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Picture courtesy of Morton and Eden

DCM Ed VII (A. B. Allison. Natal Guides);
QSA (5) Talana, Defence of Ladysmith, Orange Free State, Transvaal, Laing’s Nek (Serjt: A. B. Allison. Natal Guides);
KSA (2) (Lieut. A. B. Allison. F.I.D.);
1914-15 Star (Capt. A. B. Allison. S.A.S.C.T);
British War and Bi-Lingual Victory Medals (Capt. A.B. Allison.)

DCM London Gazette: 27 September, 1901 – ‘in recognition of … services during operations in South Africa.'
MID London Gazette: 8 February, 1901 (White’s Despatch); 10 September 1901 (Field Marshal Roberts’ Despatch)

Albert Bidden Allison (1864-1944) was born on 2 February 1864 at Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, the son of Albert Bidden Allison (1823-1903) and his wife Cornelia Allison (née Stuart). His father was an important local figure in the colony of Natal - having served variously as Lieutenant in the Natal Carbineers, Captain of the Natal Mounted Police, as Justice of the Peace and a magistrate in the Upper Tugela - and no fewer than five of his sons (James, Theodore, Albert, Arnold and Martinus) served during the Second Anglo-Boer War, all with the Natal Guides & Field Intelligence Departments.

Upon the outbreak of hostilities, the family left their farms and sought refuge in Ladysmith, while Albert and his brothers played a more direct part in the war. Raised with this strict military and ‘pioneer’ background within the colony, and having witnessed some of the violence and upheavals of the recent decades first-hand, Albert Bidden Allison served as a Sub-Leader in the Dundee Town Guard and was also a natural choice to serve in the Natal Guides. Serving as a Guide, and with the honorary rank of Sergeant, he was captured and taken as a prisoner of war during the disastrous defeat and surrender at Nicholson’s Nek (part of the Battle of Ladysmith) on 30 October 1899, and sent to Pretoria. He appears to have been released from captivity upon the capture of Pretoria on 6 June 1900, and returning once again to active service, he was wounded in action on 9 August 1900 during the attack upon the Boer position at Klip Drift (or ‘Klip River’), where General Gough’s force of 500 mounted infantry and six guns attacked an enemy force to great effect.

Early the following year, his youngest brother Martinus (known as ‘Tutsie’) was killed in action on 16 January, 1901, when ‘having ridden out with Major Colville to round up Boers near Vlakfontein… he was shot near Standerton by a stray bullet.’ His brothers Theo, James and Arnold are recorded as having been present at his funeral the following day, with full military honours, although Albert is not mentioned by name. Soon after, all of the ‘brothers Allison’ received the specific thanks and praise of General Buller in his despatch of 8 February 1901, as follows: ‘Early in the war a corps of Guides was formed in Natal from colonists with local knowledge of the districts in which our forces were operating. These gentlemen rendered the greatest possible assistance. Foremost in every fight, always ready to undertake difficult or dangerous duties, they helped me equally in field operations, with Supply and Transport, and in dealing with the Dutch inhabitants. To the Hon. T K Murray, CMG, at first, and latterly to Mr F. Struben, who were in charge, my principal thanks are due, but I am equally indebted to many others, among whom I must mention… the brothers Allison…’

In addition to this, Albert received a further named ‘mention’ on 8 February 1901, and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal on 27 September – his late brother Martinus also receiving a posthumous DCM. in the same gazette. Unfortunately there is no specific citation for this award, but in the context of the previous mentions it would seem that it is for consistent good work and assistance as a guide. He was later commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Field Intelligence Department, alongside his eldest brother James Stuart Allison, and was recommended for the Distinguished Service Order in 1902, however M&E Say the latter distinction was not ultimately conferred upon him, for reasons unknown.

On the outbreak of the Great War, he re-enlisted for service at the rank of Captain in the South African Service Corps on 5 October 1914, and was placed in command of the Transport and Remount Department in Kimberley. He was soon after appointed Captain on the Intelligence Staff on 10 April 1915, and later undertook ‘Special Service’ between 10 April 1915 and 2 June 1915 to the Staff of the Office Commanding Eastern Force, after which he was discharged (now at the age of 51) on 7 June 1915 (with the note ‘Intelligence Staff’).

He later moved with his family to Nakuru, in the Rift Valley, where he died in September 1944 – his gravestone marked ‘In loving memory of Captain Albert Bidden Allison D.C.M. … an old pioneer, blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.’