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 ...

Sir William Hope Meiklejohn, KCB, CMG (; 1845 – 1909) was a British military commander 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 ...

, who was in charge of the British garrison during the

siege of Malakand The siege of Malakand was the 26 July – 2 August 1897 siege of the British garrison in the Malakand region of colonial British India's North West Frontier Province.Nevill p. 232 The British faced a force of Pashtun tribesmen whose tribal lands ...

in 1897.

Military career

Meiklejohn was commissioned 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 ...

on 4 December 1861, promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 11 December 1862,

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 ...

on 24 May 1871, and

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 ...

on 1 July 1881. He advanced to senior rank as

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

on 4 December 1887, and was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

on 29 August 1893. As colonel, he was in charge of the British garrison during the

in northern India from 26 July to 2 August 1897 and later led a relief force to the besieged fort of

Chakdara Chakdara (چکدرہ) is a city in Lower Dir District. It's the 2nd largest city after Timergara. It serves as the educational center of Malakand Division and the Gateway of Lower Dir District . It is located north of Malakand near the confluen ...

along with Sir Bindon Blood, fighting against 50,000–100,000

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

tribesmen and suffering only 206 casualties. Meiklejohn was later credited for his skills in providing such a victory in dispatches sent to the military government 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 ...

. He was appointed in command of a district in the

Bengal Army The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Govern ...

on 8 December 1898, and posted to

Rohilkhand Rohilkhand (previously Rampur State) is a region in the northwestern part of Uttar Pradesh, India, that is centered on the Rampur, Bareilly and Moradabad divisions. It is part of the upper Ganges Plain, and is named after the Rohilla tribe. Th ...

, where he stayed in command until February 1900, when he returned home for a prolonged leave for medical reasons. He was promoted to

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

on 19 March 1900. In April 1901 he was posted to

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

, and officiated in command there until late 1902 when the actual commanding officer Sir

Alfred Gaselee General Sir Alfred Gaselee, , (3 June 1844 – 29 March 1918) was a soldier who served in the Indian Army. Early life Gaselee was born at Little Yeldham, Essex, the eldest son of the Reverend John Gaselee, rector of Little Yeldham, and his w ...

arrived. Meiklejohn had been appointed in command of the district at

Derajat Derajat ( Punjabi/Urdu: ), the plural of the word 'dera', is a cultural region of central Pakistan, located in the region where the provinces of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan meet. Derajat is bound by the Indus River to the east, and ...

in August 1901, but it appears he did not take up this position as he officiated in Lucknow.

Family

Meiklejohn married, in 1893, Maud Louisa Hamilton Beamish, daughter of Rear-Admiral Henry Hamilton Beamish.

Notes

References

Printed sources: * Gore, Surgeon General at Nowshera, for '' The Dublin Journal of Medical Science'', 1898 * Wilkinson-Latham, Robert ''North-west Frontier 1837–1947'', 1977 * Wylly, Harold C. ''From the Black Mountain to Waziristan'', 1912 Websites: * BBC New
''Rare British India documents surface''
Retrieved 2 June 2007 Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George British Indian Army generals British military personnel of the Malakand Frontier War 1845 births 1909 deaths {{UK-army-bio-stub