Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Sir Walter Sinclair Delamain (18 February 1862 – 6 March 1932) was an officer of 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 ...

Early service

Delamain was born in

Saint Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; french: Saint-Hélier) is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St Helier has a population of 35,822 – over one-third of the total population of Jersey – ...

, the son of Charles Henry Delamain and Susan Sarah Christina Gun. He attended the Royal Military College and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Berkshire Regiment) on 22 October 1881. On 13 January 1885 he was seconded for service with the Indian Staff Corps, and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the

Bombay Staff Corps The Indian Staff Corps was a branch of the Indian Army during the British Raj. Separate Staff Corps were formed in 1861 for the Bengal, Madras and Bombay Armies, which were later combined into the Indian Army. They were meant to provide officers f ...

on 1 February 1885, with seniority of 22 October 1881. He was promoted to captain, 22 October 1892, and given the temporary rank of Major, 4 November 1898. As Commandant of the Native Military Base Depot during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

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 ...

. On 26 May 1901 he was appointed a Special Service Officer on the staff of the China Field Force, and his rank of major was made substantive on 10 July 1901. In October 1902 he was in command of a detachment from the 23rd Bombay Rifles (renamed as the

123rd Outram's Rifles The 123rd Outram's Rifles was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. History It traced its origins to the 12th Regiment of Bombay Native Infantry, part of the British East India Company's Bombay Army. It fought in the Battle of Khadki ...

the following year) sent via Aden to

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate ( so, Dhulka Maxmiyada Soomaalida ee Biritishka), was a British Empire, British protectorate in present-day Somaliland. During its existence, the territory was bordered by Italian Soma ...

as reinforcement during the Somaliland campaign. In 1905 he was again mentioned in despatches for his service with the Outram's Rifles, commanding the escort to the Aden Boundary Commission for eight months, was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

on 14 April, and promoted to lieutenant-colonel, with seniority of 12 January 1905. On 12 January 1908 he was made

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, and substantive colonel on 1 January 1911. He was appointed assistant adjutant-general on 17 November 1912.

First World War

Delamain was appointed temporary brigadier-general, 27 September 1914. He commanded the 16th (Poona) and

17th (Ahmednagar) Brigade The 6th (Poona) Division was a division of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1903, following the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army. World War I The 6th (Poona) Division served in the Mesopotamian campaign. Led by Major General Barre ...

s at the

Battle of Es Sinn The Battle of Es Sinn was a World War I military engagement between Anglo-Indian and Ottoman forces. It took place on 28 September 1915, during the Mesopotamian Campaign. The sides fought to determine control of the lower Tigres and Euphrates riv ...

. His conduct was described as "admirable" in General Nixon's despatch, and Delamain was promoted to major-general, 29 October 1915, for distinguished service in the field. He became a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

on 29 April 1916.

Post-war

On 14 November 1919 Delamain was given command of a division, and he was promoted to lieutenant-general on 1 April 1920, with seniority later backdated to 21 December 1919. He served as Adjutant-General, India from 10 November 1920 to 28 March 1923, when he retired from the Indian Army. Delamain was also colonel of the 117th Mahrattas from 28 October 1921 until he reached the age limit, being replaced by Major-General R.C. Wilson on 18 February 1932.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delamain, Walter Sinclair 1932 deaths 1862 births People from Saint Helier British Indian Army generals Indian Army generals of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George British World War I prisoners of war Indian Staff Corps officers British military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion Royal Berkshire Regiment officers