William F.S. Edwards

Brigadier-General William Frederick Savery Edwards, (27 July 1872 – 9 January 1941) was a British Army officer who was appointed by the British Colonial Administration as the first Inspector General of the Uganda Protectorate Police, which later became the Uganda Police, and the simultaneous overall commander of the then British East Africa Police. He was the first military member of the colonial British military appointed by the British Crown to lead the Uganda Police Force and the entire law enforcement machinery in British East Africa. he also eventually took on the military command of British and local African soldiers serving the British Empire—who, at the time, were poised to confront the German military front in East Africa. Per the words contained in the official (Kenya) Gazette, his appointment orders extended to the Uganda Protectorate "Prisons" system.

Considered an "indefatigable worker, a stickler for efficiency [and] a stern disciplinarian," Edwards was a leader who represented and protected the strategic interests of the then British Empire in colonial East Africa.

Edwards commanded Port Amelia Force (PAMFORCE) that opposed German incursions into Portuguese East Africa (current Mozambique). He also commanded the East Africa Expeditionary Forces (during the East African campaign (World War I), 1899 – deployed to Sierra Leone, West Africa. General Edwards commanded a contingency of forces in East Africa named "Edforce". 1915 – simultaneous conflict against Turkana incursions. 1916 – Kagera River conflict against German frontline forces. The Mbala War Memorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, commemorates this event.

Achievements

overcame incursions of the Turkana resistance in East Africa and Uganda Protectorate, 1915. raided German (Schutztruppe) posts and demolished frontline cover areas of the enemy across the Kagera River. General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck is reported to have only surrendered after hostilities ended in Europe.

Police First Inspector General (and military officer/commander) of the Uganda Protectorate Police. Established a training depot in Nairobi in 1911, equipped with a fingerprint section.