General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

(Kaïd) Sir Harry Aubrey de Vere Maclean, (15 June 1848 – 5 February 1920) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

soldier, and instructor to the

Moroccan Army zgh, ⵜⴰⵙⵔⴷⴰⵙⵜ ⵜⴰⴳⵍⴷⴰⵏⵜ , image = , caption = Flag of the Royal Moroccan Army , start_date = active since: 1088 CE current form: 14 May 1956 , ...

Military career

Maclean was born on 15 June 1848, the eldest son of General Andrew Maclean.″Society and Personal″. Aberdeen Press and Journal, Tuesday 30 September 1902, page 4. He began his military career in the

69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot The 69th (South Lincolnshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1756. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot to form the Welch Regiment in 1881. History Formation T ...

in 1869. He was dispatched overseas to fight the Fenians in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. In 1876 he resigned from his regiment, and the following year he went to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and began his career as an army instructor for the Sultan Mulai Hassan. He gained the trust of the

Sultan of Morocco This is the list of rulers of Morocco, since the establishment of the state in 789. The common and formal titles of these rulers has varied, depending on the time period. Since 1957, the designation King has been used. The present King of Moroc ...

and his successor Moulay Abdelaziz through his service and fought against opposing

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

s throughout Morocco. During his career, he was

kidnap In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

ped and held for

ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''red ...

after a failed first attempt. He visited the forbidden city of

Tafilalt Tafilalt or Tafilet (; ar, تافيلالت), historically Sijilmasa, is a region and the largest oasis in Morocco. Etymology The word "Tafilalt" is an Amazigh word and it means "Jug", which is specifically a pottery jar used to store water. H ...

, and eventually became commander of the Sultan of Morocco's Army. Although he was loyal to his employer to a fault, he was regarded as an unofficial

British agent ''British Agent'' is a 1934 American romantic espionage film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Leslie Howard and Kay Francis. It is based on ''Memoirs of a British Agent'', the 1932 autobiography of R. H. Bruce Lockhart, who worked for th ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. In June 1901 he was attached to a Special diplomatic mission from Morocco to the United Kingdom to congratulate King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

on his recent accession, and the King appointed him a Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(KCMG) during the visit.

Life in Morocco

He was physically large and used this to his advantage when disciplining insubordinates. Although maintaining his Scottish personality and expert

bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Nor ...

skill, he adopted

Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...

costume. Various heirlooms of the Kaïd Sir Harry Maclean, including his ceremonial sword, pistol and Matriculation of Arms are now housed for the Clan Maclean Heritage Trust at the

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull ( gd, An t-Eilean Muileach ) or just Mull (; gd, Muile, links=no ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Arg ...

Museum. His portrait, by

Sir John Lavery Sir John Lavery (20 March 1856 – 10 January 1941) was a Northern Irish painter best known for his portraits and wartime depictions. Life and career John Lavery was born in inner North Belfast, baptised at St Patrick's Church, Belfast a ...

, hangs in the bar of the

El Minzah Hotel EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...

. Maclean is buried in the graveyard of

St Andrew’s Church, Tangier The Church of Saint Andrew is an Anglican church in Tangier, Morocco. Consecrated in 1905, the church is within the Archdeaconry of Gibraltar. The building is constructed in a Moorish architectural style. History In 1880, Hassan I of Morocco do ...

Family

Maclean was married twice. His first wife was Catherine Coe, but he divorced her in 1905, and re-married in 1913 Ella Prendergast, daughter of General Sir

Harry Prendergast General Sir Harry North Dalrymple Prendergast, (15 October 1834 – 24 July 1913) was a recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to members of British ...

.Whitaker′s Almanach, 1918 One of his sons was Andrew de Vere Maclean, who followed his father in the British Army. Grave of Sir Harry Aubrey de Vere McLean grave in Tangier

Grave of Sir Harry Aubrey de Vere McLean grave in Tangier

References and notes

External links

An article including a picture of General Sir Harry Aubrey de Maclean and details of his regiment while in Bermuda
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maclean, Harry Aubrey De Vere 1848 births 1920 deaths Great Highland bagpipe players Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George 69th Regiment of Foot officers Scottish spies Scottish mercenaries Moroccan military personnel British generals Place of birth missing

Military career

Life in Morocco

Family

References and notes

See also

External links