Life of Frederick Courtenay Selous, D.S.O., Capt. 25th Royal FusiliersMillais, John Guille
Philosophy
Life of Frederick Courtenay Selous, D.S.O., Capt. 25th Royal Fusiliers
Millais, John Guille
Selous, Frederick Courteney, 1851-1917; World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Africa
"He went by train to Mikessi, about 150 miles up the Central
Railway, and from there started with his draft of 400 men to
reach the regiment. He reached Kissaki in a fortnight. This is
practically the last point where any life exists, except game,
in this part of the country. In many ways it is terrible
country; there are no names, save such names as we gave it, no
roads. It is covered with thick elephant-grass, six to eight
feet high, and very thick thorn-bush and swamp. Although I was
one of them, I honestly think that the sufferings of the troops
in this horrible trek have hardly been exceeded by any in the
war. There was only filthy water, we marched on half-rations,
with no bread at all, only flour being issued and occasionally
biscuit. The whole country was poisonous with fever and
'blackwater'; hardly any natives live here, as it is too
poisonous. Most of the men went sick and died like flies. It was
just south of Kissaki he caught the regiment up. He was just as
cheerful as a schoolboy.
"The day he was killed, I passed him in the morning with his
company, I was driving an armoured machine-gun, as the driver
was ill. As I passed him, I shouted out, 'I shall be back and
have _tea_ with you to-day, sir,' for we used to joke him about
his habit of drinking tea with every meal.
"That was the last I saw of him. There was some fighting in the
bush during the day, and when I came back in the afternoon I was
greeted with the news of his death. I was just in time to see
him buried. He was sewn up in a blanket, and buried with five
other men of the R. Fusiliers. I was told he was first wounded
in the right arm, which was broken, but was bandaged up, and he
remained with his company.[83]
"A little later he was again hit in the mouth and was killed
instantaneously and apparently painlessly.
"A little space was cleared in the bush and he was buried, at
one of the most impressive services I have ever attended, the
same day in the afternoon. I intended to photograph the spot,
but next day I went down with a bad attack of blackwater fever,
and the next few weeks are a complete blank to me. My memory is
still somewhat out of gear. My diary and camera were missing
when I came round, and so all my exact records are going to some
scamp. He is buried about 60 miles south of Kissaki, in a
nameless spot, but if you will wait a month or two I may yet be
able to get you some photographs and further details.
"As I said before, he was always my hero as a boy in books, and
he remains so now. He had all that simplicity and modesty of
great men. He was the easiest of all men to cheat, but yet no
one ever dared to do it. He was a moral antiseptic in a country
where men are not saints. Anything mean or sordid literally
shrivelled up in his presence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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