East Africa Command
| East Africa Command | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1940 to 1964 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom |
| Branch |
 British Army |
| Type | Command |
| Part of | Middle East Land Forces (1947-1964) |
| Garrison/HQ | Nairobi |
East Africa Command was a Command of the British Army. Until 1947 it was under the direct control of the Army Council and thereafter it became the responsibility of Middle East Command.
The formation was essentially an expansion of the East Africa Force[1] which came into being in August 1940.[2] It was reformed as a Command in September 1941 by General Sir William Platt and covered North East Africa, East Africa and British Central Africa.[3] Up until 1944 it directed the British Military Mission to Ethiopia.[4] It established its own intelligence network during the Mau Mau Uprising in 1952.[5] During the Mau Mau uprising the command controlled 39th Infantry Brigade, 49th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom), and 70th (East African) Infantry Brigade.[6] Later 70th (East African) Brigade became the basis for the newly independent Kenya Army.[7]
Other units listed in the Kenya Regiment history as being in Kenya from 1952-56 include the Battle School, Tracker School, Kenya Regiment TF, Kenya Regiment Training Centre, and Heavy Battery.[8] Police organisations listed included the Kenya Police, Kenya Police Reserve, Kenya Police Reserve Air Wing, Auxiliary Forces, Dobie Force ('disbanded'), and General Service Units. 'KAR battalions' listed included 3 KAR (Kenya), 4 KAR (Uganda), 5 KAR (Kenya), 6 KAR (Tanganiyka), 7 & 23 KARs (Kenya), 26 KAR (Tanganyika), 156 East African Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery RA, and the East African Armoured Car Squadron. There were a total of eleven British infantry battalions (inc 1st Battalion, the Lancashire Fusiliers, 1st Battalion, The Buffs, 1 RHR, 1 Rifle Bde), 39 Corps Engineer Regiment RE, 73 Ind Fd Eng Sqn RE, Roadbuilding Section RE, RAVC Tracker Dogs, RAMC Unit Hospital Nairobi, Nyeri, Nanyuki, plus No. 1340 Flight RAF (North American Harvards), possibly other RAF Harvard units, and Lincoln units.
The 24th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom) was still stationed in Kenya until 1964, and the command maintained a common intelligence system linking Tanganyika, Uganda, and Kenya until 1964 at least.
Timothy Parsons writes: '..military authorities in Kenya took [the 1964 mutinies in Taganyika and Uganda] very seriously and quickly developed plans to deal with a similar incident in their country. .. As a result, [Major General Ian Freeland] had considerably more resources at his disposal to prevent and contain potential problems in the Kenyan soldiery. Once Lieutenant Colonel Mans gave [HQ East Africa Command] a careful account of how trouble had broken out in the Tanganyika Rifles, Freeland ordered the Kenyan Special Branch to step up its surveillance of key army units.'[9] This did not prevent trouble breaking out on 24 January 1964 in the lines of 11th Kenya Rifles at Lanet Barracks near Nakuru. However, the problem was quickly contained, courts-martial ordered, and the unit was eventually disbanded.
East Africa Command was disbanded in 1964 being replaced by British Land Forces Kenya.[10]
Commanders-in-Chief
Commanders-in-Chief have included:[11][12]
GOC East Africa Force
- 1939–1940 Lieutenant General Douglas Dickinson
- 1940–1941 Lieutenant General Sir Alan Cunningham
- Aug – Dec 1941 Major-General Harry Wetherall
GOC East Africa Command
- 1941–1945 Lieutenant General Sir William Platt
- 1945–1946 Lieutenant General Sir Kenneth Anderson
- 1946–1948 Major General William Dimoline
- 1948–1951 Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Dowler
- 1951–1953 Lieutenant General Sir Alexander Cameron
- 1953–1955 General Sir George Erskine
- 1955–1957 Lieutenant General Sir Gerald Lathbury
- 1957–1960 Major General Sir Nigel Tapp
- 1960–1963 Major-General Sir Richard Goodwin
- 1963–1964 Major General Sir Ian Freeland (relinquished appointment of GOC British Land Forces Kenya 28 November 1964)
References
- ↑ East Africa Command accessed November 2008
- ↑ British Military History
- ↑ The British Empire and the Second World War By Ashley Jackson, Page 175 Hambledon Continuum, 2006, ISBN 978-1-85285-417-1
- ↑ Spencer, John (2006). Ethiopia at Bay: A Personal Account of the Haile Sellassie Years. p. 148. ISBN 978-0917256257.
- ↑ Obituary: Lt Col Ian Field Daily Telegraph, 14 December 2009
- ↑ United Kingdom: Kenya Insurgency 1952-1956 Units and Operations
- ↑ Obituary: Maj-Gen Dick Gerrard-Wright The Telegraph, 12 July 2012
- ↑ Campbell, Guy (1986). The Charging Buffalo: A History of the Kenya Regiment 1937-1963. London: Leo Cooper. pp. 172–175. ISBN 0-436-08290-X.
- ↑ Timothy Parsons, 'The 1964 Army Mutinies and the Making of Modern East Africa, 2003, 118.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 43598. p. 2619. 12 March 1965. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
- ↑ Whitaker's Almanacks 1941 - 1964
- ↑ Army Commands
External links
- British Military History - East Africa 1940 - 47
- British Military History - East Africa 1940 - 47 - East Africa Command History & Personnel
- Huw Bennett, 'Minimum Force in British Counterinsurgency,' Small Wars & Insurgencies, Vol. 21, No. 3, September 2010, 459–475.
- The National Archives, WO 276: East Africa Command : Papers