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Name: WILSON, William (Capt. RN)

Birth Date: 1856

Death Date: 13.3.1934

Nationality: British

First Date: 1886

Last Date: 1910

Profession: Commander of s.s. Henry Wright for the IBEA Co. in Oct. 1886 he became Commander of s.s. Juba in Dec 1896.

Area: Mombasa

Book Reference: Gillett, EAHB 1905, EAS, North, Playne, EA Diary 1903, Drumkey, IBEA, EAHB 1906, UJ, EA Diary 1902, EAHB 1904, EAHB 1907

General Information:

EAHB 1905 - Commander, S.S. Henry Wright, IBEA Co., Oct. 1886 to April 1891; Commander, EAP, S.S. Juba, Dec. 3rd 1896.
The African Standard - 26-2-1903 - Invited to the wedding of H.R. Phelips & Miss Jacquette Edith Lambe in Mombasa (Capt. W. Wilson)
North - 'Nominal List of British Subjects in IBEA Territories …. Captain of Henry Wright' (ZA) 30/4/1891; Resigned from IBEA Co. April 1891; working as 2nd Officer on ships operating from UK to the west coast of Africa 25/8/1894 - 26/10/1895; Member of proposed EA Volunteer Force 9/10/1896, Mombasa, to be Lieut.; In London 15/10/1896; Appt. Commander of the 'SS Juba' (EAP) 6/11/1896; 1906 SS Juba
Playne - For 13 years (since Dec. 3, 1896), Mr Wilson has commanded the ss Juba. Before that he was for several years commander of the IBEA Co's ss Henry Wright (Oct. 1886 to April 1891)
Drumkey 1909 - Port Office and Shipping - Commander SS Juba
IBEA Co. - Nominal List of British Born Subjects resident in IBEA Territories within the Sultans Domain, 30 April 1891 - William Wilson, Capt. Henry Wright
Uganda Journal - Vol 20 (1956), 210 - The Wilsons of early Uganda by H.B. Thomas - Captain W. Wilson first appears in East Africa in 1886 when he became commander of the Church Missionary Society's 's.s. Henry Wright'. She had come out from England under her own steam by way of the Suez Canal in 1883, and was employed as a dispatch boat between the CMS stations at Mombasa and the mail steamers at Zanzibar. There are references to Captain Wilson and his steamer in W.S. Price's 'My Third Campaign in East Africa', 1890. She was sold to the IBEA Company and he joined its service in May 1890 and with her he took part in the Witu operations in the following October. The evidence of his presence in Uganda comes from an illustration in R.P. Ashe's 'Chronicles of Uganda', 1894. "A new assistant, Mr Wilson" arrived at Kampala with James Martin in December 1891 (Lugard, Rise of Our EA Empire, 1893, vol ii, p. 291) Ashe (p. 359) has a photograph which includes "W. Wilson of the IBEA Company" standing by the Company's boat in which he conveyed two missionaries, Dr Gaskoin Wright and F.C. Smith to Mwanza in October 1892. His employment on water transport service goes to confirm this identification, W. Wilson being a 'nautical' man. He seems to have left Uganda soon after, for it was J.P. Wilson who was at Kampala when Sir Gerald Portal arrived in March 1893. Captain W. Wilson joined the East Africa Protectorate service in 1896 and was appointed Commander ss Juba, the Protectorate steamer which served the Coast ports. He retired in 1910; and died 13 March 1934, aged 78.
EA Diary 1902 - Listed as Capt. Protec. s.s. Juba
EA Diary 1903 - Commander, Protectorate, ss Juba, Dec 3 1896; Director, Government Transport and Coast Agent, Uganda medal 1896
EAHB 1905 - Captain s.s. Juba. IBEA Co. General Africa Staff - appointed May 1890
Uganda Journal - The Wilsons of Early Uganda - In a note at UJ 20 (1956), 211 it was suggested that it was Captain W. Wilson of the IBEA Company who had accompanied the caravan which arrived in Kampala on 9 December 1891. This identification was largely based upon an illustration in Ashe's 'Chronicles of Uganda' p. 359 titled 'W. Wilson of IBEA Co. …'
Mr A.T. Matson of Kapsabet, Kenya has been good enough to tell me that, when examining Foreign Office papers (FO2/93) in the Public Record Office he came upon a reference, dealing with officer's leave arrangements, which sets out that J.P. Wilson reached Uganda in December 1891. From this it follows almost certainly that 'a new assistant, Mr Wilson' referred to by Lugard (Rise ii, 291) as being in Kampala in January 1892 must be J.P. And not W. Wilson. This conclusion is reinforced by Lugard's remark that he was 'in charge of stores' for J.P. Wilson was taken over from the Company by Sir Gerald Portal in March 1893 as storekeeper and accountant. There is accordingly little ground for believing that Captain W. Wilson ever reached Uganda; Ashe's caption is probably incorrect.

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