The diary of an officer in the upper echelons of the British army, who over the course of the year fraternises with Horatio Kitchener, General Charles Gordon, Sir Reginald Wingate, and Robert Playfair and provides a valuable firsthand account of the Sudan Campaign.
Entries commence on January 4, noting merely that he was at Halfa in Northern Sudan. He attended the Khedive’s Ball on January 30 and dined with Prince Osman and Prince Hussein in March. The entries are mostly brief but telling. Below is a selection from the busy month of March.
12 March: “First news of Advance South came in the middle of the night. General and Knowles knocking us up.”
On the 16th: “I was to have dined with the Sykes but a telegram came wh. required decoding and I couldn’t get away till after dinner.”
The 24th: “Sirdar [Kitchener], Wingate, Slaten, Watson [James Keiro Watson, Kitchener’s ADC] left Baliana in [steamer] Kohara at 6.20am closely followed by Waterlily with Shakoor and Badr and barge with horses on board. Proclamation to Arabs under preparation.”
The 28th: “Korosko at 6pm. (News of dervish patrol b strong visiting Akasha and being shelled retire without loss … Supply of arms and amm[unition] sanc- tioned to Sheiks on their request. This may lead to sending Indian troops to Suakin.”
The 30th: “First news of our advance seems to have reached Omdurman thro’ Kassala. Reinforcement from there have arrived at Debbeh [Al Dhaba]. Much excitement and activity at Dongola. Wady Bishara has sent reinforcements under Osman Azrak from there to Suarda. Sirdar takes over command of Expeditionary Force. Doubtful whether the E.A. can take Dongola. Does England really mean to assist? Position at present not a pleasant one.”
Alongside Wingate et al, our author was present at the Battle of Firket which was critical in the reconquest of Sudan.
The final pages of the diary comprise a list of expenses along with a reg- ister of incoming and outgoing correspondence.
The ink stamp of “G. Penasson Cartoleria, Libreria, Tipografia Cairo” sug- gests our unknown officer purchased this diary on arrival. The dates have been re-numbered in pencil so that Friday January 3, reads Friday January 1 and so on.
The Anglo-Egyptian conquest of the Sudan, 1896-1899, was fought over three years with the object of recapturing territory lost in the Mahdist War of 1884-5. The campaign wasn’t a walkover. The fall of Dongola in 1896 came as a shock as it made Omdurman vulnerable. Though instead of moving forces to the capital, Kitchener devoted much of 1897 to the ongoing construction of the railway to Abu Hamed and beyond. Meanwhile, Egyptian forces re-established the overland route from Berber to Suakin which allowed for reinforcements and reprovisioning by both land and sea.
