Carol Ap Rhys Pryce

Carol Ap Rhys Pryce

Carol Ap Rhys Pryce was a Welshman and soldier of fortune most noted for his role in the 1911 Magonista rebellion in Baja California.

Pryce took over the command of the foreign legion in the rebellion after the slaying of its previous commander Stanley Williams. Pryce forced the property owners of the Mexicali region to contribute to his army's operations. On May 9, 1911 Pryce and his soldiers took control of Tijuana in a battle with Government Troops. Here he also instituted a regime of taxes and customs duties. With the resignation of Porfirio Díaz as president of Mexico, Pryce resigned his command of the foreign legion in the face of Ricardo Flores Magón's refusal to accept the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez.

Pryce was a direct descendent of the Welsh freedom fighter Owain Glyndwr. A British Colonial Policeman, Soldier, Officer, one of Rhode's Rhodesia Hands, who fought in both the Matabele Rebellion and the 2nd Boer War where he distinguished himself as an outstanding marksman, regularly stalking and engaging Boer positions. He later fought with distinction in the First World War being awarded a Distinguished Service Order, second only to the Victoria Cross, for his bravery in stalking and destroying an enemy machine gun nest that had interrupted his reconnaissance patrol in no man's land. He served as an Intelligence Agent in the Irish War of Independence 1919-21 and later commanded the Black and Tan Detachment of the Palestine Police based at Nazareth.

He is believed to have served as an intelligent agent for the British crown at the time of the Magonista Revolution in Mexico during 1911 acting for British interests in hindering US influence in Central America.

He later became a Hollywood actor in the days of the silent screen, acting in a number of films he played himself in the 'Colonel's Escape', based on the story of the Magonista Revolution.

"The man could shoot blind and still hit the mark, courteous, a real English gent, he could also handle himself in a brawl" - Dick Ferris

Sources

Taylor, Lawrence D. "The Magonista Revolt in Baja California: Capitalist Conspiracy or Rebelion de los Pobres?" in The Journal of San Diego History Vol 45, no. 1 (Winter 1999)