Patrick William Forbes

Who was Patrick William Forbes?

Patrick William Forbes, was born in 1861 at Whitechurch, England. He was educated at Rugby, Warwickshire and commissioned to the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons. In 1880, he went to Cape Colony and in 1889 he was made second-in-command of the British South Africa Police. Promoted to Major in 1890, Forbes went on to command the Salisbury Column in Mashonaland, and later he was selected by the British South Africa Company as the Mashonaland Magistrate. In 1893, the First Matabele War broke out and Forbes was selected to command all forces in the region against the Ndebele. He proved to be an indecisive leader and tried to compensate his shortcomings with a "by the book" attitude. Nonetheless, Forbes later became Commissioner to the BSAC territory in North-Western Rhodesia, from 1895–1897. He died in 1918.