Major-General Francis John Fowler (31 July 1864 – 5 June 1939) was a British officer who served in the Indian Army from 1885 to 1921. He saw active service in a number of conflicts throughout the British Empire and was the recipient of the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

and CB.

Early years

Fowler was the son of Deputy Surgeon-General H.D. Fowler of the

Indian Medical Service The Indian Medical Service (IMS) was a military medical service in British India, which also had some civilian functions. It served during the two World Wars, and remained in existence until the independence of India in 1947. Many of its officer ...

, and was born on the 31 July 1864 at Mian Mir, India. He was educated at King William's College (Isle of Man),

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowment, endowments le ...

and Sandhurst.

Military career

He joined the Army as a lieutenant in the 1st Battalion,

Loyal North Lancashire Regiment The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (until 1921 known as the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Lancashire Reg ...

in August 1883, and when his regiment was posted to India he participated in the punitive raids conducted under the command of Brigadier-General Sir Oriel Tanner against the hostile tribes of the Zhob Valley situated in modern Pakistan during late 1884.''Who was Who Vol. III,'' 2nd ed. (London, 1967) p. 471. In November 1885 he transferred to Indian Staff Corps and joined the 1st Baluch Battalion of Light Infantry based at

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

. In 1887-88 he was in Burma and was decorated for his role in the defeat and capture of the Burmese rebel leader Twek-nga-lu in May 1888. According to the St. James Gazette, Fowler along with Corporal Scott, Assistant Superintendent of the

Shan State Shan State ( my, ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, ; shn, မိူင်းတႆး, italics=no) also known by the Endonym and exonym, endonyms Shanland, Muang Tai, and Tailong, is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. ...

s, and six men of the Rifle Brigade broke away from the main body of British troops commanded by Colonel G. Sartorius and mounted a horseback charge on Twek-nga-lu's palace in the town of Mone. They surprised the town's 400 strong garrison and, after overcoming Twek's 20 man personal bodyguard, tied him to his bedpost and accepted his surrender. For this Fowler was awarded the DSO, Mentioned in Despatches. and received the India General Service 1854-95 with Burma 1887-89 clasp.''St. James Gazette, 5 July 1888. '' In 1897–1898 he saw action at the Battle of Jeruba in Uganda and was again Mentioned in Despatches and was the recipient of the East and Central Africa Medal with two clasps. From there he served in China in 1900–1901 (recipient of the China 1900 Medal) and was promoted to major. In 1907 he was again promoted to lieutenant-colonel and commanded troops in

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

between 1908 and 1910 (recipient of Africa General Service Medal 1902-56 with Somaliland 1908-10 Clasp), after which he was promoted to full colonel in 1911. In 1913 he was Assistant Quarter-Master General, India. After the outbreak of the First World War he succeeded Major-General George Younghusband as commander of the

Derajat Brigade The Derajat Brigade was formed after the 1903 reforms of the British Indian Army by Herbert Kitchener when he was Commander-in-Chief, India. The brigade was part of the Northern Army and deployed along the North West Frontier. The Derajat Brigade ...

and was made temporary brigadier-general. In January 1916 he was awarded the C.B. and the following month he joined the

Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, troops from Britain, Australia and the vast majority from British India, against the Central Po ...

. Injuries he sustained during fighting in March 1916 caused him to be invalided from active service and thereafter he became Divisional Area Commander at Poona and Karachi until his retirement from the Army as major-general in 1921.

Personal life

He settled on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

and became a J.P. on the island. In 1896 he had married May Sartorius, the daughter of his commanding officer in Burma. Major-General Francis John Fowler CB DSO died on 5 June 1939.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler, Francis 1864 births 1939 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order People educated at Bedford Modern School People educated at King William's College British Indian Army generals British Indian Army officers