Establishment of the West African Frontier Force: A Historical Overview of the Recruitment, Training and Organization of the Force (1897-1900)

Abstract

This paper examines the establishment of the West African Frontier Force, an imperial force, in 1897 with particular focus on military recruitment exercises, training and organization of the force. The amalgamation processes of all West African Forces of British colonies of Nigeria, the Gold Coast (now Ghana), Sierra-Leone and the Gambia Frontier Police are well discussed in this paper. Essentially, these forces were brought together as formidable force to checkmate French and German incursion on the territories already occupied by the British. Another reason was to subjugate local opposition to British occupation and rule by carrying out punitive expeditions and campaigns as contribution to British imperial defence.  Primary sources in form of archival materials, documents, hand written and official letters, and secondary sources in form of books and journals were used in the course of this research. This paper contributes to studies on Military History and serves as a research material for students and researchers of Military History around the globe.

Keywords: Recruitment, Training, Organization, West African Frontier Force, Imperial forces, Amalgamation.