William Forbes Gatacre
| Sir William Forbes Gatacre KCB DSO |
|
|---|---|
| Born | December 3, 1843 Herbertshire Castle, Stirlingshire, Scotland |
| Died | January 18, 1906 (aged 62) Gambella, Abyssinia |
| Allegiance | |
| Service/branch | |
| Years of service | 1862–1904 |
| Rank | Lieutenant general |
| Unit | 77th Foot |
| Battles/wars | Chitral Expedition Omdurman Second Boer War Battle of Stormberg |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Order of the Medjidie Kaisar-i-Hind Medal |
| Signature | [[File: |100px|alt=]] |
Lieutenant general Sir William Forbes Gatacre KCB DSO (1843 – 1906) was a British soldier who served between 1862 to 1904 in India and Africa. He commanded a division of two brigades at the Omdurman, and commanded the 3rd Division during the first months of the Second Boer War during which time he suffered a humiliating defeat at the Battle of Stormberg.
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Early life [edit]
William Forbes Gatacre was born at Herbertshire Castle, near Stirling on 3 December 1843, he was the third son of Edward Lloyd Gatacre and Jessie Forbes, who's father William Forbes owned Herbertshire Castle.[1][2] He was educated at Royal Military College Sandhurst and entered the army as an Ensign of the 77th Foot in 1862, posted in India.[1] He purchased the rank of Lieutenant on 23 December 1864.[3]
Military career [edit]
He reached the rank of Captain by purchase on 7 December 1870,[4] before the purchase of commissions was abolished in the early 1870s[5] and passed into Staff college in 1873. Between 1875 to 1879 he returned to Sandhurst but this time as an instructor of surveying. He then returned to India with his regiment in 1880, being promoted to Major on 23rd March 1881.[6]
On 29 April 1882 he was promoted to Lieutenant colonel[7] and appointed to command a battalion on 28 June 1884[8] until he was made Deputy Quartermaster General in December 1885[1][9] He was mentioned in Sir George White's despatches of 10 March 1887 as part of the Upper Burma Field Force.[10]
He gained the substantive rank of Colonel and became Adjutant general of the Bombay Army with local rank of Major general on 25 November 1890.[11] While serving as a Major general in India in the early 1890s he was bitten by a jackal whilst hunting with the Bombay Jackal Club and, temporarily deranged, had his bungalow windows barred against jackals.[5]
He was put in command of a second class district in India in January 1884.[12] Mentioned in despatches by Lieutenant general Sir Robert C. Low, commander of the Chitral Relief Force on 1 May 1895.[13]
He returned home to command a brigade at Aldershot Command in August 1897.[14]
He commanded a division of two British brigades at Omdurman, and in the Second Boer War he was placed at the head of a the 3rd division, with the rank of Lieutenant general.[15] Gatacre was the commanding general of the Imperial forces at the Battle of Stormberg, during "Black Week", in which 135 men were killed and 696 captured in an ambush. His reputation, high after Omdurman, sank after Stormberg.[5]
He retired in 1904.
Though he worked them hard, Gatacre's men loved him and called him "General Backacher." Lady Beatrix Gatacre wrote his biography in General Gatacre: The story of the life and services of Sir William Forbes Gatacre, K.C.B., D.S.O. 1843-1906 (London, 1910).
Awards [edit]
- 7 December 1888 he was awarded Companion of the Distinguished Service Order.[16]
- 15 November 1898 CB was upgraded to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.[17]
- 10 May 1899 he was awarded the Order of the Medjidie Second Class.[18]
- 23 May 1900 he was awarded the Gold Kaisar-i-Hind Medal for services as Chairman of the plague committee of Bombay City 1896 & 1897.[19]
References [edit]
Notes [edit]
- ^ a b c "Sir William Forbes Gatacre". Ladysmith Historical Society. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ "Person page 31861". thepeerage.com. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ The London Gazette: no. 22923. p. 6700. 23 December 1864. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ The London Gazette: no. 23685. p. 5660. 6 December 1870. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ a b c Reid 2006, p51
- ^ The London Gazette: no. 24961. p. 1793. 12 April 1881. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ The London Gazette: no. 25142. p. 4013. 29 August 1882. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ The London Gazette: no. 25384. p. 3534. 5 August 1884. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ The London Gazette: no. 25559. p. 746. 16 February 1886. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ The London Gazette: no. 25735. p. 4759. 2 September 1887. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ The London Gazette: no. 26156. p. 2311. 28 April 1891. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ The London Gazette: no. 26509. p. 2615. 4 May 1884. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ The London Gazette: no. 26680. p. 6172. 2 September 1887. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ The London Gazette: no. 26884. p. 4674. 20 August 1897. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ The London Gazette: no. 27126. p. 6180. 13 October 1899. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ The London Gazette: no. 25923. p. 2098. 12 April 1889. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ The London Gazette: no. 27023. p. 6688. 15 November 1898. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ The London Gazette: no. 27079. p. 3030. 12 May 1899. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ The London Gazette: no. 27195. p. 3329. 23 May 1900. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
Sources [edit]
- Churchill, Winston S (1900). London to Ladysmith via Pretoria. London: Longmans Green.
- Reid, Walter (2006). Architect of Victory: Douglas Haig. Edinburgh: Birlinn Ltd. ISBN 1-84158-517-3.
External Links [edit]
- General Gatacre by Beatrix Gatacre at Project Gutenberg
- London to Ladysmith via Pretoria by Sir Winston S. Churchill at Project Gutenberg
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- 1843 births
- 1906 deaths
- British Army generals
- Middlesex Regiment officers
- 77th Regiment of Foot officers
- British Army personnel of the Mahdist War
- British Army personnel of the Second Boer War
- British military personnel of the Chitral Expedition
- Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
- Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
- Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
- People from Stirling (council area)
- Recipients of the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal
- Recipients of the Order of the Medjidieh