H.D'U. Keary
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Lieutenant-General Sir Henry D'Urban Keary (28 April 1857 – 12 August 1937) was a
British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...
officer, who served in a number of colonial conflicts before commanding an Indian division on the Western Front during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.


Early life

Henry D'Urban Keary was born on 28 April 1857, the fourth son of William Keary, the manager and agent of the
Holkham Hall Holkham Hall ( or ) is an 18th-century English country house, country house near the village of Holkham, Norfolk, England, constructed in the Neo-Palladian style for the Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester (fifth creation), 1st Earl of Leicester ...
estate in Norfolk, and his wife Anna (née Anna D'Urban Rodwell). He was educated at
Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...
before attending the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...
; on passing out from Sandhurst in 1876, he was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion of the
Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars, before bein ...
as a second lieutenant. Later the same year, he was transferred to the Staff Corps and posted to India, where he took up a commission in the
1st Madras Native Infantry The 61st Pioneers were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They trace their origins to, when they were raised as the 1st Battalion Coast Sepoys. History The regiment took part in the Carnatic Wars in 1746–1763 and then the Third ...
.''Who Was Who''


Indian service

Keary was promoted to Lieutenant shortly after his arrival, in 1877, and served with his regiment in the
Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...
in 1879-8 and the
Third Anglo-Burmese War The Third Anglo-Burmese War ( my, တတိယ အင်္ဂလိပ် – မြန်မာစစ်, Tatiya Anggalip–Mran cac), also known as the Third Burma War, took place during 7–29 November 1885, with sporadic resistance conti ...
in 1885. From 1887 to 1892, with a promotion to Captain, he raised and then commanded a battalion of military police in Burma, as part of the operations to secure British control in the newly annexed country. During this time, he was involved in the operations against
Wuntho Wuntho ( my, ဝန်းသို) or Waing Hso ( shn, ဝဵင်းသိူဝ်) was a native state of Upper Burma when Burma (Myanmar), was under British control. It had an area of around with 150,000 inhabitants and lay midway between ...
in 1891, for which he was awarded 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 ...
as well as being
mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
. In 1892, he was given a brevet promotion to Major and appointed to command the 31st Madras Light Infantry, which was involved in suppressing a rebellion in the northern
Chin Hills The Chin Hills are a range of mountains in Chin State, northwestern Burma, Burma (Myanmar), that extends northward into India's Manipur state. Geography The highest peak in the Chin Hills is Khonu Msung, or Mount Victoria, in southern Chin State ...
in 1892–93. It later served in China (renamed the 31st Burma Light Infantry) as part of the Western relief force during the
Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...
, where Keary was again mentioned in despatches. His brevet promotion was confirmed in 1897, and he was subsequently promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1903 and Colonel in 1906. He relinquished command of the regiment (now named as the 91st Punjabis) in 1909, when he was appointed to command the 2nd Infantry Brigade of the
9th (Secunderabad) Division The 9th (Secunderabad) Division was an infantry division formation of the British Indian Army. It was part of the Southern Army and was formed in 1904 after Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India between 1902 and 1909. He i ...
; in 1910, he transferred to the
Garhwal Brigade The Garhwal Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army that formed part of the Indian Army during the First World War. It was formed in April 1917 to replace the original Garhwal Brigade that had been mobilized in August 1914 as ...
of
7th (Meerut) Division The 7th (Meerut) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that saw active service during World War I. Pre-1857 The Meerut Division first appeared in the Indian Army List in 1829, under the command of Sir Jasper Nicolls, ...
. From 1907 to 1912 he served as an aide-de-camp to the King, and in 1911, he was promoted to Major-General and made a
Companion of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...
.


First World War

Keary was in command of the Garhwal Brigade at the outbreak of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in August 1914, when it was mobilised for service in France as part of the Meerut Division. The brigade had one British battalion (the 2nd
Leicestershire Regiment The Leicestershire Regiment (Royal Leicestershire Regiment after 1946) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. The regiment saw service for three centuries, in numerous wars and conflicts such as both W ...
) and three Indian (the 1st and 2nd battalions of the
39th Garhwal Rifles The 39th Garhwal Rifles was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. History The regiment was first raised in 1887 as the Aligarh Levy but was disbanded after disgracing itself at the Rawalpindi Review in 1888. In 1891, the 39th (The Ga ...
, and the 2nd/
3rd Gurkha Rifles The 3rd Gorkha Rifles or Third Gorkha Rifles, abbreviated as 3 GR is an Indian Army infantry regiment. It was originally a Gurkha regiment of the British Indian Army formed in 1815. This regiment recruit mainly Magars and Khas/Chhetri tribes. Th ...
). It sailed for France in September, and was disembarking in Marseilles by 11 October, moving to the Western Front by the end of the month. He commanded the brigade during its first months on the Western Front with "good initiative and tactical judgment", leading to his promotion to take command of the
3rd (Lahore) Division The 3rd (Lahore) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army, first organised in 1852. It saw service during World War I as part of the Indian Corps in France before being moved to the Middle East where it fought against troops ...
in January 1915. At the
Second Battle of Ypres During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pre ...
that year he commanded the division in a series of unsuccessful counter-attacks. The division was withdrawn from the front line in November 1915, and after resting in France arrived in the Mesopotamian theatre in April 1916. Keary was promoted to Lieutenant-General in 1917, and given command of the
7th Meerut Divisional Area The 7th Meerut Divisional Area was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that formed part of the Indian Army during the First World War. It was formed in September 1914 to replace the original 7th (Meerut) Division that had been mo ...
in India in October 1917. He was later given command of the
Burma Division The Burma Division was a static formation of the British Indian Army. It was created as part of the 1903 reforms of the Indian Army by Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener then Commander-in-Chief, India. The task of such formations was to over ...
in August 1918. He retired from the Indian Army in December 1919.


Later career

Keary died on 12 August 1937, at his home in Surbiton Court,
Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it has ...
, Surrey, leaving an estate of £191. His wife survived him, dying in 1940. He was awarded Order of the White Eagle.


Notes


References

*"KEARY, Lieut-General Sir Henry D'Urban". (2007). In ''Who Was Who''
Online edition
*Obituary in the ''Times'', 14 August 1937, p. 12. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Keary, Henry 1857 births 1937 deaths British Indian Army generals Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People educated at Marlborough College Indian Army generals of World War I Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order