Major-General Dominic Jacotin Gamble CB (15 August 1823 – 21 November 1887) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

from 1844 until his death in 1887. He played a significant role in the New Zealand wars under Lieutenant General Duncan Cameron and the 4th Foot Regiment.

Family Background

Dominic Jacotin Gamble was born in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on 15 August 1823. Nothing is known of his family or early years. He was the father of Brigadier-General Richard Narrien Gamble C.B. (1860–) and Sir Reginald Arthur Gamble, Kt (1862–).Family research thanks to R. Greaves (1999)

Early career

Gamble was first commissioned (brevet) as an

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 ...

in the 4th Foot Regiment in 1844 and then as a Lieutenant was posted at ‘Maker Barracks’ Vaulters Home Maker, St Germans in Cornwall where he passed his exam in native languages (on 26 January 1847) and worked to become captain and to serve in Turkey between 1854 and 1855, and was with the 4th Regiment in the

Crimean Campaign The Crimea campaign was an eight-month-long campaign by Axis forces to conquer the Crimea Peninsula, and was the scene of some of the bloodiest battles on the Eastern Front during World War II. The German, Romanian, and defending Soviet t ...

in 1855, after which he was decorated (receiving a medal with clasp, and the Turkish medal in 1856) and promoted to the rank of major.

Family

Possibly while attending the British Army's recently established staff college at Farnborough he met Mary Eleanor, daughter of Benjamin Macnair and Mary Rennie Miller of Greenfields. They married on 23 June 1859 at Falkirk, Stirlingshire in Scotland and the couple subsequently had three children, two boys Richard (in 1860) and Reginald (1862) and later a daughter (1864 in Auckland New Zealand).

New Zealand Wars

From 1861 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 colo ...

he took up the post of Deputy Quartermaster-General (DQMG) in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

on the staff of Lieutenant General Duncan Cameron responsible, in conjunction with the commissariat department, for arranging supplies for the British forces. Over the following six years he also acted as an unofficial chief of staff for Cameron and, later, for Major General

Trevor Chute General (United Kingdom), General Sir Trevor Chute, Order of the Bath, KCB (31 July 1816 – 12 March 1886) was an Irish-born officer who served in the British Army during the Victorian era. Born in County Kerry, Ireland, Chute joined the Bri ...

, performing a wide range of tasks and acting as the central point for the receipt of reports for the general officer commanding and for the dispatch of his orders to subordinates (where he was repeatedly being mentioned in dispatches). Gamble was praised by Cameron for the part he played in preparations for an invasion of

Waikato Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...

— setting up camps for some 10,000 British troops in South Auckland and organising the construction of the Great South Road between 1862 and 1863 — and in recognition of his services during the campaign was granted CB in 1864. Then for the War Office as brevet Lieutenant-Colonel in 1865 before receiving the rank of brevet colonel. He further served in the campaigns at

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

, Gate Pa,

Wanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whang ...

and South Taranaki all for which on the 6 February 1866 he was made Colonel and awarded another medal. He returned to England and was then governor of the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

of Egypt's son in England between 1868 and 1869, before becoming Major-General in 1870 and knight of the Egyptian

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie ( ota, نشانِ مجیدی, August 29, 1852 – 1922) is a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The Order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the Order was awarded in f ...

(3rd Class). He was made assistant-quartermaster-general at

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

from 1869 to 1874, and made Lieutenant-Colonel of brigade depot from 1876.

British West Indies

After he was promoted to Major-General (1877) he arrived at

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

on 1 October 1878 and took command of British forces in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

and even held the post as Deputy

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Barbados and the

Windward Islands french: Îles du Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean Sea No ...

during 1880. Returning to England, he was appointed Director-General of military education in 1887 but unfortunately aged 64 Major-General Dominic Jacotin Gamble died at South Kensington, London, on 21 November 1887.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gamble, Dominic Jacotin 1823 births 1887 deaths Governors of Barbados Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers officers