney John Matthewman died in the Transvaal in 1911, aged 42. He was described as a prospector.

Best wishes
David

Aaron
This afternoon I had a look on WO100/301 (FID medal roll) for your man and - unfortunately - the page upon which he and other chaps are listed (p42) is partly blanked by a cover sheet during transfer at UKNA. This sometimes happens and blanks out any marginal information regarding the entries on the roll page. Of course, in the case of your chap, there might not have been any. We will never know. David Buxton did the best with what he had in front of him.
I also had a look through the medal rolls of CCF (WO 100/239) to find any entry for S. Matthewman in C Sqn. I did not find any such entry. .
The rank recorded on Matthewman's medal is very unusual and I have never encountered it previously on a QSA.
Regards
IL.

Thanks for this David,

I do know that Malcolm himself is Capt. J.D.G Malcolm, but nothing to suggest who he is.

I was planning on looking as the CCF papers to confirm he had not joined C Squadron proper, as the evidence suggests he was attached.

Regarding Sydney John Matthewman, that’s great to know, thanks. I know of a John Sydney Matthewman who was born in Doncaster in 1871, just now need to confirm whether this is the same man or a mere coincidence. Looks like I might have to scour immigration records

Thanks Linneyl,

Actually (and I’m not sure if you have found this out yourself) if you swipe to the next page there is another copy which is free of the cover sheet, allowing you to see the remarks. I’ve attached it here and marked Matthewman’s in purple where it’s states ‘C Sqd CCF’ and the fact that he is not entitled to the CC clasp, unlike A McGeer who is also listed on the C Sqd roll, it fuels the suspicion that Matthewman was attached as an Agent.

No one else on that page is remarked the same, and there is nothing like it on the several pages following that I looked at. This is quite possibly a unique in my opinion. Obviously further research on Malcolm’s scouts is to be done, but it’s highly likely he was attached to them as an Intel Agent

Aaron
Well done! I missed that one!
Regards
IL.