Askari of the 1st (Central Africa) Battalion, King's African Rifles, 1914 (c)

Watercolour by Margaret Metcalfe (1877-1972), 1914 (c).

The 1st Battalion were raised in 1902 on the redesignation of 1st Battalion, Central Africa Regiment. The rank and file of the battalion were African, while most officers were seconded from British Army regiments. During World War One, the battalion fought against the German commander Paul Erich von Lettow-Vorbeck and his forces in the East Africa campaign.