Caryl Ap Rhys Pryce

Caryl ap Rhys Pryce
Born(1876-09-30)30 September 1876
Vizianagaram, British India
Died26 November 1955(1955-11-26) (aged 79)
Cockermouth
AllegianceSoldier of fortune
Service / branchMexican Foreign Legion
RankLieutenant
Commands'A' Battery, 119th Field Artillery Brigade
Battles / warsSecond Matabele War

Second Boer War Mexican Revolution

First World War
AwardsDistinguished Service Order, 1917
Spouse(s)Ellen Mary Wilkinson

Caryl ap Rhys Pryce DSO (30 September 1876 – 26 November 1955) was a Welshman and soldier of fortune most noted for his role in the 1911 Magonista rebellion in Baja California, Mexico.

He was born on 30 September 1876, in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, British India, the son of Lt.-Col. Douglas Davidson Pryce and Georgie Hunter Carter. He was the younger brother of General Sir Henry ap Rhys Pryce.[1][2]

Pryce took over the command of the Mexican 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 9 May 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 descendant of the Welsh freedom fighter Owain Glyndŵr.[citation needed]

  1. ^ Canada, Soldiers of the First World War, 1914–1918
  2. ^ India, Select Births and Baptisms, 1786–1947