Harry Burnett Lumsden
Companion of the Order of the Bath | |
---|---|
Spouse(s) |
Fanny Myers (m. 1866) |
Biography
Background
Lumsden was born aboard the
He was sent to Scotland at age six, where he was cared for by his grandmother in Aberdeenshire.[1]
Early career
At the age of 16, he was nominated by John Shepherd, a fellow Aberdeenshire man and a Director of the East India Company for a direct cadetship in India.[3] He travelled to India in 1838 commissioned into the 59th Bengal Native Infantry. During the First Anglo-Afghan War he was appointed as interpreter and quartermaster to the 33rd Bengal Native Infantry, marching to Peshawar with the army of George Pollock.[1] He was present at the forcing of the Khyber Pass in 1842. During the war he would become close friends with two fellow officers who would also achieve distinction John Nicholson and Neville Bowles Chamberlain.
Following the war he returned to base in
The Punjab
During the
At the conclusion of the war, Lumsden was hand-picked by
Lumsden's first posting was to Kangra in 1846, where he served out the summer. He was thereafter summoned to Lahore. Whilst in Lahore, he became privy to the politics of the Lahore Durbar, at the time dominated by the Maharani Jind Kaur and her lover Lal Singh.[1] Noting how everyone of the Sirdars made no secret of their dislike for Lal Singh, he concluded that they were anxiously awaiting the time when the British would withdraw, and Lal Singh would consolidate power. In response to the political instability, like many fellow offers, but in contrast to his superior, Lawrence, Lumsden favoured the annexation of the Punjab.[1]
The sale of Kashmir to
Corps of Guides
In 1847, Lumsden was nominated to raise a
With his subaltern
In 1848, whilst Lawrence was on leave in Britain, Lumsden and his Guides were summoned to Lahore. They were tasked to unravel a conspiracy believed to have been organised by the Sikhs to sow discontent amongst certain members of the Bengal Native Infantry and Irregular Cavalry stationed in Lahore.[7] Lumsden with the aid of Muhammad Pir Buksh succeeded in obtaining papers proving the conspiracy and linking it with Maharani Jind Kaur, who he was then charged with escorting from Sheikhupura to Ferozepur.
Later that year, the
Lumsden initially based his regimental headquarters in a ruin outside of Peshawar, known as the Burj, which had been built in the seventeenth century by a wazir of the Mughal Empire.[10] In 1851, Lumsden relocated the headquarters to Mardan and the Guides became part of the Punjab Irregular Force.
North West Frontier
In the years after the annexation of the Punjab, Lumsden was largely concerned with affairs of the border tribes. In 1849, he assisted in an expedition against the Baizai, who had been refusing to pay tribute to the British.[6] The next year, he replaced John Lawrence as the political agent in Peshawar whilst Lawrence recuperated from fever in Shimla.[6] Later that year he was part of a force moving against Afridi tribesmen who had attacked engineers building a road through the Kohat Pass killing twelve and wounding eight.[11] Lumsden had favoured friendly relations with the hill tribes, especially the Afridis, as he feared military occupation would be prohibitively costly in terms of lives and treasure and his views were cordially endorsed by the new military commander in Peshawar, Sir Colin Campbell.[6] Their views however gave way to the orders of the Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie, who demanded an iron handed response.[6]
Throughout the summer of 1851, Mohmand tribesmen harassed the borders of British control. Lord Dalhousie advised that punishment should be as severe as was consistent with humanity, however such retaliation was opposed by both Lumsden and Campbell.[6] They were able to convince Dalhousie to attempt measures of prevention rather than retaliation, however as the skirmishes continued, Dalhousie grew more incensed, and ordered military intervention. Campbell launched an expedition with Lumsden at his side, noting that "Lumsden's views, those of common sense, are the most prudent and best....Punish those of the leading men who have shown emnity or have done injury to those who are bound to protect but leave the cultivators of the soil upon the land unmolested".[6] As operations became drawn out, criticism grew. On 5 January 1852, Dalhousie sacked Lumsden as Commissioner in Peshawar replacing him with Frederick Mackeson.
Later life
In 1852, Lumsden departed Peshawar and took leave in Britain after fifteen years continuous service in India. On 1 March 1853 he was promoted to captain and on 6 February 1854 was made a brevet Major for services in the last Sikh war. He returned to India in 1855 and resumed command of the Guides.
In 1857 he was sent on a mission to
"One of the ablest and best military officers in the service. He has distinguished himself in the Afghan war, both the Punjab wars, and in most of the border fights on the Peshawar frontier in the last ten years. He raised, organised and commanded the famous Guide corps. While he was absent at Kandahar, the corps performed excellent service before Delhi. Therefore, in undertaking the Candahar mission, Major Lumsden missed the opportunity of commanding his corps and of winning rank and distinction before Delhi; while on the other hand he gained little but honour and risk in the interior in Afghanistan".
In 1860 he served under his friend Neville Bowles Chamberlain in the Waziri Expedition. On 2 August 1860, whilst attending a regimental ball practice an assassin grabbed his sword and struck his arm. The assassin was subsequently apprehended by a Guide. In 1862, he was offered and accepted the command of the Nizam of Hyderabad's army in the Deccan. He pithily summarised his service in the Deccan saying, "ffound the Hyderabad Contingent in debt, and left it clear."[15]
In 1866, whilst on leave in Britain he married Fanny Myers of
Lumsden left India with his wife on 12 April 1869, never to return. On the death of his father in 1874 he inherited the family estate in
Legacy
His friend, Sir Richard Pollock remarked of him in later years:
""A singular mixture of shrewdness and simplicity, absolutely free from selfishness and self-seeking, with great originality, a perfect temper and a keen sense of humour...he disliked civil routine intensely which made him turn down offers of civil employment so affecting his advance".
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Charles Allen, Soldier Sahibs: The Men Who Made the North-West Frontier, Hachette UK, 21 June 2012
- ^ Lumsden, Peter Stark, (Sir) ; Elsmie, George Robert, Lumsden of the Guides, a sketch of the life of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, with selections from his correspondence and occasional papers, 1899, p.3
- ^ Lumsden, Peter Stark, (Sir) ; Elsmie, George Robert, Lumsden of the Guides, a sketch of the life of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, with selections from his correspondence and occasional papers, 1899, p.5
- ^ Lumsden, Peter Stark, (Sir) ; Elsmie, George Robert, Lumsden of the Guides, a sketch of the life of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, with selections from his correspondence and occasional papers, 1899, p.34
- ^ Dictionary of Indian Biography
- ^ a b c d e f g Adrian Greenwood, Victoria’s Scottish Lion: The Life of Colin Campbell, Lord Clyde, 2015, The History Press
- ^ Lumsden, Peter Stark, (Sir) ; Elsmie, George Robert, Lumsden of the Guides, a sketch of the life of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, with selections from his correspondence and occasional papers, 1899, p.45
- ^ Lumsden, Peter Stark, (Sir) ; Elsmie, George Robert, Lumsden of the Guides, a sketch of the life of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, with selections from his correspondence and occasional papers, 1899, p.53
- ^ Lumsden, Peter Stark, (Sir) ; Elsmie, George Robert, Lumsden of the Guides, a sketch of the life of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, with selections from his correspondence and occasional papers, 1899, p.60
- ^ Lionel J. Trotter, A Leader of Light Horse: Life of Hodson of Hodson's Horse, p. 51.
- ^ William Wright, Warriors of the Queen: Fighting Generals of the Victorian Age. 2014, The History Press
- ^ Lumsden, Peter Stark, (Sir) ; Elsmie, George Robert, Lumsden of the Guides, a sketch of the life of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, with selections from his correspondence and occasional papers, 1899, p.174
- ^ a b Lumsden, Peter Stark, (Sir) ; Elsmie, George Robert, Lumsden of the Guides, a sketch of the life of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, with selections from his correspondence and occasional papers, 1899, p.195
- ^ Lumsden, Peter Stark, (Sir) ; Elsmie, George Robert, Lumsden of the Guides, a sketch of the life of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, with selections from his correspondence and occasional papers, 1899, p.247
- ^ Lumsden, Peter Stark, (Sir) ; Elsmie, George Robert, Lumsden of the Guides, a sketch of the life of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, with selections from his correspondence and occasional papers, 1899, p.270
- ^ Lumsden, Peter Stark, (Sir) ; Elsmie, George Robert, Lumsden of the Guides, a sketch of the life of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, with selections from his correspondence and occasional papers, 1899, p.275
- ^ Lumsden, Peter Stark, (Sir) ; Elsmie, George Robert, Lumsden of the Guides, a sketch of the life of Lieut.-Gen. Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, with selections from his correspondence and occasional papers, 1899, p.277
References
- "Lumsden of the Guides" (London, 1899) by Peter Lumsden and George Robert Elsmie.
- "Twelve Years of a Soldier's Life in India; being extracts from the letters of the late Major W.S.R. Hodson, Hodson of Hodson's Horse" (London, 1859), edited by George H. Hodson.
- Lionel James Trotter A Leader of Light Horse: Life of Hodson of Hodson's Horse (W. Blackwood and sons 1901, 1910)
External links
- Story of the Guides, by G. J. Younghusband, 1908, from Project Gutenberg. Lumsden founded ('raised') the Queen's Own Corps of Guides.
- Corps of Guides, article discussing the raising of the Guides by Lumsden.