John Royston
John Robinson Royston | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Royston as a colonel, c. 1916–17 | |
| Nickname(s) | Galloping Jack |
| Born | 29 April 1860 Durban, South Africa |
| Died | 25 April 1942 (aged 81) Durban, South Africa |
| Years of service | c. 1879–1917 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Commands | Natal Light Horse 12th Light Horse Regiment 3rd Light Horse Brigade |
| Battles / wars | Zulu War Second Boer War World War I |
| Awards | Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches (3) Order of Saint Stanislaus, 3rd Class (Russia) |
John Robinson Royston CMG, DSO (29 April 1860 – 25 April 1942) was a South African-born military officer who rose to the rank of brigadier general and commanded a brigade of Australian Light Horse during World War I.
A farmer and citizen soldier, during the late 1870s and early 1880s, Royston served in the Natal Mounted Rifles as an enlisted soldier and fought during the Zulu War. Later, during the Second Boer War, he was commissioned and fought at the Siege of Ladysmith, before later commanding a contingent of the Western Australian Mounted Infantry. Later he served during the Zulu Rebellion before organising the Natal Light Horse – made up primarily of Australians who had remained in Africa after the Boer War – upon the outbreak of the First World War. After seeing action against the Germans in South-West Africa, Royston was transferred to Egypt and placed in command of the 12th Light Horse Regiment, commanding them through the Battle of Romani in 1916. He was later promoted to command the 2nd Light Horse Brigade temporarily, before taking command of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade, and leading them in the Sinai and Palestine campaign against the Ottoman Empire until October 1917 when he returned to South Africa having been relieved of his command due to medical reasons.[1]
References
- ^ Jones, Ian (1988). "Royston, John Robinson (1860–1942)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. Volume 11. Melbourne, Victoria: Melbourne University Press. pp. 472–473. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
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Further reading
- Gullett, Henry (1941). The Australian Imperial Force in Sinai and Palestine, 1914–1918. Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918. Vol. Volume VII (10th ed.). Sydney, New South Wales: Angus & Robertson. OCLC 220624545.
{{cite book}}:|volume=has extra text (help) - Hollis, Kenneth (2008). Thunder of the Hooves: A History of 12 Australian Light Horse Regiment 1915–1919. Loftus, New South Wales: Australian Military History Publications. ISBN 978-0-9803796-5-5.