Rev Isaac Williams Wauchope

Isaac Williams Wauchope (1852-1917) was born in 1852 in Doornhoek near Tinarha (Uitenhafe, Eastern Cape), and was a prominent member of the Eastern Cape African elite in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like many members of the Xhosa elite, Wauchope was a man who straddled two worlds. A teacher, a court interpreter and finally a Congregational minister, he was the third generation of a family which had been early converts to Christianity. ..He encouraged his colleagues to 'attack with the pen' and was committed to preserving African identity.

At the age of 36 in 1816, Joseph Williams, a Scottish Missionary established a Missionary station near Isaac's Grandfather's home and gave his family the surname Wauchope. It originates from a place on the borders of Scotland , near Southdean. His real family name was Citashe. He had heard of the pioneer Missionary of the Xhosa people, Dr. JT van der Kemp and wanted to know about the notable historical events of Makhanda in Gompo and the attack in Rhini . His Grandmother Tse and his Grandmother Mina were students of Van der Kemp. All these experiences sharpened the way he saw the world in general. When he was 24 years old in 1876, Wauchope was one of the four students from Lovedale to travel with the Missionary group to Malawi and after staying there for five months he was sent home because of a cough.

When he returned, he moved to Tinarha and one of his students was well known for her activism, Charlotte Maxeke . At the age of 26 he formed, led and managed one of the first African political organizations, Imbumba Yamanyama. This organization would be a rival to the Afriker Bond organization that was founded in 1879. He also led the Independent Order of True Templars (IOTT) for five years between 1893 and 1898. Wauchope also worked with John Tengo Jabavu in the campaign to establish Fort Hare University .

In 1916 Wauchope enrolled as an interpreter in the South African Native Labour Corps, a black auxiliary corps. They sailed for England to support the White troops as non-combatants on the front during the First World War. He left Cape Town for England aboard the SS Mendi to serve in France. Crossing the Channel, Mendi was accidentally rammed by a cargo ship Darro and sank, killing, amongst others, 616 Southern Africans of which Wauchope was one. Oral history records that the panicked men met their fate with great dignity being calmed by the words of Wauchope who was later identified by the press as a hero of the Mendi tragedy.

• https://hipsa.org.za/publication/isaac-williams-wauchope-selected-w...
• https://xh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Wauchope

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From his Obituary:
Those who were there say the hero from Ngqika’s land..As a chaplain he had the opportunity to board a boat and save himself, but he didn’t! He was appealing to the leaderless soldiers urging them to stay calm, to die like heroes on their way to war. We hear that he said:

Now then stay calm my countrymen!
Calmly face your death!
This is what you came to do!
This is why you left your homes!
Peace, our own brave warriors!
Peace, you sons of heroes,
Today is your final day,
Prepare for the ultimate ford!

• https://hipsa.org.za/publication/isaac-williams-wauchope-selected-w...

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• https://www.iol.co.za/news/my-ancestor-started-our-family-struggle-...
• https://archive.nelsonmandela.org/index.php/dyobha-isaac-wauchope-r...
• https://www.facebook.com/commonwealthwargravescommission/posts/reve...
• https://hipsa.org.za/publication/isaac-williams-wauchope-selected-w...