A Soldier, Hunter, Conservationist and Explorer

If you have ever been to the Natural History Museum in London, you may have been distracted by the relatively large skeleton of a blue whale or the carved decorative columns and missed the memorial to Frederick Selous on the right wall of the left staircase.

Unveiling of the memorial to Selous in 1920. source acknowledged

Frederick Courteney Selous, DSO, was born in 1851. His exploits are said to have inspired Sir Henry Rider Haggard’s Allan Quartermain. He was a friend of Theodore th January Roosevelt and Cecil Rhodes.

Born at Regent’s Park, London, he was one of five children of an upper-middle-class family and the third generation of Huguenot immigrants. His father was Chairman of the London Stock Exchange, and his mother was a published poet.

Aged 15, Selous was one of the survivors of the Regent’s Park skating disaster. When the ice broke, over 200 skaters were enjoying winter fun. Selous managed to escape by crawling onto slabs of broken ice. Many were not as lucky, and 40 died that day by drowning and freezing.  

The Kentish Express of Saturday, 19th January 1867, is one of the newspapers that tells of the events and does not mince its words. The Disaster in Regent’s Park. ‘The Star believes that the radical evil is that skating is permitted where life or death depends upon the thoughtless exercising a rare amount of good sense, or, it may be, upon the prudence or stupidity of some half-witted official. The mischief appears to have been wrought by the park keepers breaking away the ice around the island that the water-fowl might have the means of disporting in their favourite element.  If all those officials had been subordinated to one central authority – if the park-keepers and the Royal Humane Society’s men had received their instructions from the same source – this, probably, would not have happened.  But be this as it may, there is no reason in the world why the skating ponds of London should cover move than two or three feet depth of water.

The Telegraph declares it is idle to say that nobody expected the melancholy occurrence.  Two things were known – the state of the ice and the temper of the crowd; and the knowledge of these things ought to have been sufficent warning‘.  And the article continues but ends with ‘and if the blame for not having prevented this disaster is to be laid anywhere, it must be at the door of the Commissioner of Works’.

In his late teens, he travelled to Africa. He collected specimens for museums, hunted, and explored many rarely seen areas. He was the first white man to be seen by many.

He fought and was wounded in the First Matabele War. During the Second Matabele War, he led the Bulawayo Field Force and wrote about the campaign. During this period in his life, he met and fought alongside Baden-Powell.

Fred Selous via Wikipedia

Selous, initially rejected for service in WWI due to his age (64), joined as a subaltern and saw service fighting against German colonial forces in East Africa. In August 1915, he was promoted to captain in the 25th (Frontiersmen) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. In September of the following year, he was awarded the DSO, with the citation reading: Capt Frederick Courtney Selous, Royal Fusiliers. For conspicuous gallantry, resource and endurance. He has set a magnificent example to all ranks, and the value of his services with his battalion cannot be over-estimated.

On 4th January 1917, he was fighting in the bush war on the banks of the Rufiji River against German colonel Schutztruppen with his troops outnumbered five to one. While crawling forward during combat, he raised his head and binoculars to locate the enemy and was shot in the head by a German sniper, killing him instantly.

Theodore Roosevelt wrote of his close friend: He led a singularly adventurous and fascinating life, with just the right alternations between the wilderness and civilization. He helped spread the borders of his people’s land. He added much to the sum of human knowledge and interest. He closed his life exactly as such a life ought to be closed, by dying in battle for his country while rendering her valiant and effective service. Who could wish a better life or a better death, or desire to leave a more honorable heritage to his family and his nation?

His old school published a book, ‘Memorials of Rugbeians Who Fell in The Great War,’ which includes two pages dedicated to Frederick Selous. The book covers his life, education, explorations, and service as a soldier. It is available to view on Fold3’s subscription website.

Sources:
Memorials of Rugbeians Who Fell in The Great War, Volume IV
https://roadstothegreatwar-ww1.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-last-british-square-was-formed-in.html
Western Front Association
The British Newspaper Archive

Snippets taken from other sources acknowledged