24th March 1897, The Seaforth Highlanders arrive in Canea.

On the 18th March 1897, the British government announced that it proposed to send from Malta the 1st Battalion Seaforth Highlanders consisting of 18 officers and 582 other ranks and five horses; a Field Hospital staffed by 2 officers and 18 other ranks; one officer and five other ranks of the Army Service Corps and 75 mules with 75 Maltese mule drivers.[1]After deficiencies in the Seaforth’s equipment, particularly helmets and gaiters, were made up and a number of additional personnel added to the list, including a farrier and a staff officer and a military clerk to assist Colonel Chermside, the British Military Commissioner, the Seaforths departed Malta, arriving in Crete on 24^th March 1897.

Seaforth NCOs prior to their departure to Crete. Penny Illustrated Paper 27 March 18978

Seaforth Highlanders leaving Malta for Crete. The Illustrated London News, 6 April 1897

Seafort Highlanders leaving Malta for Crete. The Graphic, 1st April 1897.

Although they weren’t the first European troops to land that day, that privilege went to the French 8^th Marine Infantry, the appearance of kilted men clearly attracted the attention of the Cretan population.

Seaforths arriving in Canea, 24 March 1897. The Graphic, 10 April 1897.

Seaforth Highlanders entering Canea, 24th March 1897. The Illustrated London News, 10 April 1897.

This engraving from The Illustrated London News, is taken from a sketch by the British artist Melton Prior who was in Crete when the Seaforths arrived. According to notes in the National Army Museum file on the Seaforths the officer on the right-hand side is Captain G. G. A. Egerton, D Company 1/Seaforths.[2]

Seaforths patrolling the streets of Canea. L’Illustration, 10 April 1897.

Although one company of the Seaforths landed at Canea on the 24th March, the bulk of the battalion proceeded to Candia, landing there on 26th March. In Canea the Seaforths initially shared accommodation with the French 8th Regiment Marine Infantry in the Nazimen Barracks, but eventually moved out to tented accommodation in Halepa. In Candia, the battalion was supposed to be housed in barracks but because of the unexpected arrival of Italian troops and ‘objections to the various sanitary features in the proposed quarters’[3], moved to tents and then huts on the town walls.

The Seaforth Highlanders were to stay in Crete until November 1897 when they returned to Malta

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[1] The National Archive, WO33 149. Telegram No.6. General Officer Commanding in Chief Malta to Secretary of State for War, 18 March 1897.

[2] National Army Museum, NAM 6807. Egerton Papers 1968-07-171. Diary of the Detachment 1^st Bn. Seaforth Highlanders at Canea Crete During the early days of the International Occupation 1897.

[3] Ibid.

The Seaforths go forth.

On April 18th, following Vassos’ ‘annexation’ of Crete and large-scale Greek incursions into Ottoman Macedonia, the Ottoman Empire declared war on Greece. In Canea, on April 19th an international detachment under command of Captain Egerton consisting of 75 Seaforths, 75 Austrians, 75 French, 90 Italians and 2 Italian guns, was sent to be part of a guard at the neck of Akrotiri peninsula, remaining there until June.

According to Egerton:

‘The orders given by the Council of Admirals …were to guard the neck of the Akrotiri peninsula and prevent a large body of insurgents encamped therein from breaking out, and equally to prevent any body of Turks or Bashi Bazouks from the mainland from breaking in and attacking the insurgents. The two chiefs of the insurgent bands on Akrotiri were Messers Fourmis [sic] & Venezelos [sic], both Athens’ educated natives of Crete, who spoke and wrote excellent French.’

Activity at this post was apparently limited and Egerton clearly had no great opinion of his allies, continuing his narrative in the first person he stated:

‘Nothing serious ever happened, but for the two months that I was in command at Akrotiri Lt. Campion and myself, took it in turn every night to visit the sentries and patrol the neighbourhood, after 12 midnight. I did not trust the Italians a yard, and had no great confidence in the French, but my Austrian detachment Officers and men, were reliable to the last degree. The Italians were very fond of the English and were ready to black our boots, and they have never forgotten how much we assisted towards a united Italy. The Austrians were on very friendly terms always, their Officers were nearly all gentlemen, which was not certainly the case with most of the other foreign Officers. The Russians we saw little of, they were mainly kept outside of Canea, on account of their rowdy habits. Their Colonel was an ex-Guardsman exiled for St. Petersburg for his numerous crimes. He was often seen drunk.
The move to Akrotiri coincided with the European takeover of the Izzedin fortress overlooking Suda Bay and of a number of smaller blockhouses in and around the Bay. Command of the fortress and the outlying posts was given to Major Bor, who ‘to give him the necessary authority over his foreign colleagues [was given] the honorary rank of Colonel.’

The Illustrated London News of April 24th 1897 reported: “Captain Granville Egerton, of the Seaforth Highlanders, who is in command of one of the detachments of British troops now in Crete, has seen some years of active service. He received his commission in 1879, and proceeded at once to Afghanistan, where he was seriously wounded before the year was out in the operations around Cabul. He subsequently took part in the advance on Candahar, and distinguished himself in the battle there fought. In the Egyptian Campaign of 1882 he was Adjutant to the Ist Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders, and took part in the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir.”

On leaving Crete with in November 1897, the Seaforths, including Egerton, went on, via a spell in Malta, to take part in the campaign in The Sudan. Here, Egerton was mentioned twice in despatches, his first such mention having been during the campaign in Afghanistan in 1880. He eventually went on to command the 52nd Lowland Infantry Division at Gallipoli, surviving the war and retiring from the army with the rank of Major General in 1919. He died in 1951.

Major General Granville George Algeron Egerton.

European views of Cretan Christians

It’s unlikely that too many of the British and other European enlisted/conscripted troops sent to Crete in 1897 had much idea about who they would be involved with on their arrival on the island. However, British and European civilians, and presumably some of the Officers, were being ‘informed’ about the parties involved in the fighting on Crete – albeit the information given often had to do more with the fanciful thinking of the journalists and illustrators rather than what was actually happening.

The massacre in Canea. as imagined by Le Petite Parisien, 1897.

(It may safely be assumed that the illustrator of the above had never been to Canea, the city isn’t in the middle of impossibly tall mountains, furthermore, turbans were banned throughout the Ottoman Empire in 1829. )

Cretan Christian Insurgents as seen by Le Petite Parisien 14 March 1897.

Insurgents lighting signal fires in the mountains. Illustrated London News, 23rd March 1897.

A band of Cretan Insurgents at Tsiliphe. Illustrated London News, 6 March 1897.

Insurgents. Illustrated London News, 1897.

The illustrator above was clearly using his imagination when it came to the armament carried by the Christians.

Cretan Christian Insurgents at Acrotiri – outside Canea.

The above group could have been some of those described by Capt. Egerton 1/Seaforths:

“……I took out about 25 men, and we marched through Halepa to the extreme Turkish outpost below Akreterion. The Insurgents showed much interest in our movements, and we were all very anxious that they should send a shot or two at us when I should have smacked in two volleys at them for firing on the British Flag, which we carried in front of us.

But though we trailed our coats all along the front of our position they were too wise to let off their “bundooks[?]”. We had to put in 4 hours out of door somehow, so we loafed about under the olive groves, passing the time of day to Turkish Officers on the outpost, and generally had rather a good time of it.”

Cretan Christian Insurgents 1897.

The uniformed soldiers on the right hand side appear to be Russians, possibly indicating that the photograph was taken in the Rethymnon  area; the Russian Secteur of the island.

Cretan Christian Insurgents 1897.

The legend on the flag reads: Enosis H Thanatos – Union (with Greece) or Death.

 

Canea, 15th April 1897. The International Parade.

In ‘Diary of the detachment 1^st B^N. Seaforth Highlanders at Canea Crete During the early days of the international Occupation 1897′,[1] for 15 April 1897, the following entry occurs:

“This International review was a sight that will probably never be seen again for a 1000 years.”[2]

The parade in question was a review by the Admirals then commanding Crete, of the International garrison of Canea; an event held with the purpose of impressing the inhabitants of Canea, both Christian and Muslim, with the might of the European Powers who had been landing over the past weeks. Presumably it was intended to impress Muslim population of the determination of the Europeans to protect them, and convince the Christians that the Insurgents, even backed by the 1500 or so Greek troops on the island, had no chance of military success. It also coincided with the recent repulse of a number of Greek troops and irregulars who at one stage, threatened to attack the town, only to be driven back by the guns of the International Fleet and field guns landed by the French Army and Royal Navy. Whatever the motive, the parade appears to have been somewhat spectacular; particularly, one assumes, by Cretan Standards.

The British troops stationed in Canea at this time consisted of D and G Companies 1/Seaforth Highlanders commanded by Major S. B. Jameson, and 184 men of No. 4 Battery Mountain Artillery, Royal Artillery, the latter recently arrived from Malta and about to be transferred to Candia [Iraklion].[3] (The bulk of the British troops, 390 men of 2/Royal Welsh Fusiliers and the remaining 650 men of 1/Seaforths plus auxiliary personnel, were stationed in Candia.[4])

The provenance of the photographs below is difficult to ascertain, but there is some indication they come from an Austro-Hungarian source.

Ottoman troops on parade. Note the bastion in the background with the flags of the European nations flying.

Ottoman Cavalry

 

 

Italian Troops

French troops (?) on parade.

French troops (?) with mountain guns/telegraph laying equipment.

Both the French and the Italians were recorded as having some artillery in Canea at this time. Shortly after this parade, on 26th April, a battery of mountain artillery, 4th Mountain Battery , Royal Artillery, were landed in Candia..

Russian troops

Seaforth Highlanders on parade 15th April 1897. The mounted officer is possibly Major Jameson

Seaforth Highlanders

The Seaforth Highlanders apparently made a good impression; at least they impressed the British Senior Naval Officer, Admiral Rear Admiral Harris, who reported that: “Our detachment of the Seaforth Highlanders made a most creditable appearance, and their smartness was much noted by the foreigners, including my colleagues.”[5]

The parade ground in Canea no longer exists; it is now a football pitch.

 

[1] National Army Museum 6807-171.

[2]  Later on the page, in a different hand, is written: “Not so sure – This International occupation may be the first of a series, marking a new epoch in the history of the world – for the prevention of war between two nations.” While on the page opposite appears: “Three years after this was written by Lieut. Gaisford came the International Occupation of China, which up to date has hardly been a great success. G. Egerton [?] Jan^y 1901 “

[3] WO 33/149. No. 30. Secretary of State for War to Commander in Chief Malta, 29 March 1897.

No. 43. Adjutant General to Commander in Chief Malta, 2 April 1897.

[4] WO 33/150. Correspondence Relative to the Occupation of Crete. No. 1. Chermside to Secretary of State for War, 14 April 1897

[5] ADM116 Vol.2. Telegram No.476. Rear Admiral Harris to Admiral Sir John Hopkins 23 April 1897.

Camping in Crete.

From: Army Medical Department, Report for 1897.

“At Canea the detachment of British troops was at first quartered with the other international Forces and with the Turks in the flag redoubt. As, however, the place was filthy and overcrowded, our troops were soon removed to a camp in the Municipal Gardens, where they occupied a new building intended as a theatre, which afforded room for about 100 men, the remainder being encamped in an adjoining field…..Our troops remained in this camp until August, when in consequence of the prevalence of fever  and the ground having become much fouled, it was, on the recommendation of the Principle medical Officer, Malta, who visited the island at this time, moved to the residential suburb of Halepa, about two miles from Canea, where an excellent site overlooking the sea was found, and where water was obtained from a spring where contamination seemed impossible.”

Canea bastion c.1897

Seaforth Highlanders’ camp, Halepa.

 

In Candia meanwhile…” With the exception of the men occupying the Greek Hospital, all the troops have been accommodated in Indian pattern European privates’ tents, which were pitched on the western ramparts which encloses the town from sea to sea. The space was scanty and some digging was necessary before the tents could be properly pitched, but this disturbance of the soil was not attended by any bad effects. The European privates’ tent is too well known to require further description, and the experience of it here in all weathers has confirmed everything that has been said in its favour in other countries. Clay being plentiful, the men were able to make well raised puddled floors which were easily kept clean, even in bad weather. When it became known that the huts would not arrive before winter set in, wooden linings were supplied for the walls of the tents, and added greatly to the comfort of the men. A proportion of marquees was supplied for hospital purposes; but they are not well suited for standing camps, and compare very unfavourably in comfort with the European privates, tents, for which they were discarded.”

Camp of Royal Welsh Fusiliers. late September 1898

Part of British camp Candia, late September 1898.

 

[E.P. tent … according to The Soldiers’ Pocket-Book, there were three types of issue tent in India in the 1880s, the Staff-Sergeant’s tent, (S-S tent) the European (or English) Privates tent (EP tent) and the circular tent (bell tent). Native soldiers had a Lascar ‘pâl’.

The EP tent was made of multiple layers of white cloth, was 22 ‘ by 16′ and had two stout poles and a ridge pole and all together weighed between 600 and 630 lbs (4 pack mule loads, up to 40% over the standard load weight if wet….). In Bombay service it accommodated 22 men, in Madras service it accommodated 26 men. (see next note). When used outside India it became the EPIP to distinguish the Indian pattern tent from its British made equivalent. The 160 lb General Service tent was introduced later so as to be one standard pack-mule load. It was about 12′ by 8’. http://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/rg_foreandaft_notes.htm]

The Widow’s Uniform

In 1897 the British army adopted khaki as the colour for the uniforms of its troops serving overseas; a move that had to wait until 1902 for home based troops. However, It’s unclear from the contemporary accounts whether the first two battalions to arrive on Crete in 1897, the 1/Seaforth Highlanders and the 2/Royal Welsh Fusiliers, had actually changed into khaki before reaching the island. Assuming they had changed, the photograph below, taken in Malta and published in 1898 in the Navy and Army Illustrated, shows the standard kit for the ‘other ranks’: for the Welsh at least.

However, at least one illustration in the Illustrated London News in 1897 indicates, in the artist’s colouring notes, that at least some of the British Officers in Crete wore red uniforms. Additionally, the coloured engraving below showing the troops of the Powers occupying the bastion in Canea, source and date unknown but before early 1898 when the Austro-Hungarians withdrew, appears to show some British troops still in red.

Canea bastion c.1897

Similarly, the photograph below, taken in 1897 and showing the Seaforths and Welsh Fusiliers changing the guard in Candia, appears to show both bodies of troops in red uniforms: compare with the khaki worn by the figure in the bottom right of the photograph.

Crete 1897. Changing Guard, Candia. Seaforths and Royal Welsh Fusiliers

Additionally, the illustration of the of the Seaforths firing the salute appears to show them in their dress, red, uniforms, rather than in Khaki. When out in the field, as in the illustration below of a Seaforths patrol going out to deter Christian Cretans from interfering with the water supply to Candia in 1897, they apparently wore khaki.

Crete 1897. Seaforth Highlanders on patrol near Candia.

While khaki was an improvement on the previous red uniforms (excepting of course for the Rifle Brigade and King’s Royal Rifles who were in green), the Scots still had to wear their kilts, both at home and abroad, as above photographs, and the one below of a Seaforth Highlander at kit inspection c. 1897, clearly show.

Seaforth Highlander’s kit. c.1897 Source: Navy and Army Illustrated.

 

Seaforth Highlanders – Akrotiri

On April 19th 1897, under command of Captain Egerton,  75 men of 1/Seaforth Highlanders were sent to join the existing  international detachment of 75 Austrians, 75 French, 90 Italians and 2 Italian guns, guarding the neck of Akrotiri peninsula, outside Canea. The force was placed there to prevent Christian insurgents from attacking the town form the north east, and remained there until June.

1/Seaforth Highlanders. Location unknown.

Italian Gun, Suda Bay April 1897

According to Egerton:

“The orders given by the Council of Admirals …were to guard the neck of the Akrotiri peninsula and prevent a large body of insurgents encamped therein from breaking out, and equally to prevent any body of Turks or Bashi Bazouks from the mainland from breaking in and attacking the insurgents. The two chiefs of the insurgent bands on Akrotiri were Messers Fourmis [sic] & Venezelos [sic], both Athens’ educated natives of Crete, who spoke and wrote excellent French.”

Activity at this post was apparently limited and Egerton clearly had no great opinion of his allies, continuing his narrative in the first person he stated:

“Nothing serious ever happened, but for the two months that I was in command at Akrotiri Lt. Campion and myself, took it in turn every night to visit the sentries and patrol the neighbourhood, after 12 midnight.

I did not trust the Italians a yard, and had no great confidence in the French, but my Austrian detachment Officers and men, were reliable to the last degree. The Italians were very fond of the English and were ready to black our boots, and they have never forgotten how much we assisted towards a united Italy. The Austrians were on very friendly terms always, their Officers were nearly all gentlemen, which was not certainly the case with most of the other foreign Officers.

The Russians we saw little of, they were mainly kept outside of Canea, on account of their rowdy habits. Their Colonel was an ex-Guardsman exiled for St. Petersburg for his numerous crimes. He was often seen drunk.”

All pals together…for a while

International forces in Canea. April 1897.

The British army  troops are from 1/Seaforth Highlanders, in Crete from March 1897 to November that year. It’s difficult to make out from the photograph but given the number of Naval officers in the background, it’s more than likely that there are British marines and sailors in the shot.

German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman troops. Crete c.1897.

The postcard is stamped as being posted in 1904 in Canea. The Germans and Austro-Hungarians left Crete in early 1898 and the Ottomans were evicted in late 1898, so there’s a good chance the photographs date from 1897/1898. probably taken in the Canea/Suda Bay area.

 

Queen Victoria’s Jubilee, 22 June 1897

Having, for reasons best known to themselves, celebrated the Italians with a parade held in their honour on 4 May 1897, Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee on 22nd June 1897 was too good an opportunity for the British contingent on Crete to miss. Accordingly a further parade was organised, the highlight of which appears to have been a march-past by the two British battalions then on the island; the 1/Seaforths and the 1/Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

1/Seaforth Highlanders marching past International Admirals

1/Seaforth Highlanders firing salute on Queen Victoria’s Jubilee

(The natives seem somewhat underwhelmed; most seem more interested in the camera.)

Royal Welsh Fusiliers, lead by their Pioneers, march past International Admirals.

The records also indicate that the Royal Artillery battery on the island, No. 4 Mountain Battery, also took part in the parade. In addition. the ships from the various fleets also joined in the festivities; one assumes that their salute invoked a rather greater reaction than did that of the Seaforths.

Ships oif the International Fleet saluting Queen Victoria’s Jubilee. 22 June 1897

The Jubilee was further celebrated at a reception in Canea at which the Seaforth Highlanders ‘executed national dances,’ to the apparent enjoyment of the audience.*

Photographs used by kind permission of Alex Graeme and taken by his Grandfather.

*National Archive, Foreign Office file FO 195/1983, From Crete. Biliotti to Currie, 24 June 1897.

Seaforths Go Forth

Seaforth Highlanders en-route to repair water supply Candia. 1897

Having landed in Candia (Iraklion) to prevent the threatened attack on the town by Cretan Christians, the British army was faced with the problem that the water supply to the town was in the hands of the insurgents. On several occasions Cretan Christians damaged the aquaduct and attempted to disrupt the water supply necessitating British, or in this case Scottish, troops to venture out of the town and repair the pipes. The date on which the photograph was taken is unclear: Since the Seaforths left the island in November 1897, it must have being taken between March and November that year, and at least one such incident was reported by Colonel Chremside, Commander of British troops on the island, as occuring on 15th April 1897. [C.8429. Turkey No.9. Reports on the situation in Crete. Inclosure No.2 in No. 9.] A similar situation had arisen in Canea, see here.

The prominant display of the National Flag of any European troops operating outside the towns was laid down in the standing orders of the day promulgated by the Council of (European) Admirals who effectively had control of the island. It was deemed necessary in order to clearly identify the troops as European rather than Ottoman, although that didn’t stop the Cretan Christians firing on them on more than one occasion.  In this case though, given that the soldiers are wearing kilts, it seems to have been an unecessary precaution.

This photograph is one of the few taken by a British soldier, rather than by a commercial photographer, and is used here by kind permission of Alex Graeme, whose Grandfather took it.