West Africa Command
Encyclopedia
History
After the First World War, military forces in the four British West African colonies (NigeriaNigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, the Gold Coast
Gold Coast (British colony)
The Gold Coast was a British colony on the Gulf of Guinea in west Africa that became the independent nation of Ghana in 1957.-Overview:The first Europeans to arrive at the coast were the Portuguese in 1471. They encountered a variety of African kingdoms, some of which controlled substantial...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, and The Gambia
The Gambia
The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambia , is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west....
) were under the control of the individual colonial governments. "The regiments of the four colonies were all under the umbrella of the Royal West African Frontier Force
Royal West African Frontier Force
The West African Frontier Force was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. The decision to raise this force was taken in 1897 because of concern at French colonial...
. An Inspector General of African Colonial Forces was appointed to oversee their training and act as military adviser to the colonial governments. H.Q. Military Forces West Africa was formed on the 7 July 1940 with the arrival of Lieutenant General George Giffard
George Giffard
General Sir George Giffard GCB DSO was a British military officer, who had a distinguished career in command of African troops in World War I, rising to command an Army Group in South East Asia in World War II.-Early career:...
and one staff officer. The headquarters were established on the 15 July near Accra. His task was the defence of all West African territories and coordination of all Military resources in these colonies." Additionally the command was an an important recruiting ground for allied servicemen: it recruited 200,000 soldiers for the allies while defending itself from Vichy
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
aggression. The basis for the command was the units and establishments of the Royal West African Frontier Force
Royal West African Frontier Force
The West African Frontier Force was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. The decision to raise this force was taken in 1897 because of concern at French colonial...
.
Conflicting information indicates that the command was either based at Achimota College in Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
, or in Nigeria. It was disbanded in 1956. Postwar plans to raise an infantry division in West Africa as part of a British strategic reserve were not realised due to lack of funding.
After disbandment, its infrastructure supported the development of the new Ghana Army
Ghana Army
The Ghana Army is the army of the West African nation of Ghana. In 1959, two years after the Gold Coast obtained independence as Ghana, the Gold Coast Regiment was withdrawn from the Royal West African Frontier Force, and formed the basis for the new Ghanaian Army...
.
Its insignia (a leaning palm tree) is still worn today by members of the British Peace Support Team, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, including personnel based at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre
Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre
Based in Ghana, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre provides training and research in peacekeeping and peaceoperations. Established in 1998, it formally began operations in 2002...
.
Commanders-in-Chief
Commanders-in-Chief have included:- 1940 - 1943 Lieutenant General George GiffardGeorge GiffardGeneral Sir George Giffard GCB DSO was a British military officer, who had a distinguished career in command of African troops in World War I, rising to command an Army Group in South East Asia in World War II.-Early career:...
- 1943 - 1945 Lieutenant General Francis NosworthyFrancis NosworthyLieutenant General Sir Francis Poitiers Nosworthy KCB DSO MC was Commander-in-Chief of West Africa Command during World War II.-Military career:...
- 1945 - 1946 Lieutenant General Brocas BurrowsBrocas BurrowsLieutenant General Brocas Burrows CB DSO MC was Commander-in-Chief of West Africa Command of the British Army from 1945 to 1946.-Military career:...
- 1946 - 1948 Lieutenant General Noel IrwinNoel IrwinLieutenant General Noel Mackintosh Stuart Irwin CB, DSO & Two Bars, MC was a British soldier, who played a prominent role in the British Army after the Dunkirk evacuation, and in the Burma Campaign...
- 1948 - 1951 Lieutenant General Cameron NicholsonCameron NicholsonGeneral Sir Cameron Gordon Graham Nicholson GCB KBE DSO & Bar MC is a former Adjutant-General to the Forces.-Military career:Cameron Nicholson was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1915...
- 1951 - 1953 Lieutenant General Lashmer WhistlerLashmer WhistlerGeneral Sir Lashmer Gordon Whistler GCB, KBE, DSO & Two Bars, DL , known as Bolo, was a British army officer who served in the First and Second World Wars. In the Second World War he achieved senior ranks serving with Field Marshal Montgomery in North Africa and Europe...
- 1953 - 1956 Lieutenant General Otway HerbertOtway HerbertLieutenant General Sir Edwin Otway Herbert KBE CB DSO was a British Army General who achieved high command in the 1950s.-Military career:...