Statuette of an askari of the King's African Rifles in marching order, seated on a rock, 1922

Bronze sculpture by Hunt and Roskell, 1922. The rock on which the askari is seated is positioned upon a stipple textured base. The base itself fixed on a rectangular wooden ebonized plinth with a rectangular silver plaque inscribed, 'King's African Rifles. Inspector General's Competition 1922. Won By No 7 Platoon 2 1 Battn Commander Lieut W Rennie-O'Mahony'. A second silver plaque is engraved with a bugle horn, incorporating the unit number, '2/1' within the knotted strings, surmounting the curved unit title, 'King's African Rifles'.

Askari is an Arabic, Turkish, Somali, Persian and Swahili word meaning 'soldier'. The term was adopted by European colonial powers to describe locally recruited soldiers. Askaris recruited into the King's African Rifles served as garrison and internal security forces. During the First World War (1914-1918) they also played a leading role in the East African campaign.