Wright, Arthur C (A C)

SCHIEL, Adolf Friedrich. Official and Officer, Born Frankfurt Germany 19/12/1858 Died Bad Reichenhall, Germany 08/08/1903. After his training the German cavalry and artillery he landed at Durban in 1879. After working on a farm in Northern Natal, he became assistant to the border commandant and Native commissioner of the Transvaal Republic in 1881, in the territory bordering on Zululand and Swaziland. With a handful of constables he kept raiding parties and troublemakers in check. He was also secretary to the Comit?? van Bestuur ter regeling van zaken in Zululand (1884) and later, with the consent of the Boer leaders, was appointed secretary to the paramount chief Dinizulu. Schiel negotiated an agreement between Dinizulu and the trader Adolf L??deritz, who wanted to buy St. Lucia Bay and adjoining territory. This was against the interests of the New Republic (with Vryheid as capital), which insisted on Schiel???s arrest. Schiel travelled to Germany, where his discussions with Bismarck on possible German interest in the east coast of Zululand came to naught. Britain was quick in taking action and in 1884 St. Lucia Bay was annexed. <span style="font-family: "Century","serif"; font-s

Military History Journal Vol 2 No 2 - December 1971 THE GERMAN COMMANDO IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR OF 1899-1902 Neville Gomm Editor's Note -- In Vol. 1, No. 2 of the Military History Journal, Mr Don Forsyth wrote, in his article on the Dekoratie Voor Trouwe Dienst, that he had come across the names of a number of interesting commandos. He also said that their exploits presented an open field for research. How correct that statement is! Here, briefly, are some facts on one of the units which Mr Forsyth mentioned. Adolf Schiel - the founder In 1878, a young German, Adolf Schiel, left his home at Frankfurt-on-Main for South Africa. At first, he farmed in Natal but later gave up farming to take up employment in the Government Service in the Transvaal. As an ex-serviceman, he strove to join the Staatsartillerie, of which he was eventually appointed the Administrator. He immediately set about building up the unit but, before his work could be completed, he was appointed a Native Commissioner and eventually head of the Prisons Service. Shortly after the Jameson Raid, Schiel became a member of a building commission which had instructions to build the fort around the Johannesburg prison. On 1 July 1898, Adolf Schiel became Commandant of the Fort with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He was, therefore, the only officer in the Boer republic with the same rank as the Commandant of the Staatsartillerie. By the middle of 1899, the Fort was ready and it was handed over to the Staatsartillerie. Colonel Adolf Schiel. The German Commando established By this time Schiel realised that war with Britain was imminent. He discussed the formation of a commando, consisting of Germans, with his friends, Dr F.X. Elsberger, Count Harra Zeppelin, Fritz Brall and others. These men organised the German League which submitted proposals for the establishment of a commando to the Executive Council.