The grave of Major General Hamilton Bower, Dean Cemetery

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Sir Hamilton St Clair Bower (1 September 1858 – 5 March 1940) 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 wrote about his travels through

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

Private life

Bower was born on

Portsea Island Portsea Island is a flat and low-lying natural island in area, just off the southern coast of Hampshire in England. Portsea Island contains the majority of the city of Portsmouth. Portsea Island has the third-largest population of all th ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, the son of a Scottish father Admiral James Paterson Bower (1806–1889) of Inverarity, Forfarshire, and an Irish mother, Barbara Hickson. He was educated at

Edinburgh Collegiate School Edinburgh Collegiate School was located at 27/28 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh. The school was established in 1868. Notable former pupils * Thomas Hastie Bryce (1862–1946), anatomist, medical author and archaeologist * W. K. Burton (1856–189 ...

and the

Royal Naval School The Royal Naval School was an English school that was established in Camberwell, London, in 1833 and then formally constituted by the Royal Naval College Act 1840. It was a charitable institution, established as a boarding school for the sons of ...

, New Cross. His father had retired to 4 Moredun Crescent in Edinburgh. Originally commissioned into the Duke of Edinburgh's Own Artillery

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, he was appointed a Second Lieutenant in the

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1958 ...

23 October 1880. He was appointed to the

Indian Staff Corps The Indian Staff Corps was a branch of the British Indian Army, Indian Army during the British Raj. Separate Staff Corps were formed in 1861 for the Bengal Army, Bengal, Madras Army, Madras and Bombay Army, Bombay Armies, which were later combined ...

2 February 1884 and posted to the

17th Cavalry The 15th Lancers (Baloch) is an armoured regiment of the Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 17th Cavalry and the 37th Lancers (Baluch Horse).Ahmad, Lt Col RN. (2010). ''Battle Honours of the Baloch Regiment''. Abbottab ...

15 September 1885.''The Star and Crescent. Being the story of the 17th Cavalry from 1858 to 1922''. page 287 He is buried with his parents in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. The grave lies in the first north extension close to the main east–west path.

Personal life

He married firstly, Mary Sherrard in

Simla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, the ...

, India in 1894. He married secondly, Maud Edith Ainslie in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

in 1889. He had three daughters.

Sanskrit medical manuscript

In 1889-1890 Lieutenant Hamilton Bower travelled through Chinese Turkestan, where in the city of

Kucha Kucha, or Kuche (also: ''Kuçar'', ''Kuchar''; ug, كۇچار, Кучар; zh, t= 龜茲, p=Qiūcí, zh, t=庫車, p=Kùchē; sa, कूचीन, translit=Kūcīna), was an ancient Buddhist kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road ...

he purchased a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

-language

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

written in the

Brahmi alphabet Brahmi (; ; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such ...

.Ray H. Greenblatt
The Vanishing Trove: Reviled Heroes; Revered Thieves
The Chicago Literary Club. 2 October 2000 The medical manuscript, which later became known as the ''

Bower Manuscript The Bower Manuscript is a collection of seven fragmentary Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit. treatises found buried in a Buddhist memorial stupa near Kucha, northwestern China. Written in early Gupta script (late Brahmi script) on birch bark, it is var ...

'', sent a shock-wave through the world of Indian scholarship, especially

Indology Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the History of India, history and Culture of India, cultures, Languages of South Asia, languages, and Indian literature, literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a ...

, pointing to the existence of a forgotten

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

civilization in Chinese Turkestan. During his time in Turkestan, Bower, who was then a British intelligence officer on a Government mission, attempted to track down the killer of Andrew Dalgleish, a Scottish trader murdered on the road from

Leh Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former res ...

Yarkand Yarkant County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also Shache County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also transliterated from Uyghur as Yakan County, is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous ...

in 1888.Hamilton Bower
"A trip to Turkistan"
''

Geographical Journal ''The Geographical Journal'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers). It publishes papers covering research on all aspects of geography. It also publishes shorter ...

''. 1895. p.241-257 In the 1890s Bower travelled to Tibet and wrote a memoir of his experiences entitled ''Diary of a Journey across Tibet''. In 1894 he received the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

's Founder's Medal "for his remarkable journey across Tibet, from west to east".''Nature''
Volume 49 (1894)

Later military career

Bower served as D.A.Q.M.G (Intelligence) from 18 April 1893 to 4 May 1895. He served in the

Dongola Expedition The Mahdist War ( ar, الثورة المهدية, ath-Thawra al-Mahdiyya; 1881–1899) was a war between the Mahdist Sudanese of the religious leader Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam (the "Guided O ...

1896 as D.A.Q.M.G (Intelligence) and was rewarded with a

Brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

of Major.January 1908 Indian Army List He raised and commanded the 1st Chinese Regiment at Wei-hei-Wei in 1898, and was in China 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 ...

in 1900, where he was in command of the regiment as they took part in the relief of Tientsin and the relief of Peking. After the end of hostilities, he was from 21 July to 30 November 1901 the delegate of the British military commander (Major-General

O'Moore Creagh General Sir Garrett O'Moore Creagh, (2 April 1848 – 9 August 1923), known as Sir O'Moore Creagh, was a senior British Army officer and an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that ca ...

) on the provisional government. For his services during the rebellion, he was

mentioned in dispatches 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 ...

(by Maj.-General Creagh) and received the brevet rank of

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

. He was appointed Commander of the Legation Guard in Peking on 1 December 1901, and served as such until 24 November 1906. Appointed Brevet Colonel 10 February 1904. Appointed Squadron Commander, 17th Cavalry 15 October 1906, promoted Lieutenant-Colonel 23 October 1906. In January 1908 he was the second in command of the 17th Cavalry. Promoted Colonel 1 December 1908 and temporary Brigadier-general commanding the Dehra Ismail Khan Brigade and subsequently the Assam Brigade. Promoted Major-General 15 February 1909 and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath CB in October 1910. He was the General Officer Commanding for the Abor Expedition and was rewarded with promotion to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath KCB. He retired a Major General on 30 January 1914. He was appointed temporary Lieutenant-Colonel and commandant of the Haddington Volunteer Regiment 1 September 1916. He relinquished his commission on 26 February 1920 and was granted the honorary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.London Gazette 2 March 1920

List of publications

* ''Some notes on Tibetan affairs''.

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1893. *
Diary of a journey across Tibet
'.

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

: Rivington, Percival and Co., 1894.
The Bower Manuscript : facsimile leaves, Nagari transcript, romanised transliteration and English trans. with notes
Calcutta : Off. of the Superintendent of Govt. Printing, 1894. co-authored with A. F. Rudolf Hoernle
"A trip to Turkistan"
''

''. 1895. 241-257 * "The Abor Expedition: Geographical Results: Discussion". ''Geographical Journal'', Feb., 1913, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 109–114. co-authored with L. A. Bethell and

Thomas Holdich Colonel Sir Thomas Hungerford Holdich (13 February 1843 – 2 November 1929) was an English geographer and president of the Royal Geographical Society. He is best known as Superintendent of Frontier Surveys in British India, arbiter in the Cord ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bower, Hamilton 1858 births 1940 deaths Burials at the Dean Cemetery People from Portsea, Portsmouth British people of Scottish descent British people of Irish descent English explorers English travel writers Explorers of Central Asia British Indian Army generals British Indian Army officers Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Deputy Lieutenants of East Lothian British Weihaiwei people People educated at Edinburgh Collegiate School People educated at the Royal Naval School Recipients of the MacGregor Medal Military personnel from Portsmouth