Sir Eric John Eagles Swayne (14 May 1863 – 9 September 1929) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

officer and colonial administrator. He served in

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate ( so, Dhulka Maxmiyada Soomaalida ee Biritishka), was a British protectorate in present-day Somaliland. During its existence, the territory was bordered by Italian Somalia, French So ...

, where he was appointed Commissioner, and as Governor of

British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,

, now Belize.

Early years

Swayne was born on 14 May 1863. His parents were George Carless Swayne, a

classical scholar Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy ...

and essayist, and Margaret Sarah Eagles, a poet. He was educated abroad and at

St Edward's School, Oxford St Edward's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in Oxford, England. It is known informally as 'Teddies'. Approximately sixty pupils live in each of its thirteen houses. The school is a member of the Rugby G ...

, before attending the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

, as a

Gentleman Cadet Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and University A ...

for a year. In 1882 he joined the

Welsh Regiment The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of ...

, and later transferred to the

Indian Staff Corps The Indian Staff Corps was a branch of the Indian Army during the British Raj. Separate Staff Corps were formed in 1861 for the Bengal, Madras and Bombay Armies, which were later combined into the Indian Army. They were meant to provide officers f ...

. Swayne served in the Burma Campaign (1885–1887), the African Campaign (1898), and in

British Somaliland

The emir of Dervish Sultan Diiriye Guure was Sayid

Mohammed Abdullah Hassan Sayid Mohamed Abdullahi Hassan ( so, Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan; 1856–1920) was a Somali religious and military leader of the Dervish movement, which led a two-decade long confrontation with various colonial empires including the British, ...

, known by the British at the time as the "Mad Mullah" since he would not accept colonial rule. In 1900, a part of the first British Somaliland expedition at

Samala Samala is located on the eastern outskirts of the town of Guumays in Sool, Somalia. It was the site of the first skirmish between Daraawiish and British forces, when on 30 May 1901 Eric Swayne's men attacked the Mahamud Garad tribe, one of the ...

drove off Darawiish with heavy losses. The Darawiish retreated south towards Ferdiddin, near Damot, where he engaged with the main force of the British expedition under Swayne, who was by 1901 commander of the Somaliland Field Force. Darawiish again suffered high losses and fled to Italian territory. The next year, Darawiish were the victors against Swayne in an engagement at Erego on 17 June 1901. An account of the fighting written by Swayne himself is included in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

'' dated 18 April 1902. Swayne was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

on 18 November 1901, in recognition of his services during the fighting. In March 1902 he was appointed Commissioner, Commander-in-Chief and Consul General of the

Somaliland Protectorate British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate ( so, Dhulka Maxmiyada Soomaalida ee Biritishka), was a British protectorate in present-day Somaliland. During its existence, the territory was bordered by Italian Somalia, French Soma ...

, with the local rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

whilst commanding the troops in Somaliland. Another campaign was planned for late 1902, but it took time to gather the necessary supplies, and it was delayed as Swayne returned to England due to illness in November. The campaign eventually took place February to June 1903, but did not end the conflict, and was followed by another campaign the following year. In all, Swayne led four military expeditions in British Somaliland.

British Honduras

Swayne was Governor of

British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,

from 1906 to 1913. He was knighted in June 1910. Throughout Swayne's governorship, his administration was attacked in Legislative Council and in the pages of the ''Clarion'' by the Creole establishment, of whom a few were white but most were mixed race. Swayne was accused of being autocratic, as was his successor William Collet. One of the targets of criticism was construction of the railway and subsequent sale of the Middlesex

banana plantation A banana plantation is a commercial agricultural facility found in tropical climates where bananas are grown. Geographic distribution Banana plants may grow with varying degrees of success in diverse climatic conditions, but commercial banana p ...

United Fruit The United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was formed in 1899 fro ...

. In his correspondence with the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of c ...

, Swayne recommended extremely favorable terms to United Fruit so they would accept the offer rather than expanding in Guatemala. Later, the hostility of the elite towards United Fruit was reversed. An editorial in the ''Clarion'' in 1914 said of a

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamship ...

subsidy requested by United Fruit that it was "well within our means ... and by no means excessive". In 1917 Swayne said: "We have to remember that the people of British Honduras have always been the freest people on earth. They originally had a public assembly which elected its own magistrates, and these magistrates carried out the laws which the public assembly, that is, the whole people, chose to adopt." He also said:

The mahogany cutters... used to sell themselves into a sort of slavery by receiving advances from their employers at the beginning of the season, which advances they spent most liberally in the town.. leaving their families to starve.

This may be a somewhat exaggerated description. He added: "It is a pity, I think, having regard to the comfortable competency secured out of the Colony by successful merchants, that practically none have elected to remain in the country on retirement."

Later career and legacy

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Swayne's roles included Assistant Inspector of Recruiting. He retired in 1919 as a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

and died on 9 September 1929. He was buried in the cemetery of the St Thomas à Becket Church, Pucklechurch,

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming ...

. The tree genus '' Givota'', which has light but very strong wood, was found in Northeast Africa, including the British Somaliland protectorate. Swayne suggested that it might be useful in airplane construction, an idea that was being explored at the outbreak of World War I. Swayne's elder brother, Colonel H. G. C. Swayne, was one of the first British officers to travel in British Somaliland, and later wrote a book titled ''Seventeen Trips to Somaliland''. In 1933 he donated eighty eight objects to the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, including jewellery and weapons of Somali origin, that he and Swayne had collected.

References

Sources * * * * * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swayne, Eric John Eagles 1863 births 1929 deaths Burials in Gloucestershire Companions of the Order of the Bath Governors of British Somaliland Governors of British Honduras Indian Staff Corps officers Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Welch Regiment officers People from Darmstadt People from Pucklechurch Recipients of the MacGregor Medal Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Indian Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Darmstadt British Indian Army generals People educated at St Edward's School, Oxford