Description
Africa General Service Medal, EDVII, bar N. Nigeria 1902, 14 Carrier Maman Gaya, No 1 Battery, Northern Nigeria Regiment, a Machine Gun Carrier.
Officially impressed: “14 Carrier Maman Gaya. No 1 Bty: N.N.R.”
Very good preserved condition example.
Confirmed on the medal roll, which remark that he afterwards “Enlisted in No 2 Battery”.
The combined 1st and 2nd Batteries earned about 146 of the 1039 total clasps issued for the expeditions.
This clasp was earned for two expeditions that took part in Northern Nigeria during 1902:
1. The Bornu Expedition, 1st February – 16th May 1902.
2. The Kontagora Expedition, 12th – 20th February 1902.
As noted below, during the Bornu Expedition, Colonel Morland took with him the 1st and 2nd Northern Nigeria Regiments, accompanying them were the “Gun Carriers” such as Maman Gaya, who took care of the hefty 2 75mm Artillery Guns as well as their 4 Maxims.
One of the devastating developments which allowed the various victories in Nigeria at the time were the access to the Maxim Machine Gun which made resistance with basic weaponry and rifles much more difficult against the Colonial Force and their vastly superior weaponry.
Notably one of the DCM’s went to Corporal Mamma, also of the No 1 Battery NNR for Gallantry during the Bornu Expedition.
Richard Magor in his Book “African General Service Medals” provides the following brief write-up of these expeditions:
“BORNU
It was decided to carry the flag to the old Kingdom of Bornu and a long circular march was to be undertaken by Col. Morland with 13 officers and 515 troops from 1 and 2 N.N.R., two 75 mm. guns, four maxims and also 800 carriers. Wallace, the Acting High Commissioner, accompanied the expedition.
They started from Ibi on the Benue River and marched northwards. The Emir of Bauchi had a large slave market which acted as a distribution point for the slaves from Yola and the pagans surrounding his area. He had recently seized the town of Guaram and massacred or enslaved all its inhabitants.
The Emir fled and was deposed amid general rejoicing and no opposition.
Lt. Col. Beddoes and 1 coy N.N.R. had a skirmish with the Yergums who submitted and Bauchi was then garrisoned and the march continued via Gombe to Gojba in the Bornu district.
Mallam Jibrella, who was a white haired old man with plenty of dash and pluck, tried to emulate the Mahdi of the Soudan and start to lead a Holy War with only 100 horsemen and 600 foot. He attacked but could never get near our lines and he was beaten off by volleys from the infantry kneeling in line and the guns firing case shot. He lost 66 killed and many wounded whilst our casualties were only two wounded.
Mallam fled but was captured after a seventeen hour pursuit. He was then given a small pension and lived for the rest of his days at Korin.
Morland marched on through the black cotton plains of Bornu which had been ravaged by the freebooter Rabeh from French territory. Here he was greeted as a saviour. He returned via Yola to Ibi having brought some 60,000 square miles under administrative control with very little bloodshed.
3 D.C.M.s were awarded.
Against cavalry, square formation was usually adopted. A contemporary parade ground photograph shows a square of 22 ranks of Askaris a side, kneeling with bayonets fixed and with a maxim gun at one corner manned by a European. The company commander and another officer stand in the centre with their chargers held beside them.
H.M.S.O. ‘Small Wars’ published in 1906 devotes a chapter to squares, stating the raison d’être of the square is ‘as the exigency imposed on a body of regular troops to being able to show a face in practically any direction and in the obligation of protecting supplies and wounded.’
KONTAGORA
The deposed Emir Ibrahim of Kontagora collected an army of freebooters and set up as an independent slave trader preying on the pagans in the Zaria area.
A garrison was stationed at Zaria when its Emir requested support against the hostility of the Kontagora freebooters. He had only just accepted British authority when he had to appeal to Lugard for help.
