T.J. Alldridge Sierra Leone collection, 1890s

158 x 112 mm. Showing the graves, surrounded by neat fencing in a clearing at the edge of the village, with huts and a banana plantation in the background and a clump of pumpkin plants in the foreground. Alldridge visited Waima on this occasion in the company of the Governor of Sierra Leone, Sir Frederick Cardew, during the latter's tour of the hinterland in March - May 1894.

'It was on the 16th of April that we arrived at Waima. This was about four months after the unfortunate collision between the French and the English had occurred. Many of the huts were riddled with bullets. It will be sufficient for the purpose of this narrative to mention the kindly care which the Governor bestowed upon the graves of French and English, officers and men alike, who fell in this much-to-be-regretted action. By his orders the burial ground was cleared and the graves fenced in before we took our departure from that melancholy town, with its sorrowful surroundings and its most painful associations. Figure 71 [i.e. this print] shows the cemetery after it had been put in order, and was taken late in the afternoon under a drizzling rain and with an exposure of thirty seconds.' (Alldridge 1901, page 247).

In 1893 the French Government had sent an expedition into French Guinea to explore the territory south of Kissidougon and examine the natural boundaries for the extent of French and English influence in the area. On December 1, Lieutenant Gaston-Maxime Maritz made treaties with six Konno chiefs at Waima in what, by the Paris agreement of 1889, had been agreed as a British sphere, although the area was unvisited by British officials. When he returned to the town on December 23, a British force under Colonel Ellis and Captain Lendy had taken occupation and, both sides mistaking the other for Sofa war-boys in the early morning light, an exchange of fire took place which lasted for about 40 minutes. Two British officers, a sergeant-major and four private soldiers were killed. On the French side, Maritz and 10 of his men died.

For more information about Alldridge's tour with Cardew, see (Alldridge 1901, Chapters XXV-XXVI). For further information regarding the incident, see Fyfe, Christopher (1962), A history of Sierra Leone, London: OUP, page 520 and Foray, C.P. (Cyril P) (1977), Historical dictionary of Sierra Leone, London: Scarecrow Press, page 136, which gives different casualty figures. This photograph is reproduced in (Alldridge 1901, figure 71).

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