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George Hamilton-Browne

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George Hamilton-Browne in the battle of Sihayo's Kraal (1879).

George Hamilton-Browne (22 December 1844 – 21 January 1916) was a British irregular soldier, adventurer, writer and impostor.[1] Fortunately he was on a reconnaissance on January 22, 1879, and was not present at the Battle of Isandlwana in the Zulu War of 1879.[2] He wrote three books about his experiences, some details of which have been claimed to be of dubious authenticity.[1]

Biography

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He was born into a military family of Irish descent in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire on 22 December 1844.[3] He was the son of George Browne (Capt 44th Regiment) and Susanna Mary Hilton, who were married in Manchester 7 March 1844.[3] He was twice married and died in Jamaica in January 1916.[4]

Anglo-Zulu War

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When Natal Native Contingent was formed in November 1879, Hamilton-Browne volunteered to become one of its officers. He first served as a captain, comanding one of the companies of the 1st Battalion/3rd Regiment of the NNC, but on January 10, 1879, was promoted to the commander the entire battalion, after the former commander fell of his horse and injured his head.[5][6] Each battalion of the NNC had 10 infantry companies of 110 soldiers (9 Europeans and 101 Africans) each, but only 20 men per company had rifles (3 European officers and 6 NCOs with modern Martini-Henrys, and 1 African officer and 10 NCOs with old muzzleloading Enfields), while other 90 had only spears and shields.[6] As commander of the 1st battalion, Hamilton-Browne took part in the battle of Sihayo's Kraal on January 12, 1879, and was sent with most of his battalion on a reconnaissance in force east of the main British camp at Isandlwana on January 21. His unit was the first to return to the camp in the afternoon of January 22, and it came four miles from Isandlwana during the final stage of the battle. That way, Hamilton-Browne was able to inspect the final moments of the battle of Isandlwana through his binoculars.[7]

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He was portrayed sympathetically in Zulu Dawn (1979), played by British actor Nigel Davenport.

References

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  1. ^ a b Gilling, Bryan D. (1993). "Hamilton-Browne, George". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  2. ^ Tylden, G. (1959). "Commandant George Hamilton-Browne of the Colonial Forces". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 37 (152): 153–160. ISSN 0037-9700. JSTOR 44226963.
  3. ^ a b Knight, Ian; Greaves, Adrian. "George Hamilton Browne" (PDF). anglozuluwar.com. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  4. ^ Luscombe, Stephen. "Zulu War". www.britishempire.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  5. ^ (Thompson & Thompson 2006, pp. 33–34)
  6. ^ a b (Castle & Ruggeri 2003, pp. 8–9)
  7. ^ (Morris 1998, p. 424)

Literature

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