Francis William Rhodes
Encyclopedia
Colonel Francis William Rhodes, CB
, DSO
(9 April 1851–21 September 1905), better known as "Frank", is perhaps the best known member of the Rhodes family after his brother Cecil. Trained as a soldier from his youth, he participated in a considerable amount of conflict in different parts of the world. After graduating from Sandhurst
, he joined the 1st Royal Dragoons in 1873 and served the British Army
for 23 years. He participated in the Sudan Campaign
, accompanied the Nile Expedition
to Khartoum in the abortive effort to relieve General
Charles George Gordon
, and was present at the battles of El Teb
and Tamai
. At the Battle of Abu Klea
, he distinguished himself when he had several horses shot from under him in the course of the engagement. He was awarded several medals and clasps, including the Distinguished Service Order.
Rhodes filled various staff appointments. From 1890-93, he served as military secretary to Lord Harris
while he was Governor of Bombay, and in 1893 he was chief of staff on Sir Gerald Herbert Portal
's mission to Uganda
. Rhodes also served for a brief period as Administrator of Mashonaland
and as the appointed military member of the council of four in the government of Matabeleland
under Leander Starr Jameson
.
In perhaps the most trying event in his career, Rhodes served as a leading member of the Reform Committee (Transvaal)
, in Johannesburg
, attempting to liberalize the government of Transvaal Republic
President Paul Kruger
on behalf of the Uitlander
population living in Transvaal. Following the Jameson Raid
in November 1895, the members of the Reform Committee were charged with high treason
for their collaboration with Jameson. Rhodes, John Hays Hammond
, and other leaders of the Committee were sentenced to death in April 1896, only this sentence was later commuted to 15 years’ imprisonment. In June 1896, all members of the Committee were released on payment of a heavy fine. As a punishment for his support of Jameson the British Army placed Rhodes on the retired list and barred him from active involvement in army business. After his release from jail, he immediately joined his brother Cecil and the British South Africa Company
in Second Matabele War
.
In 1898 he joined Field Marshal Earl Kitchener
’s Nile expedition as war correspondent
for The Times
. At the Battle of Omdurman
on 2 September he was shot and severely wounded in the right arm. For his services during that campaign he was restored to the army active list. During the Second Boer War
, Rhodes continued to work as a war correspondent. He was trapped for the duration in the Siege of Ladysmith
and participated in the relief of Mafeking.
In 1899, he was sued by a man named Burrows for falsely representing the purpose of the raid and therefore convincing him to participate in the raid, wherein he lost a leg. His suit for £3000 in damages was successful.
With the death of his brother Cecil in 1902, Frank took possession of Dalham Hall
, and erected a hall in the village in Cecil's memory. After retiring from the Army in 1903, he served as managing director of the African Trans-Continental Telegraph Company until his death in 1905.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(9 April 1851–21 September 1905), better known as "Frank", is perhaps the best known member of the Rhodes family after his brother Cecil. Trained as a soldier from his youth, he participated in a considerable amount of conflict in different parts of the world. After graduating from Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
, he joined the 1st Royal Dragoons in 1873 and served the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
for 23 years. He participated in the Sudan Campaign
Mahdist War
The Mahdist War was a colonial war of the late 19th century. It was fought between the Mahdist Sudanese and the Egyptian and later British forces. It has also been called the Anglo-Sudan War or the Sudanese Mahdist Revolt. The British have called their part in the conflict the Sudan Campaign...
, accompanied the Nile Expedition
Nile Expedition
The Nile Expedition, sometimes called the Gordon Relief Expedition , was a British mission to relieve Major-General Charles George Gordon at Khartoum, Sudan. Gordon had been sent to the Sudan to help Egyptians evacuate from Sudan after Britain decided to abandon the country in the face of a...
to Khartoum in the abortive effort to relieve General
Major-General (United Kingdom)
Major general is a senior rank in the British Army. Since 1996 the highest position within the Royal Marines is the Commandant General Royal Marines who holds the rank of major general...
Charles George Gordon
Charles George Gordon
Major-General Charles George Gordon, CB , known as "Chinese" Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British army officer and administrator....
, and was present at the battles of El Teb
Battles of El Teb
The Battles of El Teb took place during the British Sudan Campaign where a force of Sudanese under Osman Digna won a victory over an 3500 strong Egyptian force under the command of General Valentine Baker which was marching to relieve Tokar on the 4th...
and Tamai
Battle of Tamai
The Battle of Tamai took place on March 13, 1884 between a British force under Sir Gerald Graham and a Mahdist Sudanese army led by Osman Digna....
. At the Battle of Abu Klea
Battle of Abu Klea
The Battle of Abu Klea took place between the dates of 16 and 18 January 1885, at Abu Klea, Sudan, between the British Desert Column and Mahdist forces encamped near Abu Klea...
, he distinguished himself when he had several horses shot from under him in the course of the engagement. He was awarded several medals and clasps, including the Distinguished Service Order.
Rhodes filled various staff appointments. From 1890-93, he served as military secretary to Lord Harris
George Harris, 4th Baron Harris
George Robert Canning Harris, 4th Baron Harris, GCSI, GCIE was a British politician, cricketer and cricket administrator...
while he was Governor of Bombay, and in 1893 he was chief of staff on Sir Gerald Herbert Portal
Gerald Portal
Sir Gerald Herbert Portal was a British diplomat, who was the Consul General for British East Africa and British Special Commissioner to Uganda, and a main figure in the establishment of the Uganda Protectorate.-Diplomatic career:...
's mission to Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. Rhodes also served for a brief period as Administrator of Mashonaland
Mashonaland
Mashonaland is a region in northern Zimbabwe. It is the home of the Shona people.Currently, Mashonaland is divided into three provinces, with a total population of about 3 million:* Mashonaland West* Mashonaland Central* Mashonaland East...
and as the appointed military member of the council of four in the government of Matabeleland
Matabeleland
Modern day Matabeleland is a region in Zimbabwe divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers. The region is named after its inhabitants, the Ndebele people...
under Leander Starr Jameson
Leander Starr Jameson
Sir Leander Starr Jameson, 1st Baronet, KCMG, CB, , also known as "Doctor Jim", "The Doctor" or "Lanner", was a British colonial statesman who was best known for his involvement in the Jameson Raid....
.
In perhaps the most trying event in his career, Rhodes served as a leading member of the Reform Committee (Transvaal)
Reform Committee (Transvaal)
The Reform Committee was an organisation of prominent Johannesburg citizens which existed late 1895/early 1896.The Transvaal gold rush had brought in a considerable foreign population, chiefly British although there were substantial minorities from other nations, who the Boer referred to as...
, in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, attempting to liberalize the government of Transvaal Republic
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
President Paul Kruger
Paul Kruger
Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger , better known as Paul Kruger and affectionately known as Uncle Paul was State President of the South African Republic...
on behalf of the Uitlander
Uitlander
Uitlander, Afrikaans for "foreigner" , was the name given to expatriate migrant workers during the initial exploitation of the Witwatersrand gold fields in the Transvaal...
population living in Transvaal. Following the Jameson Raid
Jameson Raid
The Jameson Raid was a botched raid on Paul Kruger's Transvaal Republic carried out by a British colonial statesman Leander Starr Jameson and his Rhodesian and Bechuanaland policemen over the New Year weekend of 1895–96...
in November 1895, the members of the Reform Committee were charged with high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
for their collaboration with Jameson. Rhodes, John Hays Hammond
John Hays Hammond
John Hays Hammond was a famous mining engineer, diplomat, and philanthropist. Known as the man with the midas touch, he amassed a sizable fortune before the age of 40. An early advocate of deep-level mining, Hammond was given complete charge of Cecil Rhodes' mines in South Africa and made each...
, and other leaders of the Committee were sentenced to death in April 1896, only this sentence was later commuted to 15 years’ imprisonment. In June 1896, all members of the Committee were released on payment of a heavy fine. As a punishment for his support of Jameson the British Army placed Rhodes on the retired list and barred him from active involvement in army business. After his release from jail, he immediately joined his brother Cecil and the British South Africa Company
British South Africa Company
The British South Africa Company was established by Cecil Rhodes through the amalgamation of the Central Search Association and the Exploring Company Ltd., receiving a royal charter in 1889...
in Second Matabele War
Second Matabele War
The Second Matabele War, also known as the Matabeleland Rebellion and in Zimbabwe as the First Chimurenga, was fought in 1896–97 between the British troops and the Ndebele people....
.
In 1898 he joined Field Marshal Earl Kitchener
Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, ADC, PC , was an Irish-born British Field Marshal and proconsul who won fame for his imperial campaigns and later played a central role in the early part of the First World War, although he died halfway...
’s Nile expedition as war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. At the Battle of Omdurman
Battle of Omdurman
At the Battle of Omdurman , an army commanded by the British Gen. Sir Herbert Kitchener defeated the army of Abdullah al-Taashi, the successor to the self-proclaimed Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad...
on 2 September he was shot and severely wounded in the right arm. For his services during that campaign he was restored to the army active list. During the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, Rhodes continued to work as a war correspondent. He was trapped for the duration in the Siege of Ladysmith
Siege of Ladysmith
The Siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 30 October 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal.-Background:...
and participated in the relief of Mafeking.
In 1899, he was sued by a man named Burrows for falsely representing the purpose of the raid and therefore convincing him to participate in the raid, wherein he lost a leg. His suit for £3000 in damages was successful.
With the death of his brother Cecil in 1902, Frank took possession of Dalham Hall
Dalham Hall
Dalham Hall is a Grade 2 listed country house and estate, located in the village of Dalham, Suffolk, near Newmarket, and west of Bury St Edmunds....
, and erected a hall in the village in Cecil's memory. After retiring from the Army in 1903, he served as managing director of the African Trans-Continental Telegraph Company until his death in 1905.