Major-General Roland 'Tim' Debenham Inskip (17 September 1885 – 23 November 1971) was an English first-class

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er and British Army officer. Inskip served in the

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 ...

from 1905 to 1947, seeing action in the First World War, the Waziristan campaign and the Second World War. He was highly decorated in these campaigns and eventually reached the rank of major-general. He also played first-class cricket while in British India for the

Europeans cricket team The Europeans cricket team was an Indian first-class cricket team which took part in the annual Bombay tournament and Lahore tournament. The team was founded by members of the European community in Bombay who played cricket at the Bombay Gymkhan ...

and the Rawalpindi Sports Club.

Early life and WWI

The son of the Reverend Oliver Inskip, he was born in September 1885 at Spalding, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Framlingham College, where he father was the headmaster from 1887 to 1913. He made his debut in

minor counties cricket The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

for

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

in the 1904

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

, with Inskip playing infrequently for the county until 1911. From Framlingham he attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He graduated as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

into the

in August 1905. By January 1908, he was serving with the

59th Scinde Rifles The 59 Scinde Rifles (Frontier Force) was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment was one of the most reputed outfits of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1843, as the Scinde Camel Corps. In 1856, it was incorporate ...

as a lieutenant. He was promoted to the rank of

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 1914 and shortly after saw action in the First World War. In September 1914, he arrived on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

, where he remained until December 1915. From January 1916 to December 1917, he saw action in the Mesopotamian campaign. He was awarded the Military Cross in January 1916, and the Distinguished Service Order in December 1916. He was made a temporary

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 June 1917, while in command of a battalion. Throughout the course of the war, Inskip 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 ...

five times.

Inter-war period

Inskip gained the full rank of major in March 1921. By 1924, he was serving with the

12th Indian Infantry Brigade 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

and with the

13th Frontier Force Rifles The 13th Frontier Force Rifles was part of the British Indian Army, and after 1947, Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by amalgamation of five existing regiments and consisted of five regular battalions. History The 13th Frontier Force Rifle ...

in 1928. He made two appearances in first-class cricket in November 1926, playing one match for the

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (2004) ...

against the Marylebone Cricket Club, and a second match for the Rawalpindi Sports Club against the same opposition. He scored 6 runs and took 2 wickets in these matches. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in December 1934, with seniority to July 1932. Inkskip was seconded to Army Headquarters in India in 1934–35, before serving at the Imperial Defence College in London in 1936. He was granted the temporary rank of brigadier in April 1937, while in command of the 1st (Abbottabad) Infantry Brigade. He served in the Waziristan campaign, during which he was mentioned in dispatches twice and was made a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire. He was promoted to the rank of major-general in April 1939, while the following month he was made a member of the Order of the Bath in

1939 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1939 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the of ...

WWII and later life

During the Second World War, Inskip served as the district commander of

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

. Following this, he served as general officer commanding

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. He retired from active service in October 1942, but was immediately reemployed and appointed as the honorary colonel of the 6th Battalion, 13th Frontier Force Rifles. From 1943 to 1945, he was an inspector of military training centres across India, before being appointed on the eve of Indian independence as the

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of the Bhopal State Forces. Following his retirement, he devoted his time to furthering the well being of veterans and promoting Framlingham College. He died at Ipswich in November 1971.

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inskip, Tim 1885 births 1971 deaths Military personnel from Lincolnshire Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies People from Spalding, Lincolnshire People educated at Framlingham College Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Frontier Force Regiment officers English cricketers Suffolk cricketers Indian Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Europeans cricketers Rawalpindi Sports Club cricketers British military personnel of the Waziristan Campaign Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire British Indian Army generals Companions of the Order of the Bath Indian Army generals of World War II