''The Butcher of Amritsar: General Reginald Dyer'' is a 2006 historical biography written by Nigel Collett, a former Gurkha officer, which covers the life of
Reginald Dyer
Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, CB (9 October 1864 – 23 July 1927) was an officer of the Bengal Army and later the newly constituted British Indian Army. His military career began serving briefly in the regular British Army before tra ...
. The book's title refers to the 1919 massacre at Jallianwala Bagh in which 379 people were shot by troops under the command of Dyer. It is the second biography written on Dyer, the first having been written in the 1930s with co-operation from Dyer's widow.
Collett had read Dyer's book ''Raiders of the Sarhad'' while he was serving in the army. He returned to it when writing his dissertation for his
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in biography at the
University of Buckingham
, mottoeng = Flying on Our Own Wings
, established = 1973; as university college1983; as university
, type = Private
, endowment =
, administrative_staff = 97 academic, 103 support
, chance ...
. He spent three years researching and writing the book and completed the manuscript in 2003.
Synopsis
The book begins with covering Dyer's parents' lives in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
and their brewery company and then moves on to Dyer's early life, from his time as a day boy at
Bishop Cotton
George Edward Lynch Cotton, Bishop of Calcutta (29 October 1813 – 6 October 1866) was an English educator and clergyman, known for his connections with British India and the public school system.
Life in England
He was born at Chester, a gra ...
school in India. The book then covers Dyer's life while he attended Midleton college in
County Cork
County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
Ireland and his time at Sandhurst, and then moves on to cover Dyer's life following his graduation from Sandhurst to his postings to the
Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) was a line infantry regiment of the English and later the British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Arm ...
in
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
to their deployment to
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
during the
1886 Belfast riots
The 1886 Belfast riots were a series of intense riots that occurred in Belfast, Ireland, during the summer and autumn of 1886.
Background
In the late 19th century, Catholics began to migrate in large numbers to the prosperous city of Belfast ...
and then his service during the
Third 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 ...
. It then covers Dyer's return to India and being reunited with his family in
Shimla
Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...
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
29th Punjabis
The 29th Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1857, as the 21st Regiment of Punjab Infantry. It was designated as the 29th Punjabis in 1903 and became 10th (Training) Battalion of 15th Punjab Regiment in ...
to his return to England and the birth of his second child.
The book then covers Dyer's time in the 29th, to the Chitral Expedition, a campaign which Dyer had tried to join but which had ended six days before he arrived back from England, it then covers Dyer's return to England as he had been granted a place at
Camberley Staff College
Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...
as he had passed the entrance exams, moving on to cover Dyer's passing the final examinations from Camberley and the birth of his second son. It then goes into detail on the Dyer's family return to India and Dyer being given the designation of wing officer.
The book moves on to cover the Amritsar massacre and subsequent investigation. It covers the reception to the news of the massacre in England to Dyer being pensioned out of the army and the campaign by the Morning Post newspaper which raised £26,000 ($42,386.5) from public donations.
Reception
Antony Copley
Antony R. H. Copley (1 July 1937 – 18 July 2016) was a British historian. He was an honorary professor at the University of Kent at Canterbury, and specialised in nineteenth century French history and modern Indian history.
He was born on 1 Ju ...
writing in the '' Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society'' said the book would be an award-winning biography. David McKirdy reviewing the book for the ''Asian Review of Books'' said that Collett was ideally placed to write this biography, as like Dyer Collett served in the British army, had attended Sandhurst and had also commanded a Gurkha regiment. McKirdy also says the book is a well referenced addition to other books which cover this time in history. Chandar S. Sundaram writing for '' Itinerario'' has said that this was the "definitive work" on the massacre and that Collett had detailed the life of Dyer with exceptional skill. Nicholas Fearn writing for ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' said the book was a "thorough reconstruction" of the massacre and that the book was "heavily detailed treatment and serious to the point of dryness." He also said that because of the material Dyer could be compared to
General Melchett
This article lists the characters in the four series and three special episodes of the British sitcom ''Blackadder''. '' Blackadder'' was notable for featuring actors playing many repeating characters across different eras of history, with Ro ...
History Today
''History Today'' is an illustrated history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it presents serious and authoritative history to as wide a public as possible. The magazine covers all periods and geographical regions and pub ...
'' said "Collett has told this terrible story with great, forensic skill, marshalling his facts brilliantly."Gordon Johnson praised it as an outstanding contribution to our understanding of this horrific event that presented a balanced reading of Dyer's character.