First World War
At the age of 27, Dartnell settled in South Africa. When the First World War started, he volunteered for service and sailed for England. On 12 February 1915, using the name Wilbur Taylor Dartnell, he joined the 25th (Frontiersmen) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. He was promoted to temporary Lieutenant on 25 July 1915. The regimental history notes of this battalion states that it "included men of various ages and with strange experience from all quarters of the globe". Raised especially for use against German troops in British East Africa, it was the only British unit sent on active service during the war without preliminary training. The Fusiliers reached Mombasa on 4 May and went at once to their military post on the Uganda railway; their main task was to protect the railway from enemy raiding parties. In June, Dartnell retrieved the Imperial Ensign from the local headquarters at Bukoba, the German base for attacks on the Uganda frontier. The regiment were subsequently awarded battle honours for "Bukoba".
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