In 1885, following the Battle of Ginnis, the British army discovered a small black boy abandoned. A report by the Daily Mail explains the remarkable tale of Britain's first black soldier and his unique life experience in the 1800s.
The child, only two-years-old was found by Troops from the Durham Light Infantry in Sudan. One of the soldier's, Sergeant Stuart nicknamed the child ‘Jimmy Dervish'. His original name was Mustapha. It was revealed his father had been killed and mother had fled.
The soldiers couldn't bear to leave him behind and decided to take him to their camp to figure out what to do with him. The closest little Jimmy had to a parent, at that time, had been a veteran called Jim Birley. He treated the boy like his son and would give him a bath everyday. Birley’s comrades felt the same kind affection for the boy who had made his way into their hearts.
When the battalion was posted to India in January 1887, the men wanted to take their boy along. But it was decided it would be best for him to be cared for in a mission school in Cairo. When the battalion was away from Jimmy, the sergeants donated one rupee, which was a day's pay, for his expenses.
Later, it is not determined when, Jimmy who was officially named James Durham, moved to Britain. Durham was raised by the family of a soldier called Sergeant Robson the in northeast of England. It seems he had a happy childhood and regarded Robson’s daughter Stella, as a sister.
In 1899, Jimmy, who was only 14, chose to enlist in the army. He was given special dispensation by Queen Victoria to join the army. While there is no record of his active service, he did play in the band and "accompanied the regimental goat on parade," the report revealed. He also ran the Army Temperance Association in the battalion and was given an Award of Merit by Field Marshal Lord Roberts for his success.
Durham came to be known as the only black soldier in the British Army of that time. He also went on to marry Englishwoman named Jane. Even though the idea interracial marriage was unusual, there is no evidence that they were shunned by her community. There is no evidence that suggests he had experienced racial abuse in his lifetime.
A year into their marriage, Durham had to move to Ireland where he was posted with his battalion. Sadly, on August 8, 1910, Jimmy died of pneumonia at age 25 at the Military Hospital in Fermoy, County Cork. He never got to meet his daughter Frances, who was born three weeks after he passed away. She lived until she was 88. Jimmy's extraordinary story highlights evidence that people of the British Isles were more accepting of differences that previously thought.
