INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF VETERINARY AND ANIMAL MEDICINE (ISSN:2517-7362)

James John Bonifant Tapley was born 14 November 1877 in Torrington, Devon. He became Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (MRCVS) on 13 July 1899. He served as a Civilian Veterinary Surgeon (C.V.S.) in South Africa in 1901-1902 during the Anglo-Boer War (Queen’s South Africa Medal, four Clasps). Commissioned Lieutenant in the Army Veterinary Corps on 16 May 1903 he returned to South Africa and commanded Number 9 Section, Army Veterinary Service, Pretoria until 1908. Promoted as Captain on 1 May 1908 he was posted to the Cavalry School at Netheravon, Wiltshire. Seconded to the Egyptian Army in November 1911, he served in Sudan until he was retransferred to the British Army when World War I began, serving in France and Belgium, 14 August 1914-7 August 1915 (Distinguished Service Order, Mentioned in Despatches) and being promoted Major. Seconded again to the Egyptian Army as Principal Veterinary Officer he supervised transport operations in Darfur during April-November 1916 (Khedive’s Sudan Medal, Mentioned in Despatches). He was Director of Veterinary Services in Sudan, 1918- 1922 (Order of the Nile, 3^rd Class). He was Acting and Brevet Lieutenant Colonel prior to becoming substantive Lieutenant Colonel, then Colonel with seniority at 1^st January 1921. He subsequently served in various administrative posts in India, Egypt and the UK. Appointed Director General of Veterinary Services in 1933-a post held until 1937-he was promoted Major General (Companion of the Bath (Military Division)). Placed on the British Army Regular Army Reserve of Officers General List in 1942, Tapley died aged 80 on 17 July 1958.

Second Anglo-Boer War; First World War; Royal Army Veterinary Corps; Military campaigns; Army transport.

onflict of Interests The authors declare no conflict of interest.

In the final 20 years of the 19^th Century a religiously-inspired uprising in the Sudan (the Mahdist War) was quelled by the Khedivate of Egypt, with assistance from the British Army, in 1898. Following eighteen years of conflict a joint-rule state of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, a Condominium of the British Empire and the Kingdom of Egypt, was established. Cavalry and transport animals (horses, mules, donkeys and camels) were required in large numbers to govern and control the Condominium. Animal health care was provided by a fledgling veterinary service staffed initially by British Army officers. Twelve veterinarians served, in turn, as Principal Veterinary Officers (to 1910) or as Directors of Veterinary Services (1910- 1956) in the 55-year period from the formation of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1901 to independence for the Republic of Sudan on 1^st January 1956. The early veterinarians were seconded, usually for short periods, from the British Army Veterinary Corps to the Egyptian Army which employed them directly or seconded them to Sudan. James John Bonifant Tapley was the fifth Director of the Sudan Veterinary Service, serving for five years from 1917 to 1922 after being Veterinary Inspector in various provinces. This paper provides material additional to and expands on an earlier biography of James Tapley [1].

Background and early life

James John Bonifant Tapley was born on 14^th November 1877 at the Globe Inn in Great Torrington in North Devon (Figure 1) [2]. He was baptized just over six weeks later on 31st December 1877 at the church of St Michael and All Angels in Torrington, the son of Samuel George Tapley and Mary (née Bonifant) Tapley (Figure 2).

During the British census of 1881 James J B Tapley, aged 3, was living with his parents in High Street, Torrington. The census records him residing with his mother, father, elder sister, elder brother, aunt (mother’s sister), a male visitor and six servants (Porter, Billiard Marker, Cook, Chamber Maid, Waitress, Child Maid). In 1891, John B. Tapley, aged 13 and a Scholar, was living at the Globe Inn, Torrington. The full household comprised his father, mother, older sister, older brother, mother’s sister (aunt), six domestic servants (Cook, Waitress, Chamber Maid, Boots, Billiard Marker, Barmaid) and a boarder.

Following the required period of study, Tapley graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, London, (RVC) with a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (B Vet Med). He was registered as a Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (MRCVS) on 13 July 1899. 

Soon after graduating from the RVC James Tapley travelled to South Africa to provide veterinary care to animals during the second Anglo-Boer war. Serving as a Civilian Veterinary Surgeon (CVS) with the British Army Veterinary Department he was awarded the Queen’s South Africa Medal with four Clasps (Cape Colony, for service there between 11th October 1899 and 31st May 1902; Orange Free State for service there between 28 th February 1900 and 31 st May 1902; South Africa 1901 for presence in the country between 1st January and 31st December 1901; and, South Africa 1902, for presence from 1st January 1902 to the end of the war on 31st May). This was the first of a plethora of campaign medals and honours he was to receive during his military career (Figure 3). At some point during his Anglo-Boer service Tapley returned to England as in April 1901, at the time of the census of that year. J J B Tapley was recorded as a Veterinary Surgeon aged 28 living as a boarder in the household of Mary C Abbott, a single woman living on her own account as a Grocer at 25 Holland Street, Barnstaple: others in the household were two additional boarders both aged 19 and a 15-year-old niece of the household head.

Returning to England from South Africa at the end of the war, Tapley was commissioned as a Veterinary-Lieutenant in the Army Veterinary Department on 16 May 1903 [3,4]: 

In 1911 Captain Tapley was seconded to the Egyptian Army [13]:

Tapley served in Sudan from 9th November 1911 to 4th August 1914 and then again from 11th September 1915 to 15th December 1922 (Table 1). He was initially posted to Kordofan in western Sudan and was there for three years until early 1914 [14]. He benefitted from a period of home leave lasting three months every year. It was during one such leave in the European summer of 1914 that the First World War broke out and Tapley was promptly transferred back to the British Army, this being quickly noted by the Sudan authorities in the country’s Official Gazette “J.J.B. Tapley (Veterinary Department) retransferred to Army, 5/8/14.” [15]: 

It was not until six years later that this transfer was recorded in official English sources which also noted his return to the Egyptian Army (at the request of the Khedive of Egypt) [16]:

Between his transfer to the Army Veterinary Corps in 1914 and his second secondment to the Egyptian Army Tapley served in France and Belgium from 14th August to 7th December 1914 during which period he gained the 1914 Star with Clasp. He served on the Headquarters Staff at the Battle of the Aisne and was Mentioned in Despatches by Field-Marshal J. D. P. French, Commander-in-Chief, British Forces in the Field. He was once again Mentioned in Despatches in June 1915 and was simultaneously appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) [17-23]:

Tapley served as Assistant Director of Veterinary Services with the 28th Division from 16th January to 7th August 1915. During this period he was promoted first to Major and then to Brevet Lieutenant Colonel on 10th July 1915. At the end of this period he was transferred back to the Egyptian Army as Principal Veterinary Officer while remaining on the Active List[16,21,24].³

Upon his return to Sudan Tapley served as Veterinary Inspector in Red Sea Province (Table 1). He was then placed in charge of transport in Operations in Darfur from 13th April 1916 to 23rd November 1916 (although nominally still in Red Sea Province at least on 1st July 1916) as Senior Veterinary Officer and Senior Officer of Transport. For this expedition to remove Sultan Ali Dinar he was awarded the Khedive’s Sudan Medal 1910 with Clasp “Darfur 1916” (under Special Army Order dated 8th September 1916) [25] and was once again Mentioned in Despatches [26,27]:

The end of 1916 and all of 1917 were busy for Tapley. He served in Kordofan during November 1916 albeit on a temporary basis and had the honorary title of “Bey” conferred on him by the Khedive of Egypt (Table 1) and was made Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel [28,29]. On 1st January 1917 Veterinary Inspector J.J.B. Tapley was appointed Assistant Director, Veterinary Department [30]. There was a further Mention in Despatches in the middle of the year for his role in the events in Darfur from the time of the occupation of El Fasher on 23rd May 1916 up to the conclusion of the Operations which resulted in the death of Ali Dinar [31]:

The Sudan Government staff list for 1st January 1918 has Tapley as Assistant Director of Veterinary Services (Table 1), the post of Director being vacant. The previous Director had died in London on 11th November after being ill in Cairo for some months [32]. One source notes that Tapley was appointed Director on 18th November 1917 but does not list a reference for this statement [33]. By 1st January 1919, however, Tapley was well into his tenure as Director (Table 1). Later in 1919 he was again mentioned in Despatches in connection with transport operations but this time in Administrative Services as opposed to Darfur Operations [34]:

The World War I campaign medals that Tapley was awarded were sent to him on 22nd March 1921. His Medal Index Card (Figure 5) notes he was also entitled to a Clasp on his 1914 Star (for action against the enemy before 23rd November 1914) and to an Oak Leaf emblem on his Victory Medal for Mentions in Despatches. The Index Card also confirms entitlement to the Khedive’s Sudan Medal 1910 with Clasp “Nyala 1916” and indicates his retransfer to the British Army on 5th August 1914 and his landing in France on 13th August 1914. His two Mentions in Despatches for activities in France were also on the official record but nothing has been found for the three Sudanese Mentions in Despatches. During 1921, Tapley was honored by the Egyptian Sultan in the award of one of Egypt’s highest honours, Order of the Nile, 3rd class, for work in Sudan [35]:

Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Tapley relinquished his post as Director of Veterinary Services in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan on 15th December 1922 and left the Egyptian Army on the same date with the local rank of Miralai (Senior Colonel or Brigadier). He was restored to the British Army on 16th December 1922 [36]:

During his tenure as Director in the Sudan there were good times and bad – and sometimes both at the same time – for the veterinary services. The complement of professional veterinarians was reduced during World War I due to the demands of the European Theatre. Towards the end of 1918, however, nine additional veterinarians arrived in the country. The war saw great demand for Sudanese animals to supply meat to the Allied armed forces. In one year 22,000 camels were exported, leading to a huge increase in prices. This meant that producers had to sell fewer animals to ensure a good livelihood and livestock numbers gradually built up. Rinderpest remained a significant problem in cattle with heavy losses in 1918 and 1919, followed by a reduction in losses in the next two years and then a recrudescence of the disease again in 1922 [33].

After leaving the Egyptian Army, Tapley served as Deputy Assistant Director of Veterinary Services, Baluchistan District, India; Assistant Director of Veterinary Services, Western Command, India; Assistant Director of Veterinary Services, Eastern Command; Deputy Director of Veterinary Services, Aldershot Command; and, Assistant Director of Veterinary Services, British Troops in Egypt [37]. Leaving this last post in 1929, Tapley, aged 51,travelled to London on board the S.S. Orama of the Orient Steam Navigation Company having boarded it at Port Said on 24th October 1929 going to 96 Piccadilly, London, W1 having been resident in Egypt [38]. Meanwhile he had been promoted to substantive Lieutenant Colonel on 9th January 1928 [39]. Less than two years later he was promoted full Colonel with substantial retroactive seniority [40]:

In late October 1933 Colonel Tapley was placed on the Active List on half pay [41]. Some five weeks later he was restored to the Regular Army and promoted Major General [42] and at the same time was appointed to be Director General of the Army Veterinary Services (Figure 6) [43,44]:

In 1934 Major General Tapley, aged 56, travelled to the USA with a party of veterinarians and their wives, leaving Liverpool on board the SS Scythia to arrive in Boston Massachusetts on 12th August [45]. He returned with his group just under one month later on 10th September travelling Cabin Class on board the SS Laconia of the Cunard White Star Line from Boston and was on his way to the Junior United Service Club, London SW1 [46]. His companions were not military officers and no reason has been found for the visit although it is possible it was some sort of study tour. In the following year, 1935, Tapley was honoured by being appointed a Companion of the Bath, Military Division, Third Class [47,48]: 

He was also awarded two commemorative medals: the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935; and, the King George VI Coronation Medal in 1937. In this latter year, however, he finally retired from the army [49]:

After his retirement from the army Major General Tapley evidently led a quiet life. Just before the outbreak of World War II he was listed as living at Lawrence Hall Hotel, Upper Ham Road, Richmond being described as a Veterinary Adviser, single, born on 14 November 1877 and on the Reserve of Officers of the Army Veterinary Services. He also continued to appear in the Official Quarterly Army Lists through to at least April 1946 where he was shown to be on the British Army Regular Army Reserve of Officers, General List.

In later life Tapley lived at The Gatehouse, St Stephen’s Road, Bournemouth. James John Bonifant Tapley died at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Boscombe, Bournemouth on 17th July 1958 aged 80 [50,51]. He had never married and probate of his effects of £3378 14s 1d was granted on 12th September 1958 to his brother Charles Mark Tapley, a retired bank manager London [52].

This contribution is one of a series on military personnel and civilians who served as Directors of Veterinary Services in the AngloEgyptian Sudan who served during the Condominium Period from 1901 to 1956. The series was conceived by the first author. This paper on James John Bonifant Tapley draws on an earlier publication on Tapley authored by Oliver Knesl but greatly expands that paper and adds new material researched by the first author and includes photographs and other personal material that did not appear in the first paper. This piece was largely written by R Trevor Wilson before being thoroughly reviewed and revised by Oliver Knesl. Both authors are in agreement that this paper is a joint undertaking and is acceptable to both.

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