DAVID FRANCIS LEWIS

Born. 21/10/1855 at Bultington. Educated. privately and at R.M.C. Sandhurst. 11/2/1875 Lt. in the Buffs. Capt. 20/2/1884; Major, Cheshire Regt., 14/1/1891; Bvt. Lt.Col. 18/11/96; Lt.Col. 18/1/99; Bvt. Col. 26/12/98. Half-pay 18/1/99: retired, 27/9/1900.

He served in the Zulu War of 1879, including the action of Inyazana and the defence of Etshowa, where he was wounded (Despatches, L.G. 16/5/79). From 1886 he was attached to the Egyptian Army, taking part in the Sudan Expedition of 1888-9, including the actions at Gamaizah and Arguin. He commanded the Egyptian Brigade in the Expedition to Dongola, 1896; in 1897 he was in command in the action at Merowi. During the Nile Expedition of 1898 commanded an Egyptian Bde. at the battles of The Atbara and Khartoum; also at the defeat of Ahmed Fedil's army. For these services he was appointed CB, mentioned in despatches several times, and thanked by both Houses of Parliament. In the Nile Expedition of 1899 he organised the Flying Column and commanded the Infantry Bde. which resulted in the final defeat of the Khalifa. He was Governor of Sennaler 1899-1900. He was an extra ADC to the Queen 1900-1, and to King Edward 1901-5; and was selected for reward for distinguished and meritorious service, 3/8/1912.

After his retirement he was Correspondent for the Times with the French Army in Morocco in 1907, and with the Spanish Army around Melilla in 1909 (he received the Spanish Order of Merit). During the Great War he raised the 16th. Bn. of the Royal Warwickshire Regt., and was County Commandant of the Warwick Volunteer Corps from 1/9/1916, being mentioned in despatches yet again. He was a JP Warwickshire and Gloucestershire. He died at Hungerdown, Seagry, Chippenham, 2/21927.
He married, MARION SMITH in 1910: Daughter. and heir of Henry Smith, J.P., D.L., of Summerhill Court, Staffs, and his wife Marianne, Daughter. and heir of Joseph Webb of Wordsley, Staffs; Lady of the Manor of Avening. They had no children.

"David Francis Lewis was born on 21 October 1855 in Buttington, Mongomeryshire, the eldest son of the Reverend D. Phillips Lewis, rector of Llandrinio. He was educated at Oswestry School from where he was gazetted sub-lieutenant unattached dated 11 February 1875 and proceeded to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst the same year. In January 1876 he joined the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Foot, ‘The Buffs’, and in 1877 was promoted to a lieutenantcy (ante-dated to 11 February 1875). He served as district adjutant in Natal from April to November 1878 and during the Zulu War with The Buffs, firstly in the action at Inyezane, and then at the investment of Eshowe where, on 11 March 1879, he suffered a bullet wound to the head while out on a working party. He was Mentioned in Colonel C.K. Pearson’s Despatches (London Gazette 16 May 1879)."

Remaining with the second battalion, he was musketry instructor from 1880 until 1883, promoted Captain 1884 and appointed aide-de-camp to Sir George Bowen, Governor of Hong Kong, 1884-85. In the following year he joined the Egyptian Army seeing much active service including: Second in command of the Frontier Force, he served during Operations on the Frontier and East Sudan as Commanding Officer of the 9th Sudanese Battalion; in the action at Gemaizah, 1888, during the Mahdist War (Ottoman Order of the Medjidie Third class). In 1891 he transferred to the Cheshire Regiment, still attached to the Egyptian Army, was promoted Major in the British Army, and in 1896 he was advanced Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel.

During the reconquest of the Sudan, ‘Lewis Bey’ commanded the 1st Brigade in the Dongola campaign 1896, (Mentioned in Despatches London Gazette 3 November 1896) and 3rd Brigade in 1898, including the Battles of the Atbara and Omdurman: for his services he was awarded the C.B., and was twice Mentioned in Despatches (London Gazettes 24 May 1898 and 30 September 1898). At the end of 1898 he was engaged in various operations on the Blue Nile including commanding an infantry brigade at the Battle of Roseires where, in overall command, he inflicted a decisive defeat on Ahmed Fedil’s Army in the Cataract south of Roseires.

A Good Dusting by Henry Keown-Boyd takes up the story:
‘The Welshman’s force was small and stricken with malaria but it consisted of experienced 10th Soudanese under Lieutenant-Colonel Nason of the Cameronians, a small detachment of the 9th Soudanese under Captain Sir Henry Hill of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, two Maxims handled by Royal Marine sergeants and several hundred Friendlies under a former Mahdist, Sheikh Bakr Mustafa. On Christmas afternoon, Sheikh Bakr, patrolling the west bank, reported that Ahmed had attempted to cross the Blue Nile but had been forced back. Lewis, who marched down the east bank that same afternoon from Roseires, found the Mahdist position the following morning at a point where the river divides into two fast-flowing streams around a large sandy island. Most of Ahmed’s force was on this island but the wily emir himself had, contrary to Bakr’s earlier report, reached the west bank with a group of riflemen, leaving Saadallah in command on the island. Sergeants Lambert and Trowbridge immediately opened up with their Maxims but the enemy were well protected from long-range fire by sandhills and it soon became apparent to Lewis that they could only be dislodged by an infantry attack.

With difficulty the 10th and Friendlies crossed the deep, fast torrent onto the island and with typically fearless Soudanese elan under a blizzard of fire drove the defenders from their positions into the river on the west side of the island where many, including Saadallah, were drowned. But Soudanese casualties too had been heavy in the fierce fighting around the sandhills and the 10th lost twenty-five men killed, one missing, presumably drowned, and 122 officers and men (including major C. Fergusson, D.S.O. Grenadier Guards) wounded, nearly four times the battalion’s casualties at the Battle of the Atbara. The friendlies also lost a number of men killed and wounded. The two Marine sergeants who, aided by their escort of 9th Soudanese under Yuzbashi (Capt) Mohamed Abu Shaila, had managed to manhandle their machine-guns onto the island in support of the infantry and to engage Ahmed Fadel’s riflemen on the west bank, were among those decorated, both receiving the D.C.M.
Ahmed Fadel, well placed for flight, escaped to join Khalifa in Kordofan with a diminishing band of followers. In addition to Lewis’s estimate of 500 Mahdist dead, about 1700 had been captured.’

Lewis was advanced Lieutenant-Colonel on 18 January 1899 and his detailed report of the Roseires engagement was included in Kitchener’s Despatch of 8 February 1899 (London Gazette 5 May 1899). He saw also took part in the Nile Expedition later in 1899 and in the operations which resulted in the final defeat of the Khalifa, the action at Um Dibaykarat (Gedid), organising a flying column and commanding an infantry brigade, he was Mentioned in Despatches a sixth time (London Gazette 30 January 1900), receiving a glowing tribute from Colonel Sir Reginald Wingate, Commanding Troops on the White Nile, for his services in this his final action:
‘To Brevet Colonel Lewis, commanding the Infantry Brigade, my most cordial thanks are due. The previous good services of this gallant officer are well known. On him devolved the arduous duty of rapidly concentrating the flying column at Fachi Shoya, prior to my arrival. Throughout the recent operations he has given fresh proof of his capacity for command, and to his energy and great practical knowledge of the handling of troops I attribute, in a large measure, the success which has been achieved.’

After his return to England, on 14 March 1900 Lewis received the appointment of aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria and subsequently to King Edward VII.

Seeking new adventures, Colonel Lewis was next engaged as a war correspondent for The Times newspaper, reporting from Morocco with the French Army in 1907 and with the Spanish Forces around Melilla in 1909. After the outbreak of the Great War, he raised the 16th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment in October 1914 and was County Commandant of the Warwickshire Volunteer Corps. He also served on the county magisterial bench for Warwickshire. He died at his residence, Hungerdown, near Chippenham on 2 February 1927.

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Western Daily Press, Thursday 03 February 1927.

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Seagry Parish Church, Wiltshire, England.