Major-General Sir James Lauderdale Gilbert Burnett, 13th Baronet, (1 April 1880 – 13 August 1953) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer.

Military career

Born the son of Colonel Sir Thomas Burnett, 12th Baronet, and Mary Elizabeth Cumine and educated at Wellington College, Burnett was commissioned into the

Gordon Highlanders The Gordon Highlanders was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed for 113 years, from 1881 until 1994, when it was amalgamated with The Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) to form The Highlanders (Seaforth, Go ...

on 6 December 1899. He was appointed a Companion of the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

in March 1915 and subsequently commanded the 1st Battalion, the Gordon Highlanders and then a brigade during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Burnett went on to be commander of the 14th Infantry Brigade in January 1927, commander of the 153rd Infantry Brigade in January 1928 and commander of the 8th Infantry Brigade in March 1930. His last appointment was as General Officer Commanding

51st (Highland) Division The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in France during the World War I, First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was ra ...

in June 1931 before retiring in June 1935. Burnett was colonel of the Gordon Highlanders from 1939 to 1948. He gave

Crathes Castle Crathes Castle (pronounced ) is a castle, built in the 16th century, near Banchory in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is in the historic county of Kincardineshire. This harled castle was built by the Burnetts of Leys and was owned by the family for ...

, which had served as the ancestral seat of the

Burnetts of Leys The House of Burnett (Burnett, Burnette, Burnard, Bernard) is a Scottish Lowlands, Lowland and Scottish Borders, Border Scottish family composed of several branches. The Chief of the Name and Arms of Burnett is James Comyn Amherst Burnett of Ley ...

, to the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...

in 1951.

Family

In 1913, Burnett married Sybil Crozier Smith; they had two sons and a daughter, Rohays, who was the mother of the racehorse trainer Sir Henry Cecil.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnett, James 1880 births 1953 deaths Nobility from Aberdeenshire Military personnel from Aberdeenshire People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Gordon Highlanders officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army major generals British Army generals of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia