William Tweedie CSI (1836–1914) was a soldier, diplomat and author, who served in India,

Abyssinia The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historica ...

and Turkish Arabia. The son of Reverend and author William King Tweedie, he is also known as the author of a book on the Arabian Horse.

Early life

He was born in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

on 31 October 1836, the eldest of five children of William King Tweedie and Margaret Tweedie (née Bell). Tweedie's younger brother, John, served in the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

, progressing to

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsib ...

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. After graduating from St Andrews College, Edinburgh as a Doctor of Divinity, Tweedie joined the army of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

at the age of 21.

Military and diplomatic service

After enlisting as a Cadet, Tweedie was promoted to

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 ...

shortly after arrival in India. The Indian Mutiny had begun soon after Tweedie's arrival, and he soon saw action, being severely wounded in the shoulder in the action at Benares on 4 June 1858. Upon recovery, Tweedie volunteered for service with the

78th Highlanders The 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with 72nd Regiment, Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders to form the Seaforth Highlanders in 1881. Hi ...

, taking part in the action at

Bithur Bithoor or Bithur is a town in Kanpur District, by road north of the centre of Kanpur city, in Uttar Pradesh, India. Bithoor is situated on the right bank of the River Ganges, and is a centre of Hindu pilgrimage. . Bithoor is also the centre ...

and the First relief of Lucknow.

Gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

Lieutenant in April 1858, Tweedie would then serve with Beatson's Horse before being appointed Adjutant of the 3rd Cavalry at Hyderabad which led to further promotions, being appointed 2nd Assistant Resident of Hyderabad and 1st Assistant General Superintendent of Thagi and Darcy in 1863 and magistrate and judge at Secunderbad in 1866. In November 1867 Tweedie was named as Political Secretary to Lt. Gen Sir Robert Napier, who was leading the Abyssinia Expedition, serving throughout the campaign and twice being mentioned in dispatches. After resuming his career in India as 2nd Assistant Commissioner Hyderabad, Tweedie was promoted to 1st Assistant Commissioner, before returning to Britain in 1876, and marrying Emily Whitmore in 1877. Tweedie was then named as Resident at Mandalay, with this promotion later cancelled before he could take up the position. At the outbreak of the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...

, Tweedie was appointed as Political Staff Officer to Major-General Robert Bright, before being appointed as Political Agent 1st Class Eastern States (Rajputana). Tweedie was then appointed as Resident of Turkish Arabia in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

in 1881, a role which involved inspecting all aspects of local life, including the trade in Arabian horses which he was especially interested in. He was named as a

Companion of the Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

in March 1885.

Writing

Tweedie had his treatise on Arabian horses, 'The Arabian Horse, His Country and His People', published in 1894 by

William Blackwood & Sons William Blackwood and Sons was a Scottish publishing house and printer founded by William Blackwood in 1804. It played a key role in literary history, publishing many important authors, for example John Buchan, George Tomkyns Chesney, Joseph ...

Later life, death and funeral

After retiring to Scotland, Tweedie purchased property in Dunscore, where he built a Manor House costing £23,000. He died in 1914, shortly after the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

having left detailed instructions for his funeral. With no heirs and his wife Emily having died in 1912, his estate was left to Edinburgh University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tweedie, William 1836 births 1914 deaths Scottish non-fiction writers Scottish soldiers