Major-General Sir Harry Christopher Tytler KCB CMG CIE DSO (26 September 1867 – 16 May 1939) 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 specialised in running lines of communication, and also an amateur naturalist.Biography, '' Who Was Who'' Tytler was born in

Dollar, Clackmannanshire Dollar ( gd, Dolair) is a small town with a population of 2,800 people in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. It is east of Stirling. Toponymy Possible interpretations are that Dollar is derived from ''Doilleir'', an Irish and Scots Gaelic word mean ...

, the son of Colonel Robert Christopher Tytler, a retired officer of the East India Company Army and his wife Harriet. He was educated at Mr Frank Townsend's School, Clifton, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. Leaving as Queen's (India) Cadet, he was commissioned a lieutenant in the Manchester Regiment in January 1886 and in November 1887 transferred to the Indian Army and joined the

17th Infantry The 17th Infantry (The Loyal Regiment) was an infantry regiment of the Bengal Army, later of the united British Indian Army. It was formed at Phillour in 1858 by Major J. C. Innes from men of the 3rd, 36th and 61st Bengal Native Infantry regiment ...

. He was

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 ...

for his service in the Sikkim Expedition in 1888, and in the

Lushai Expedition The British Indian Army Lushai Expedition of 1871 to 1872 was a punitive incursion under the command of Generals Brownlow and Bourchier. The objectives of the expedition were to rescue British subjects who had been captured by the Lushais in ...

of 1890–1891 he commanded the small force which relieved Changsil. He was promoted

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in July 1897 and served in the Waziristan Expedition of 1901–1902. He was promoted

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in January 1904. During the First World War he served in the East Africa Campaign, first as deputy inspector-general of the lines of communication, then as

assistant adjutant-general An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

of the lines of communication, and finally as a column commander in the advance from

Iringa Iringa is a city in Tanzania with a population of 151,345 (). It is situated at a latitude of 7.77°S and longitude of 35.69°E. The name is derived from the Hehe language, Hehe word ''lilinga'', meaning fort. Iringa is the administrative capita ...

and in the Lindi area. He was mentioned in despatches twice and awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in July 1918. He was promoted

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 ...

colonel in February 1917 and substantive colonel in October 1917. From 1918 to 1919 he served as inspector of communications with the

Bushire Field Force Bushehr, Booshehr or Bushire ( fa, بوشهر ; also romanised as ''Būshehr'', ''Bouchehr'', ''Buschir'' and ''Busehr''), also known as Bandar Bushehr ( fa, ; also romanised as ''Bandar Būshehr'' and ''Bandar-e Būshehr''), previously Antioc ...

in the

Persian Campaign Persian expedition or Persian campaign may refer to: * Persian campaign (Alexander the Great) (334–333 BC) *Julian's Persian expedition (363) * Persian expedition of Stepan Razin (1699) * Persian campaign of Peter the Great (1722–1723) * Pers ...

, for which he was appointed

Companion 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. ...

(CMG) in January 1920 and again mentioned in despatches. In 1919, as a temporary

brigadier-general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, he served as inspector-general of the lines of communication in the Third Anglo-Afghan War, being mentioned in despatches for the fifth time and being appointed Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in August 1920, and then from October 1919 to May 1920, held the same post with the

Waziristan Field Force Waziristan (Pashto and ur, , "land of the Wazir") is a mountainous region covering the former FATA agencies of North Waziristan and South Waziristan which are now districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Waziristan covers some . ...

, receiving his sixth mention and being appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(CB) in June 1921. He was then given command of the

Delhi Brigade 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 m ...

back in India, retaining his temporary rank of brigadier-general and later colonel-commandant. He was promoted major-general in September 1920 and in 1921 was appointed deputy adjutant and quartermaster-general of the Northern Command. In 1924 he was appointed General Officer Commanding Burma Independent District, in which post he served until his retirement in June 1928. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the

1927 New Year Honours The New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 31 December 1926. The recipients of honours are ...

. Tytler married Florence Mai Read. They had no children. He took an interest in butterflies and birds and made large collections of eggs and butterflies. He communicated notes on Indian butterflies, especially from Assam, to the '' Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society''.Rao, B R Subba (1998) History of entomology in India. Institution of Agricultural Technologists, Bangalore He retired to the small village of Bromsash, near Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, where he died in 1939.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tytler, Harry 1867 births 1939 deaths British Indian Army generals People from Dollar, Clackmannanshire Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Manchester Regiment officers Indian Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath British naturalists British lepidopterists British military personnel of the Waziristan Campaign British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Afghan War British military personnel of the Lushai Expedition British military personnel of the Sikkim expedition Scottish military personnel