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The 1st Battalion The King's Royal Rifle Corps sailed from Bombay on 10th Dec 1896 bound for Mauritius via Capetown on the troopship RIMS Warren Hastings. It stopped at the Seychelles for coaling and arrived in Capetown on 28th Dec where half the battalion disembarked for service in South Africa; B D E and F Companies, for garrison duty in Wynburg. The remaining 4 companies, A C G and H and HQ were to sail on to Mauritius. The CO of the battalion, Lieut-Col MCB Forestier-Walker went with this half battalion along with 9 other officers, 2 WOs and 514 men.
The Warren Hastings left Capetown on 6th Jan 1897. As well as the 526 men of the KRRC the other troops on board were a half battalion of the 2nd York and Lancasters (410 men), a detachment of 2nd Middlesex Regiment (25 men) and two other officers. There were also 7 officers' wives, 13 other ranks' wives, and 10 children. The crew numbered 253 making a total of 1,244 people.
Mauritius is an island in the Indian Ocean, about 400 miles east of Madagascar. For the first week of the trip the weather was fine but on the 13th the wind shifted south and it rained. That night it was pitch black and the rain fell heavily. The ship was 8 miles off course when, at 2.20am on the 14th it hit a rock off the coast of Reunion. All aboard were awakened by the sound of heavy bumping and grating. The water flooded in and the ship was in danger of sinking. The ships captain, Commander Holland ordered that the men should fall in below decks. They were not fully dressed and could not see outside, but good discipline was maintained.
Two RIM officers went down over the bow to see if men could be landed on the rocks. Fortunately they found that it was possible and the troops were ordered to find boots and rifles. The King's Rifles formed up on the port side and the York and Lancasters and the Middlesex on the starboard, to use both forward companionways. The men slung rifles and moved forward to climb down the rope ladders. When the ship suddenly listed to starboard the waiting men were brought up on deck.
At first it was thought best to keep the women and children on board until daylight when it would be safer to get them off, but as the listing of the ship worsened they were brought to the bow and lowered onto the rocks. The men on the starboard side were up to their knees in water so they were told to discard their rifles and boots and move to the port side. Up until 4.35am the lights were still working but the electricity failed at that point and everything had to be done in complete darkness.
At around 5am, because it was taking so long to get men down the rope ladders those who could swim were allowed to make their own way to the rocks. The first to go was Rifleman McNamara who secured ropes for others to haul themselves ashore thus avoiding the sharp larva rocks. By 5.30am the evacuation of the ship was complete without loss of life apart from a ship's cook and an officer's servant. The last soldier to leave the ship was Lieut-Col Forestier-Walker. There were many acts of bravery that night and strenuous efforts were made to save the lives of two men who died when they jumped overboard. Some salvage work was carried out but only a little could be retrieved.
Commander Gerald Edward Holland of the Royal India Marine who was in charge of the evacuation was praised by the Viceroy of India for his work but had to attend a court martial where he was given a reprimand for the loss of his ship. The KRRC offered him honorary life membership of their officers mess. Everyone was subsequently conveyed 120 miles northeast to Mauritius on the British India SS Lalpoora and help was given to cloth the men and provide shoes for the 350 soldiers who had no boots. The Governor, Sir Charles King Harman gave a dinner for the officers who attended in various modes of dress 'which presented a most curious sight'.
The KRRC were garrisoned at Curepipe, Port Louis, Mauritius while the York and Lancasters and Middlesex carried on to India. The Rifles remained in Mauritius until 5th March 1899 when they sailed to Natal on the RIMS Clive.
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