THE SUDAN CAMPAIGN 1896-1908
With Sparkes virtually confined to his bed from fever at Waw, it was decided to return to Khartoum by steamer, a journey which took 46 days. For these services Haymes was awarded the clasp ‘Bahr-el-Ghazal 1900-1902’ for his Khedives Medal. Moreover, Sparkes Bey had seven silver cigarette cases made to commemorate the first Europeans to explore the Bahr-el-Ghazal region of the southern Sudan. These famous “Bahr-el-Ghazal cigarette cases” bear the facsimile signatures of the seven explorers. The recipients were:
Bimbashi W. A. Boulnois, R.A. Died of fever, Bahr-el-Ghazal, 29 May 1905 (whereabouts unknown); Lieutenant H. L. H. Fell, R.N. Died of fever, Bahr-el-Ghazal,15 June 1905 (whereabouts unknown); Bimbashi H. E. Haymes, R.A.M.C. Died of wounds, Tonj, 15 March 1904 (private collection); Bimbashi A. M. Pirie, D.S.O., 21st Lancers. Killed in action, Palestine, 21 November 1917 (case with family); Miralai W. S. Sparkes, Welsh Regiment. Died of fever, Bahr-el-Ghazal, 4 July 1906 (D.N.W. June 2009, private collection); Sergeant F. Boardman, D.C.M., Liverpool Regiment. Died of fever (National Army Museum); Sergeant F. J. Sears, D.C.M. & Bar, Royal Marine Artillery (Royal Marines Museum, Eastney).
Note: Lieutenant H. L. H. Fell was not involved in the subsequent military expeditions against the Agar Dinka, so was not entitled to the “Bahr-el-Ghazal 1900-02” clasp, whereas all the other cigarette case recipients were. Another case was sold by D.N.W. in July 2001 which must have belonged to either Boulnois or Fell.
Haymes’ promotion to Captain was announced in the London Gazette of 23 January 1902. Later in 1902 Haymes went to Alexandria to help fight the cholera pandemic, in which 35,000 people died, and did important sanitary medical work. This was the first attempt to fight a pandemic using modern thinking and techniques and shortly afterwards the outbreak was contained.
Haymes returned to the Sudan where he was selected by the Sirdar (Wingate) for the appointment of Inspector of the Bahr-el-Ghazal Province. Here he spent a year doing valuable work in surveying and boundary delimitation, at the same time becoming a successful Big Game Hunter, sending home many trophies of lion and elephant, as well as specimens of rarer animals, which he forwarded to the British Museum.
In February 1904, Haymes joined a patrol of 100 men, with two Maxim machine guns, under Captain Wood (Royal Irish Fusiliers) as Principal Medical Officer and Staff Officer. The patrol was sent in an attempt to reopen negotiations with Chief Yambio. As the patrol approached Rikta’s village gunfire was suddenly opened up on them at a few yards range and almost simultaneously a number of spear and bowmen lying concealed in the Khor, charged the government troops. The result was hand-to-hand melee, from which the Nyam Nyam rapidly withdrew into the high grass with which the surrounding country was covered. The Maxims were quickly brought into action, and cleared the enemy from the high grass which was as soon as possible burnt. Bimbashi Haymes had received a dangerous gunshot wound in the head and one man of the XV Sudanese had been killed, whilst nine others were wounded, mostly by spears and arrows. The Nyam Nyam, who are said to have numbered about 50, left behind six dead.
A suitable site was then selected to build a zeriba where the patrol remained for the next three days, collecting grain and burning the surrounding villages, with the patrol leaving to return to Tonj. Haymes was carried by improvised stretcher the 142 miles back to Tonj, which was reached after ten days march, on 25 February. There he was attended to by his old colleague and friend, Captain Brakenbridge, R.A.M.C. However, the long and trying journey and the hardships involved in it had very serious consequences, and Haymes died of pericarditis and pulmonary abscess attributable to the effects of his head wound on 15 March, just two days before his 32nd Birthday.
With a folder containing copied research.
www.dnw.co.uk
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