W.F.S. Edwards | |
---|---|
Birth name | William Frederick Savery Edwards |
Nickname(s) | The "Mosquito." |
Born | East Budleigh, Devon, U.K. | 27 July 1872
Died | 9 January 1941 Exeter, Devon, U.K. | (aged 68)
Allegiance | British Empire |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service | 1897–1922 |
Rank | Brigadier-General (British) |
Awards | CB CMG DSO OBE King's Police Medal Queen's South Africa Medal Africa General Service Medal Ashanti Medal British War Medal Victory Medal King George V Silver Jubilee Medal Coronation Medal Order of Saint Anna Order of Aviz British Red Cross Society Long Service Medal |
Brigadier general William Frederick Savery Edwards CB CMG DSO OBE (1872–1941), commonly referred to as Brigadier-General W. F. S. Edwards, was a decorated British military officer who was appointed by the British Colonial Administration as the first Inspector General of the Uganda Protectorate Police, which later became the Uganda Police, and the simultaneous overall commander of the then British East Africa Police.[1][2]
He was the first military member of the colonial British military appointed by the British Crown to lead the Uganda Police Force and the entire law enforcement machinery in British East Africa.[1][2]
When the Uganda Protectorate Police officially became the Uganda police, he was the first duly appointed Inspector General of the same.[1][2]
William Frederick Savery Edwards was the son of Rev. Nathaniel William Edwards.[1]
Edwards was educated at Christ's Hospital, a notable public school with a royal charter, located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex.[1]
Edwards was a professional military officer by training. Upon his arrival in Uganda, in 1906, he took on more than just the Inspector General position of the British East Africa Police and of the Uganda Police;[3] he also eventually took on the military command of British and local African soldiers serving the British Empire—who, that at the time, were poised to confront the German military front in East Africa.[4][5] Per the words contained in the official (Kenya) Gazette, his appointment orders extended to the Uganda Protectorate "Prisons" system.[6]
Considered an "indefatigable worker, a stickler for efficiency [and] a stern disciplinarian," Edwards was a leader who represented and protected the strategic interests of the then British Empire in colonial East Africa.[1]
Military leadership over civilian police forces in colonial territory was typical under British rule. Following General Edwards' leadership, other British military officers came to the helm of Uganda's police leadership until 1950.[7]
Edwards commanded Port Amelia Force (PAMFORCE) that opposed German incursions into Portuguese East Africa (current Mozambique).[8] He also commanded the East Africa Expeditionary Forces (during the East African campaign (World War I),[9][10] and a contingency Force code-named Edforce.[11]