Frederick Carruthers Cornell OBE (6 May 1867 – 6 March 1921) was an English soldier, geologist, prospector and author born in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and educated at the Bedford School. Cornell is best known for his war time activities during the

Maritz rebellion The Maritz rebellion, also known as the Boer revolt or Five Shilling rebellion,General De Wet publicly unfurled the rebel banner in October, when he entered the town of Reitz at the head of an armed commando. He summoned all the town and dema ...

and the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as well as for his publications. He studied music and languages in London. In 1902, he came to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, and displayed great interest in

Namaqualand Namaqualand (khoekhoe: "Nama-kwa" meaning Nama Khoe people's land) is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over and covering a total area of . It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River into ...

. During the First World War he served with the

South African Native Labour Corps The South African Native Labour Corps (SANLC) was a force of workers formed in 1916 in response to a British request for workers at French ports. About 25,000 South Africans joined the Corps. The SANLC was utilized in various menial noncombat tas ...

in which he served as a Lieutenant, and was the first to notify the South African forces that the Germans had crossed into the

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

from

German South West Africa German South West Africa (german: Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915, though Germany did not officially recognise its loss of this territory until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. With a total area of ...

. He was an editor of "The Cape Register". His publications include a volume of reminiscences The Glamour of Prospecting (1920) which has become an important eyewitness account of the

Herero and Namaqua genocide The Herero and Namaqua genocide or the Herero and Nama genocide was a campaign of ethnic extermination and collective punishment waged by the German Empire against the Herero (Ovaherero) and the Nama in German South West Africa (now Namibia). I ...

by the Germans between 1904 and 1908. His collection of short stories, some of which are considered to be among South Africa's finest, are found in A Rip Van Winkle of the Kalahari and Other Tales of South West Africa (1915). He also wrote martial poetry, including "A Soldier's Song" about the

Battle of Delville Wood The Battle of Delville Wood was a series of engagements in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War, between the armies of the German Empire and the British Empire. Delville Wood , was a thick tangle of trees, chiefly beech and ...

in World War One. Cornell was awarded the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for his military service. Cornell died on 6 March 1921 in a motor vehicle accent. He was married and had eight children.

Publications

*''A Rip Van Winkle of the Kalahari'', 1915 *''The Glamour of Prospecting'', 1920

References

* niversity of Cape Town Libraries Archives http://srvrhldig001.uct.ac.za/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=7110&local_base=GEN01

External links

* * * South African male short story writers South African short story writers 1867 births 1921 deaths People educated at Bedford School Road incident deaths in England {{SouthAfrica-writer-stub