GCMG recipients

Entered 1858; Colonel, 1879; General, 1896.  Staff service: DAAG, Ashanti Expedition, 1873-74; DAAG, Headquarters of Army, 1874-78; Special Service, Cape of Good Hope, 1878-79; ADC to the Queen, 1879-84; AA and QMG, North Britain; Aldershot, 1880-81; DA and QMG, South Africa, 1881; Brigadier-General, South Africa, 1881; DA and QMG, Intelligence Department, Expeditionary Force, Egypt, 1882; AAG, Headquarters of Army, 1883-84; Major General (Chief of Staff), Egypt, 1884-85; DAG to the Forces, Headquarters of Army, 1885-86; Special Service, 1886-87; QMG to the Forces, Headquarters of Army, 1887-90; Adjutant-General to the Forces, Headquarters of Army, 1890-97; Lieutenant General commanding troops, Aldershot, 1898-99; General Commanding-in-Chief, South Africa, October 1899 to January 1900; General Officer Commanding Natal, January 1900.  War service:  China War, 1860 (medal with clasp); Red River Expedition, 1870; Ashanti, 1873-74; wounded (Despatches, November 1873, March 1874; medal with clasp; Brevet of Major; CB); South African War, 1878-79 (thanked in General Orders; Despatches, 11th, 18th June 1878; 5th, 15th, 28th March; 7th May, 21st August 1879; medal with clasp; Brevet of Lieutenant Colonel; ADC to Queen; VC, CMG); Egyptian Campaign, 1882-84 (Despatches; medal with clasp; bronze star, 3rd class Osmanieh; KCMG); Sudan, 1884 (Despatches, March, April, May, 1884; 2 clasps; promoted Major General for distinguished service); Sudan, 1884-85 (Despatches, March, August, 1885; clasp; KCB); South African War, 1899-1900.  Sir Redvers Buller, born in 1839, was the son of Mr J W Buller and the daughter of Lord H M Howard.  He married in 1882 the daughter of the 4th Marquis Townshend and widow of the Honourable G T Howard.  The General's character has been much discussed, and it is universally allowed that for pluck, obstinacy, and bluntness he cannot find his match.  The deeds that won him the Victoria Cross are now world-famous, but the public is less acquainted with the story of his gallantry at El-Teb, and the way he saved the situation at the desperate little battle of Tamai.  Of this Mr Charles Lowe, in his interesting book of 'Our Greatest Living Soldiers', says: "Buller's square, composed of the 'Gay Gordons,' the Royal Irish, and the 60th Rifles, amongst the ranks of whom he had first won his spurs, had been assailed in the same furious manner as that of Davis, but had blown away all opposition to its advance, about five hundred yards on the right rear of its fellow-brigade, to whose support it now moved up, steady and machine-like, as if on parade.  Encouraged by the splendid steadfastness of Buller's embattled men, Davis's disrupted square was quick to rally, and then the two brigades began to rain such an infernal fire of bullets on their savage foe that the latter were forced to break, and the day was won”.  Of his obstinacy an amusing anecdote is told.  While he and Lord Charles Beresford were serving together in Egypt, an argument arose as to the direction to be taken by the river steamer.  Each doggedly defended his own opinion, but finally, on gaining the day, Sir Redvers triumphed.  “I was right' after all!" he cried, when his programme had been fulfilled.  "And so was I," replied Lord Charles.  “I merely recommended the other because I knew you would go against anything I said !"

VC, GCB, GCMG, 1887 Jubilee, China (2) Taku Forts 1860 Pekin 1860, Canadian GSM (3) Fenian Raid 1866 Fenial Raid 1870 Red River 1870, AGS (1) Coomassie, Zulu (1) 1878-9, Qgypt (4) Tel El Kebir Suakin El Teb Tamaii The Nile, QSA (6) CC TH OFS RL LN Belf, Khedive Star, Turkey Order of Osmanieh 3rd class.  RHQ

Forestier-Walker, Lieutenant General F W E F, KCB CMG

Educated at Sandhurst and entered the Scots Guards in 1862.  Staff Service: ADC to Major General, Mauritius, 1866-67; Assistant Military Secretary to GOC Cape of Good Hope, 1873-78; Military Secretary to Governor, Cape of Good Hope, 1878; Special Service, Cape of Good Hope, 1878-79; AA and QMG, Home District, 1882; AA and QMG, South Africa, 1884-85; Brigadier-General, Aldershot, 1889-90; Major General, Egypt, 1890-93; Lieutenant General, Western District, 1895-99; Lieutenant General, South Africa, 1899.  He served in South Africa during the Native Wars of 1878 and became military secretary to Governor Sir Bartle Frere.  During the Zulu War he distinguished himself in the Battle of Inyazane and in the occupation of Eshowe (Despatches, March .and May 1879; medal with clasp; CB).  He was with the force that occupied Bechuanaland in 1884 (honourably mentioned; CMG).  He returned to England and was then transferred to Egypt.  During the South African War he commanded the British lines of communication.

Born in Ireland at Ballylongford, he was trained for the Royal Engineers at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, which he entered in 1867.  Commissioned at the age of 21, he was lent to the Palestine Exploration Fund for archaeological work in 1874; did surveying in Cyprus in 1878, and in 1882 began the long career in Egypt and the Sudan that was to make him famous.  He rose to be Governor-General of the Eastern Sudan in 1886 and Sirdar or Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian forces in 1892.  This led to the conquest of Sudan and to the avenging of General Gordon's death at Khartoum six years later.  The next year he was called to South Africa as Chief-of-Staff to Earl Roberts and in 1900 he succeeded the latter as Commander-in-Chief.  Kitchener's main ability lay in the field of organisation. He created the blockhouse system, suppressed rebellion in the North-West Cape, and despite many setbacks brought the war to an end with the Treaty of Vereeniging in 1902.  He spent the ensuing years in India and the East, became Secretary of State for War in 1914, raised 3 million men by voluntary enlistment before the adoption of conscription and protested against the continuance of the Dardenelles expedition.  Sent to Russia on the eve of the Revolution he was drowned off Northern Scotland in HMS Hampshire.  Probably the most prestigious British military personality since Wellington, he was never known to address a man in the ranks except to give him an order and would have no married officers on his staff.

Born in Ireland in 1850, and is son of Lieutenant Colonel H H Kitchener. He received his early military training at the RMA, Woolwich, passing thence into the Royal Engineers. In 1882, Lieutenant Kitchener, as he then still was, had a command of Egyptian Cavalry. In the following year he got his captaincy, and then promotion came to him rapidly in recognition of his untiring work and frequent active service in Egypt and the Sudan. From that time his war service included the Sudan Expedition in 1884-5, as DAA and QMG (medal with clasp and bronze star); operations round Suakim in 1888, being in command at the action at Handoub (severely wounded); Sudan in 1888-9, action at Gemaizeh, when he was in command of a Brigade of the Egyptian Army, and took part in the action at Toski (two clasps, CB) Dongola Expedition in 1896, in command of the Expeditionary Force; operations of June 7 and Sep 19 (promoted Major-General for distinguished service; KCB; 1st class Osmanieh, and Egyptian medal with two clasps); the Nile Expeditions in 1897-8, acting as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief the Expeditionary Forces throughout the operations, including the battles of the Atbara and Khartoum (raised to the Peerage; thanked by the Houses of Parliament; medal and two clasps to Egyptian medal). Soon after the Boer War broke out in Lord Kitchener went out as Chief of the Staff to Lord Roberts, and participated in all the operations in the Orange Free State, Feb-May, including the actions at Paardeberg; the operations in the Transvaal in May and June, 1900; present at the actions near Johannesburg and Pretoria; the operations east and west of Pretoria from July-November, 1900, and in the Orange River and Cape Colonics. Subsequently in November, 1900, Lord Kitchener succeeded Lord Roberts as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in South Africa, directing the operations in the Transvaal, Orange River Colony, on the Zululand Frontier of Natal and in Cape Colony. (Despatches, promoted Lt.-General and General for distinguished service; QSA with three clasps, KSA and two clasps; GCMG) Having brought the Boer War to a successful conclusion, Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the E Indies, in which position he immediately set about the reorganisation of the Indian Army and a redistribution of the troops, in order to effectively resist any possible invasion of the North. These radical changes brought him into frequent conflict with the Viceroy, although it was characteristic of Lord Kitchener's methods that his views received no airing by the aid of an inspired Press crusade. However, with the change of Government in 1906, a modus vivendi by a satisfactory compromise was arranged. The burden of Lord Kitchener's original complaint was that although he was the Commander in Chief in India, the real control of the Army under the Viceroy was not vested in himself, but in a junior General at Simla, who has since been displaced; Lord Kitchener now being directly responsible to the Viceroy.   He was unmarried.

White, General G S

Entered 1853.  Lieutenant General, 1895.  Staff service: Military Secretary to Viceroy, India, 1880-81; Special Service, Egypt, 1885; AA and QMG, Egypt, 1885; Brigadier General, Madras, 1885; Commanding Brigade, Burmese Expedition 1885-86; Commanding Upper Burmah Field Force, 1886-89; Major General, Bengal, 1889-93;  Commander in Chief, E Indies, 1893-98; QMG Headquarters of Army, 1898-99; Lieutenant General, Natal, 1899-1900; Governor and Commander in Chief, Gibraltar, July 1900.  War service: Indian Mutiny (medal); Afghan War, 1879-80 (Despatches; medal with 3 clasps; bronze star; Brevet of Lieutenant Colonel; VC, CB); Sudan Expedition 1884-85 (medal with clasp; bronze star); Burmese Expedition 1885-89 (thanked by Govt.  of India; Despatches; KCB; promoted Major General); Operations of Zhob Field Force, 1890 (Despatches); Operations NW Frontier of India (Despatches); Boer War, 1899-1900; GOC Natal Field Force.  Sir George White, born in 1835, was the son of Mr J R White and the daughter of Mr G Steuart.  He married in 1874 Miss Bayley, daughter of the Archdeacon of Calcutta.  Before the Afghan War General White was comparatively unknown, but after that date honours rained thickly upon him.  From the outset Lord Roberts had noted his splendid ability, and in “Forty-one Years in India" he showed his readiness to recognise how much of the success of the victory of Charasiah he owed to his gallant subordinate.  The following passage serves to show the generosity of the one, and the gallantry of the other: “Major White explained to me his part in the victory of the previous day.  From my inspection of the ground I had no difficulty in coming to the conclusion that much of the success which attended the operations on this side was due to White's military instincts, and, at one supreme moment, his extreme personal gallantry.  It afforded me very great pleasure, therefore, to recommend this officer for the Victoria Cross, an honour of which more than one incident in his subsequent career proved him to be well worthy”. In the prosaic language of the London Gazette the "supreme moment" is thus described: “Finding that the artillery and rifle fire failed to dislodge the enemy from a fortified hill, which it was necessary to capture, Major White led an attack upon it in person.  Advancing with two companies of his regiment, and climbing from one steep ledge to another, he came upon a body of the enemy, strongly posted, and outnumbering his force by about eight to one.  His men being much exhausted, and immediate action being necessary, Major White took a rifle and, going on by himself, shot the leader of the enemy.  This act so intimidated the rest that they fled round the side of the hill, and the position was won”.  The "gallant and ever-foremost Major White", was again eulogised by the conqueror of Kandahar, who wrote in-spiritingly of the intrepidity with which he and the dauntless Gordons dashed themselves against the one remaining entrenched position: “It now became necessary to take this position by storm, and recognising the fact with true soldierly instinct, Major White, who was leading the advanced companies of the 92nd, called upon the men for just one charge more, 'to close the business.' The battery of screw guns had been shelling the position, and under cover of its fire, and supported by a portion of the 2nd Gurkhas and 23rd Pioneers, the Highlanders, responding with alacrity to their leader's call, dashed forward and drove the enemy from their entrenchments at the point of the bayonet.  Major White was the first to reach the guns, being closely followed by Sepoy Inderbir Lama, who, placing his rifle on one of them, exclaimed.  'Captured in the name of the 2nd (Prince of Wales's Own) Gurkhas!"

VC GCB GCSI GCIE GCVO.  RHQ.