Researching Alfred Taylor

Born into a middle class Protestant family in Dublin, Ireland, Taylor jumped ship in Cape Town in 1886 and became a mercenary for the British South Africa Company of Cecil Rhodes. He played a major role in the conquest of modern-day Zimbabwe by the company. During two subsequent uprisings by the Northern Ndebele people against British rule, Taylor was dubbed by the Ndebele "Bulala" ("He Who Kills") and "Bamba" ("He Who Takes").

Taylor is most infamous, however, for his actions during the Second Boer War. While serving as a captain in the War Office's Intelligence Department, Taylor was handpicked by Lord Kitchener as liaison to the Bushveldt Carbineers (BVC) at Fort Edward in the Northern Transvaal. South African historian Dr. C.A.R. Schulenburg has described "The Irishman Taylor" as "a notorious sadist", who was "ruthless" toward white and black South Africans alike.

In October 1901, a letter accusing Taylor and other officers of crimes against the laws and customs of war was signed by 15 enlisted members of the Bushveldt Carbineers and mailed to the Officer Commanding at Pietersburg. In response, Taylor was arrested by Royal Military Police and put on trial at Pietersburg.

In one of the first war crimes prosecutions in British military history, Taylor stood accused of ordering the murders of six unarmed Afrikaner men and boys at Valdezia on 2 July 1901 and the theft of their money and livestock. He was also charged with the murder of an unarmed Black man, who had refused to reveal the hiding place of his Boer employer.

Australian Army Major J.F. Thomas, Taylor's defence attorney, managed to secure an acquittal on both charges. Taylor left the British armed forces, returned to Southern Rhodesia, and died at Bulawayo on 24 October 1941. In the award-winning Australian New Wave film Breaker Morant, Taylor is portrayed onscreen by John Waters.