The Mbala War Memorial (also known as the Abercorn Memorial) is a First World War memorial which stands on a roundabout on the M1 road heading south from the centre of

Mbala, Zambia Mbala is Zambia's most northerly large town and seat of Mbala District in Northern Province, Zambia, Northern Province, occupying a strategic location close to the border with Tanzania and controlling the southern approaches to Lake Tanganyika, 40& ...

. The truncated red stone column was one of the last war memorials designed by

Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...

. It commemorates almost 1,500 native carriers from North Rhodesia who died in action, or from wounds or sickness, during the East African campaign. Their names are not recorded. The memorial bears a plaque with the inscription: A smaller plaque records Before the independence of

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

in 1964, the settlement was known as Abercorn, after

James Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

, chairman of the

British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC or BSACo) was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expecte ...

in 1895 when the company took over administration of

North-Eastern Rhodesia North-Eastern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in south central Africa formed in 1900.North-Eastern Rhodesia Order in Council, 1900 The protectorate was administered under charter by the British South Africa Company. It was one of what were ...

. The province was the most northerly outpost of British colonial presence in southern Africa. It bordered the German colony in

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; ) was a German colonial empire, German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Portugu ...

to the northeast. After the outbreak of the First World War, Abercorn was defended against repeated German attacks in late 1914, and into 1915. After being pushed back, the German forces eventually re-entered British territory in 1918. The memorial stands near the place where the

Imperial German (, literally translated ) is an archaic term for those ethnic Germans who resided within the German state that was founded in 1871. In contemporary usage, it referred to German citizens, the word signifying people from the German ', i.e., Imp ...

forces in East Africa commanded by

Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck (20 March 1870 – 9 March 1964), popularly known as the Lion of Africa (), was a general in the Imperial German Army and the commander of its forces in the German East Africa campaign. For four years, with a force ...

formally surrendered to British General William F.S. Edwards on 25 November 1918, concluding the East African campaign. The formal surrender at Abercorn came nine days after Lettow-Vorbeck had agreed a ceasefire at the

Chambeshi River The Chambeshi (or Chambezi) River of northeastern Zambia is the most remote headstream of the Congo River (in length) and therefore it is considered the source of the Congo River. (However, by volume of water, the Lualaba River provides a greater ...

some further south. The ceasefire is commemorated by the

Chambeshi Monument The Chambeshi Monument, in the Northern Province of Zambia, also called the Chambeshi Memorial and the Lettow-Vorbeck Memorial, commemorates the final cessation of hostilities of the First World War, three days after the Armistice in Europe. Th ...

References

Abercorn Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Mbala Surrender Monument
Atlas Obscura {{coord, -8.84826, 31.36984 Historic sites in Zambia Buildings and structures in Northern Province, Zambia Monuments and memorials in Zambia World War I memorials