Reginald Arthur Gamble
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Major-General Dominic Jacotin Gamble CB (15 August 1823 – 21 November 1887) was a
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
from 1844 until his death in 1887. He played a significant role in the New Zealand wars under Lieutenant General Duncan Cameron and the 4th Foot Regiment.


Family Background

Dominic Jacotin Gamble was born in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
on 15 August 1823. Nothing is known of his family or early years. He was the father of Brigadier-General Richard Narrien Gamble C.B. (1860–) and Sir Reginald Arthur Gamble, Kt (1862–).Family research thanks to R. Greaves (1999)


Early career

Gamble was first commissioned (brevet) as an
ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
in the 4th Foot Regiment in 1844 and then as a Lieutenant was posted at ‘Maker Barracks’ Vaulters Home Maker, St Germans in Cornwall where he passed his exam in native languages (on 26 January 1847) and worked to become captain and to serve in Turkey between 1854 and 1855, and was with the 4th Regiment in the Crimean Campaign in 1855, after which he was decorated (receiving a medal with clasp, and the Turkish medal in 1856) and promoted to the rank of major.


Family

Possibly while attending the British Army's recently established staff college at
Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...
he met Mary Eleanor, daughter of Benjamin Macnair and Mary Rennie Miller of Greenfields. They married on 23 June 1859 at Falkirk, Stirlingshire in Scotland and the couple subsequently had three children, two boys Richard (in 1860) and Reginald (1862) and later a daughter (1864 in Auckland New Zealand).


New Zealand Wars

From 1861 as Lieutenant-Colonel he took up the post of Deputy Quartermaster-General (DQMG) in New Zealand on the staff of Lieutenant General Duncan Cameron responsible, in conjunction with the commissariat department, for arranging supplies for the British forces. Over the following six years he also acted as an unofficial chief of staff for Cameron and, later, for Major General Trevor Chute, performing a wide range of tasks and acting as the central point for the receipt of reports for the general officer commanding and for the dispatch of his orders to subordinates (where he was repeatedly being
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 ...
). Gamble was praised by Cameron for the part he played in preparations for an invasion of Waikato — setting up camps for some 10,000 British troops in South Auckland and organising the construction of the Great South Road between 1862 and 1863 — and in recognition of his services during the campaign was granted CB in 1864. Then for the War Office as brevet Lieutenant-Colonel in 1865 before receiving the rank of brevet colonel. He further served in the campaigns at Tauranga, Gate Pa, Wanganui and
South Taranaki South Taranaki is a territorial authority on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island that contains the towns of Hāwera (the seat of the district), Manaia, Ōpunake, Patea, Eltham, and Waverley. The District has a land area of 3,575.46&nbs ...
all for which on the 6 February 1866 he was made Colonel and awarded another medal. He returned to England and was then governor of the viceroy of Egypt's son in England between 1868 and 1869, before becoming Major-General in 1870 and knight of the Egyptian Order of the Medjidie (3rd Class). He was made assistant-quartermaster-general at Aldershot from 1869 to 1874, and made Lieutenant-Colonel of brigade depot from 1876.


British West Indies

After he was promoted to Major-General (1877) he arrived at Barbados on 1 October 1878 and took command of British forces in the West Indies and even held the post as Deputy Governor of Barbados and the Windward Islands during 1880. Returning to England, he was appointed Director-General of military education in 1887 but unfortunately aged 64 Major-General Dominic Jacotin Gamble died at South Kensington, London, on 21 November 1887.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gamble, Dominic Jacotin 1823 births 1887 deaths Governors of Barbados Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers officers