India. Army; World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Western Front; World War, 1914-1918 -- Regimental histories -- India
The Ferozepore Brigade of the Lahore Division was commanded by
Brigadier-General R. M. Egerton, another of the Guides, another scion of
a name known wherever the British flag floats in Hindustan. He served
with his Brigade until it left for Mesopotamia, and there joined in the
heavy fighting, receiving a K.C.B. and K.C.I.E.
Major-General P. M. Carnegy of the Indian Army commanded the Jalandar
Brigade; son of another Indian General, he brought with him the
tradition of a British family which had made that historic land its
temporary home. His Brigade Major was Major Hugh Hill of the Royal Welsh
Fusiliers; I met him a week before he was killed in the trenches in
1916, and the last words he said to me were: “Your son will do all
right.” No one who knew him is likely to forget this gallant English
gentleman.
The commander of the Sirhind Brigade was Major-General J. M. Brunker,
Royal Artillery. He was detained in Egypt with his Brigade on the way to
France, but joined in time to take part in the battle of Givenchy in
December 1914.
The Divisional Artillery was commanded by Brigadier-General F. E.
Johnson, one of those who act on the principle that “whatever thine hand
findeth to do, do it with all thy might.”
I am not writing a despatch, but just jotting down the names of comrades
who come to mind; men who took part in our daily lives, whose watchword
was duty, and who will, I am sure, forgive me for recording their names
here, for they were as true as they were modest.
The Meerut Division was commanded by Lieut.-General C. A. Anderson, late
Royal Artillery. A typical Irishman and a fearless soldier, he
understood the Indian character well. No better man than “Paddy”
Anderson could have been selected for a Division. His chief amusement
was to visit the trenches, and if you wanted to find him you could not
do better than make for the front line closest to the Germans. I do not
believe there was a single General in the Expeditionary Force who so
often visited his men in the trenches. On one occasion I was looking
over a map with him at his advanced Headquarters; a few shells were
going over or dropping within an uncomfortable range, when one planted
itself close alongside us; Anderson at that moment had his pencil on a
particular spot on the map; without moving it he just looked up and said
with a strong Irish accent, “Pip-Squeak” (small German shell), and went
on with his remarks. It was his way, nothing disturbed him. At Givenchy,
Neuve Chapelle, Festubert, and on the day of Loos, “Paddy” Anderson did
splendidly; he succeeded me in command of the Indian Corps in September
1915, and shortly after orders were issued for the break up of the Corps
and it moved to Egypt, Mesopotamia and East Africa. After the Indians
left France, Anderson was given command of a British Army Corps on the
Western Front.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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