Richard Conyngham CORFIELD ^{1 2 3}

  General Notes:

Richard Corfield of Somaliland.

Richard Corfield was only six years old when his father died. He firstly attended a dame school in Canterbury ,where the family lived. In 1892 he attended Spurlings Preparatory School and then in 1896 went to Marlborough College.
After leaving school Richard worked for a shipping company in Liverpool run by an uncle, Thomas Fenwick Harrison (this was Harrison Line). Soon after starting work the Anglo-Boer war broke out in South Africa. Richard immediately joined the Volunteers camped on Salisbury Plain but later enlisted in the Baden Powell Police sailing for Africa in December 1900.. In June 1902 Richard was recommended for a commission but this was rejected due to his youth. In 1905 Richard returned to England, applied for the post of Political Officer in Somalia, and became one of only six Europeans posted to the interior of the country. There Muhammad Abdullah, the "Mad Mullah", was inciting local people against the British. By 1910 he had been subdued but not beaten.
In May 1910 Richard returned to England but by September he was on his way to Nigeria which was also having problems with Muslim rebels in the north. Richard saw action at Ganawari and other skirmishes.
However further trouble was brewing in Somalia, and a Camel Corps was formed to serve as a police force in the interior. Horace Byatt, the Governer of British Somaliland, offered the command of the new Camel Corps to Richard, who accepted the opportunity to return to the Horn of Africa.
The Camel Corps took to the field in December 1912 and Richard was authorised to punish those opposing British rule however he was instructed to avoid a direct confrontation with the Mullah.
By mid 1913 Richard was finding these instructions restricting and irksome, and on the afternoon of 8th August he decided to attack the Mullah's army close to Dul Madoba.

From Wikipedia:
Dul Madoba is a hill ridge some 25 miles SE of Burao in Somaliland. The battle that took place on the 9th August 1913 was between the 110 members of the Somaliland Camel Constabulary commanded by Richard Corfield, reduced to 85 by the time action commenced, and some 2750 well armed Dervish followers of Mohamed Bin Abdullah Hassan (the Mad Mullah). Of the Constabulary 36 including Richard Corfield were killed in action and 21 were wounded. On the Dervish side over 450 were killed or wounded. As a result of the action the British withdrew their protection of the local tribes to the area around the port of Berbera and the Mullah was unable to follow up his advantage immediately.