Colonel Arthur Berridge Longden, D.S.O., 38th Dogras, Indian army
(1868 - 1936)
Arthur Berridge Longden was born on 10th March 1868. At the age of nearly 20, he obtained a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant with the Royal Warwick Regiment on 11th February 1888 and was promoted to Lieutenant with the Royal Warwick Regiment on the 5th July 1889.
On the 15th December 1891, he transferred to the Indian Army Staff Corps and was promoted to Captain some eight years later on 11th February 1899.
On the 15th June 1904, he took up a post as a recruiting staff officer, however left this position on the 11th February 1905 to become a Major, seconded to the 37th Dogra, Indian Army. He remained with this unit for some 10 years before being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on 11 February 1914 to become Commanding Officer, 38th Dogra, Indian Army.
For his gallant and distinguished services in the Field he was mentioned in a despatch from General Sir Beauchamp Duff, dated 9th March 1916, copy certificate below, and signed by Winston Churchill, Secretary of State for War at that time.
He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, which appeared in the London Gazette on 30th May 1919, issue 31371, page 6927.
He was promoted to Colonel on 11th June 1919 and retired from the Army on 8th June 1920.
He died at his home residence of "Longhope", Camberley, Surrey, aged 68 years on 3rd December 1936.
Brigadier-General The Hon. Charles Lambton was born on 3rd November 1857, the fourth son of the 2nd Earl of Durham. Educated at Eton, he was gazetted to the 5th foot, the Northumberland Fusiliers on 31 May 1876.
He became Lieutenant 31 May 1877, Captain 25 July 1883.
Between 1886 and 1889 he was A.D.C. to the Viceroy of Ireland, which he held for three years.
Promoted Major 21 January 1895, he served with the 1st Battalion in the Sudan Expedition of 1898, being present at the Battle of Khartoum, for which he was mentioned in despatches (London Gazette, 30 September 1898)
He was also present at the Battle of Omdurman for which he was awarded a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, D.S.O., (London Gazette 15 November 1898) states “The Hon. Charles Lambton, Major, The Northumberland Fusiliers. In recognition of services during recent operations in the Sudan.”
Upon promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, he took command of the 2nd Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers from 9 April 1900 to 31 May 1902 and was with it at NOOITGEDACHT, when the camp was attacked on one side by De la Rey and by Bevers on the other side, and brought it out of action with coolness and skill.
Involved in many operations, he was present in the advance on Kimberley, including actions at Belmont, Enslin, Modder River and Magersfontein. For his services he was mentioned in despatches (London Gazette 26 January 1900).
He was given the Brevet of Colonel 29 November 1900 and he commanded the 2nd Battalion, 5th Fusiliers, 1900-1904 and retired with the rank of Colonel, 17 February 1904.
During the Kaiser War he was appointed to the command of an Infantry Brigade and promoted Brigadier General and died, aged 92 years on 5 December 1949.
Sold with copied family and service details.
Brigadier-General the Hon. Charles Lambton, D.S.O., Northumberland Fusiliers (1857 - 1949)
Captain Christopher Brice Wilkinson, 68th foot, Durham Light Infantry
1854 Crimea War miniature pair, Crimea medal with maximum 4 clasps, Alma, Balaklava, Inkermann, Sebastopol, Turkish Crimea War medal, Sardinia issue, mounted for wearing on Hunt and Roskell buckle bar and both miniatures named around medal rims, complete with photograph of him in civilian dress c 1880.
Christopher Brice Wilkinson was Commissioned as Ensign 44th Regiment of foot on 11th October 1853 and was promoted to Lieutenant on 11th August 1854. He obtained promotion to Captain on 12th January 1855 where he served in the Crimea with his regiment and obtained all of the Crimea clasps awarded to Army personnel.
He took retirement from the Army by sale on 26th February 1856.
RSM John Mathieson, D.C.M., 71st Foot
5th Battalion Highland Light Infantry
RSM John Mathieson served with 71st Foot HLI (regimental number 1854), he also served in Egypt in 1884 and charged with the 74th Foot at that time. He also saw service with the Northumberland Fusiliers as temporary Regimental Sergeant Major (regimental number 311131) probably to bolster up the ranks.
He was awarded the DCM for exceptionally good work throughout the campaign. He set a fine example to all ranks (London Gazette 19th August 1916)
Mention in Despatches by General A. J. Murray Commander-in-Chief Egyptian Expeditionary Force (London Gazette 25th September 1916)
RSM Mathieson is mentioned in an extract from HLI archives:
5th (City of Glasgow) Battalion
During 1860, a number of independent rifle corps, then existing in the City of Glasgow, was merged as the 19th Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteer Corps. By the end of the year, the 19th had reached strength of nineteen companies, and included contingents provided by Glasgow firms, the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway, and the newspaper and printing industry. The 19th was renumbered as 5th in 1880, and later provided the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Highland Light Infantry.
After the Boer War, the battle honour `South Africa 1900-02' was awarded to the battalion for the service of its members. During the First World War, the 1/5th Battalion served with the 52nd Lowland Division in Gallipoli, Egypt, Palestine and on the Western Front. The 2/5th went to Ireland while the 3/5th became the 5th (Reserve) Battalion.
The H.L.I. Brigade whose troops, like all the infantry, were not in the best of condition after their hard time in the desert heat, were among those who—with their packs on their backs, their water-bottles filled with brackish, chlorinated water and their haversacks with tins of bully beef—set out across the desert by forced march to endeavour to support the cavalry.
The Battalions were greatly under-strength, and in the ranks were large numbers of middle-aged men and boys who had been far from truthful when the tolerant recruiting sergeant had enquired their ages. Also, apart from their advanced or tender years they were city men, unused to an active life. Toiling over the desert sand with empty water-bottles and empty bellies—for they could not eat their bully under such conditions—they could think of nothing except gushing water-taps and Glasgow on a wet Sunday evening. It would be impossible to describe the agonies of such a thirst to one who has not experienced it.
R.S.M. Mathieson of the 5th H.L.I. who was nearing fifty years of age and had charged with the 74th at Tel-el-Kebir, said that even the thirst he had in ‘82 was nothing to it. Packs were discarded and left to be brought on later, but still the sweat ran down their eyes and dripped from their chins, soaked their uniforms and trickled from the ends of their fingers. Nobody fell out, but many passed out, and were left lying unconscious on the desert. The cavalry and the Bikanir Camel Corps were sent out for them and brought most in, but there must have been many overlooked, one fears.
Extract from PROUD HERITAGE, The Story of the Highland Light Infantry by LT.-COL. L. B. OATTS, D.S.O., Late H.L.I., VOLUME THREE, The Regular, Militia, Volunteer, T.A., and Service Battalions H.L.I. 1882—1918
Captain the Hon. Reginald Ward, Royal Horse Guards, D.S.O. (1874 - 1904)
Captain the Honourable Reginald Ward, D.S.O. was born in London on the 11 June 1874, the son of William Ward, Ist Earl of Dudley, and Georgiana, Countess of Dudley, and younger brother of William Humble Ward, Later 2nd Earl of Dudley, educated at Eton College. Commissioned Second Lieutenant, Royal Horse Guards in February 1895, promoted Lieutenant in March 1896 and was Assistant Adjutant from March 1898 to December 1899.
He served in South Africa from 4th June 1899 to 2nd June 1900 and as A.D.C. to Lieutenant-General Sir John French, K.C.B., from 2nd February 1901 to 11th July 1902. He was present at the Relief of Kimberley (15th February 1900), Paardeberg (17th to 26th February 1900) and Driefontein (10th March 1902).
He was Mentioned in Despatches (London Gazette, 29/7/1902) and awarded the D.S.O., in recognition of his services in South Africa, which appeared in the London Gazette (31/10/1902). He was presented with his D.S.O. by H.M. the King on 18th December 1902.
A photo of his full size medals, appears below which were sold by a London Auction house.
Captain Ward , a well known amateur rider and brother of the Earl of Dudley, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, died in London on the 7th March 1904, aged 29 years as a result of an operation for appendicitis.
Sir Admiral Edmond Warre Slade, K.C.I.E., K.C.V.O., Royal Navy (1859 - 1928)
Admiral Sir Edmond John Warre Slade was born in March 1859 and entered the Navy in 1872, becoming Lieutenant in 1879.
During the Egyptian War he served aboard HMS Hecla, he was promoted to Commander in 1894 and then Captain in 1899.
In 1903 he was made a member of the Royal Victorian Order on the occasion of Edward VII's visit to Malta (London Gazette, 2 June 1903).
In 1908 he was promoted to Rear Admiral and was aboard HMS Hyacinth during the Somaliland campaign.
He was Commander-in-Chief East Indies, 3 March 1909 to 3 February 1912, introducing measures for the suppression of the contraband arms trade between Muscat and Mekran and other regions of the Persian Gulf, and was aboard HMS Highflyer during the campaign.
He was made KCIE in the 1911 New Year's Honours and created a KCVO in December of that year on the occasion of the voyage of the King and Queen to India.
In April 1912 he was employed on special services in connection with oil and fuel supplies and was nominated as a director by the Admiralty of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in May 1914, having been promoted to Vice-Admiral the previous month.
He retired in 1917 and died in 1928. His legacy lives on with three portraits at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
He also was the father of the daughter (Margaret Slade) who became famous for her work with Gandhi and she left her lavish lifestlye to be with him in 1925 and depicted in the modern day Gandhi film classic.
Lt.Colonel Percie Cyril Cooper, T.D., No. 1 Honourable Artillery Company (1874 - 1958)
Obituary
(Extract taken from HAC Journal Volume 36, Number 318, January 1959)
The H.A.C. has had few keener members in the past sixty years than P.C. Cooper, who became a private in No. 4 Coy., in 1897 and died on 26th November 1958 at the age of 84. He was one of the few surviving members who served in the South African war in the Mounted Infantry of the City Imperial Volunteers. When he was a junior subaltern he carried one of the Colours at the inspection of the Regiment in 1903 by King Edward VII. In due course he became Captain of No. 1 Company, and in 1914, holding the rank of Major, he went to the Western Front on the Westmeath as Senior Company Commander. Early in 1915, he was invalided home and joined the Second Battalion as Second-in-Command to Colonel Lionel Boyle.
In 1916 he returned to the Western Front with that Battalion as Second-in-Command to Colonel Lambert Ward. In 1917 he went to France to take command of the First Battalion for the rest of the war.
After the war, he was an "active veteran" and served as Chairman of the Court of Assistants. He was one of those who played an active part in getting the H.A.C.Journal started. For the last 15 years of his life, he was a member of the Court of Common Council, representing the Cripplegate Ward.
His full size medals are held at the H.A.C. Regimental Museum, Armoury House, City Road, London.
Major-General Stuart MacDonald, C.B., C.M.G., Royal Army Medical Corps (1861 - 1939)
Major-General Stuart MacDonald, C.B, C.M.G., was born at Elgin in April 1861 and qualified in medicine at Aberdeen University in 1884. Appointed a Surgeon in the Army Medical Service in February 1887, he first witnessed active service on the North West Frontier between 1897-98, when he was variously attached to the Turak and Tirah Expeditionary Forces. Advanced to Major, R.A.M.C. IN February 1899, he served in South Africa between 1901-02, and by the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914 had attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
On active service in France and Belgium for the duration of the Great War, he was Commanding Officer of NO.1 General Hospital between October 1914 and April 1916, in addition to holding Staff appointments as Assistant Medical Director of 1st Division between April 1915 and November 1916, and as Deputy Director of Medical Services between the latter month and April 1918. Five times Mentioned in Despatches, created a C.M.G in 1916 and a C.B. in 1918, he was appointed an Hon. Physician to the King at the end of the War and was placed on the Retired List in the rank of Major-General in 1920. MacDonald died in May 1939.
