Assistant Residents At Perim

Introduction

For about 18 years in from 1886 – 1904 Perim had a professional administrator, albeit a junior one whose first posting it probably was on transfer to the Indian Civil Staff (ICS). The Assistant Resident Perim was usually the junior of however many Assistants there were in Aden. Whilst there an Assistant was encouraged to work towards language qualifications in either Somali or Arabic; those choosing the former might expect future employment in Somaliland, which was administered by Aden until 1904. Arabic would be the more important for those whose careers would continue in Aden; Abud, Davies, J W B Merewether and Hancock are some of those in this latter category. 

Soon after the arrival of the Coal Company in 1883 and the contentious attitude adopted by its management it was realised that an Outpost Commander who changed every two months was not providing the continuity that was required; in addition a more senior and experienced officer was needed. Major Hunter, the 1^st Assistant in Aden, appreciated that to get a suitable volunteer a financial inducement would have to be offered. This resulted in Captain Snell being offered the command of the detachment for at least a year without leave; the inducement was that he would receive two allowances to supplement his pay: Civil Staff pay of 150 Rupees a month plus Staff pay as a Wing officer of a further 100 Rupees a month – the latter normally being paid to an officer commanding 400 not 50 men. Due to the length of tour and the isolation it was considered very desirable for a married officer to be accompanied by his wife. A sum of 3,000 Rupees was allocated to bring the OC’s quarters up to standard, principally to construct a verandah on the southeast side and put venetian shutters on windows facing northwest. Snell accepted and took his family with him. Note that although he was in receipt of Civil Staff pay he had not transferred to the ICS and was only ‘ex-officio assistant resident’.

It had taken seven months to select Snell (and agree his inducements) and in the meantime the previous three Outpost Commanders were appointed Assistant Resident Perim, but only ex-officio. The first of these, Lieutenant Peyton, assumed this appointment half way through his tour as OC Outpost. A major and important difference in responsibilities was that once a fully-fledged ICS officer was appointed Assistant he could no longer be the detachment commander as he was no longer part of the Army. Due to lack of suitable quarters for a British officer, future detachment commanders would be an Indian officer from the unit providing the detachment.

The Last Outpost Commanders

Assistant Residents (Indian Civil Staff)

Hancock was the last ICS officer to be Assistant Resident. The main reason for the change was the murder of Captain Warneford, one of the Aden Assistants, and the requirement for another to be Political Officer at Dthala. There were not enough ICS officers to man Perim as well, especially as one could no longer be taken or borrowed from those in Somaliland (as Mr Malcolm Jones had been in 1898).

Assistant Residents 1905-1914

For the next 10 years the Assistant was provided from the resident Indian infantry battalion stationed in Aden, the battalion also providing an Indian officer as OC Detachment. Most of these Assistants held the appointment from four to six months although one, Major Schneider, was there for almost two years (see Perim in 1906). Most of the incumbents were relatively senior and apart from the requirement to appoint an experienced officer one can imagine that a few months away from the Aden climate was a welcome change and seniority may have been an advantage in this respect!

It will be noted that only two subalterns are in the list, one of whom de W Waller, was about to be a captain. The other, Parkin, looks to have been a short-notice replacement. It is Parkin who is fielding at cover point in the photograph illustrated in Pratt’s ‘Postal History of Aden’. Waller (by now a captain) had been the hard-working and efficient Assistant at the time of the major outbreak of cholera on Perim in January 1911 (See Pilgrim Camp). One cannot help but notice that no-one appears to have been queuing up to replace him!

Assistant Residents in WW1

For most of WW1 the size of the garrison on Perim was around 200 men, although for a short period following the Turkish attempt at a landing in June 1915 it was nearly double that number (See Army on Perim WW1). The senior officer on the island became Assistant Resident in addition to commanding the garrison, in several instances his predecessor remaining there – the latter often holding the same rank, but of lower seniority. When half the Wing of the 108^th Infantry was transferred to Kamaran in November 1915 the only officer on Perim for a fortnight was a Second Lieutenant, the same officer being in charge for a few days before he handed over to a Lieutenant Colonel commanding the incoming unit early in 1916. The problem in November arose because the CO of the 108^th, Baldock, had gone to command the garrison on Kamaran, where he died of dysentry shortly after arrival. This necessitated Elderton having to go to Kamaran, to be replaced by Miller, leaving Elphick – the only other British officer on Perim - in command.

The artillery troop was withdrawn from Perim in February 1919 and it is assumed the infantry garrison was not reduced to pre-war levels until at least that month.

Assistant Residents 1919 -1929

The post-war years saw a return to a stint on Perim being something presumably to be looked forward to; 1925 is a good example. All the British officers of the 5^th/12^th Frontier Force Regiment had a few weeks there and as one would expect the more senior officers escaping from the hottest months in Aden and the two subalterns being left with the cool season! In the previous year Lieut Lawrence had been murdered by members of his Regiment, the recently raised 1^st Yemen Infantry (see Murder of Lawrence).

The withdrawal of the Indian infantry battalion in 1928 and the handing over of the defence of Aden to the RAF was to lead to the abolition of the post of Assistant Resident in April 1929. The last Assistant was an RAF officer, presumably from the Armoured Car Squadron that was part of the Aden Protectorate Levies. With no infantry detachment available for Perim its defence passed to being a police responsibility. The administration of the island was put in the hands of the manager of the Coal Company, who was given the title of Government Agent Perim. When the Coal Company went bankrupt in 1936 responsibility for Perim passed to the Aden police. From then to 1959 the commissioner or his deputy was Administrator Perim.

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