General Sir James Aylmer Lowthorpe Haldane, (17 November 1862 – 19 April 1950) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

soldier who rose to high rank in the

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 Gur ...

Early life

Born to physician Daniel Rutherford Haldane and his wife Charlotte Elizabeth née Lowthorpe, James Aylmer Lowthorpe Haldane came from a family of distinguished Scottish aristocrats based in Gleneagles. He was cousin to Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane, Secretary of State for War 1905–1912, instigator of the Haldane Reforms.

Military career

In September 1882, after attending the Edinburgh Academy and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Haldane was commissioned as a British officer of the Gordon Highlanders. On 18 February 1886, he was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

, and on 8 April 1892 to the rank of

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 ...

. Between 1894 and 1895, Haldane was part of the Waziristan Field Force and participated in the

Chitral Chitral ( khw, , lit=field, translit=ćhitrār; ur, , translit=ćitrāl) is situated on the Chitral River in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Chitral District and before that as the capital of Chitral ...

Expedition. He was dispatched to quell the Afridis rebellion in the Tirah campaign for the next two years (1897–1898), was appointed a Companion of 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 ...

(DSO) on 20 May 1898, and became aide-de-camp to General Sir William Lockhart,

Commander-in-Chief in India During the period of the Company rule in India and the British Raj, the Commander-in-Chief, India (often "Commander-in-Chief ''in'' or ''of'' India") was the supreme commander of the British Indian Army. The Commander-in-Chief and most of his ...

, later the same year. Haldane fought in the Second Boer War in South Africa, where he was taken a war prisoner. While imprisoned in Pretoria, he planned the escape which made Winston Churchill famous. Haldane failed to escape at the same time and later complained of Churchill's lack of regard for those who should have escaped with him. However, Haldane later managed his own escape. Haldane was appointed a staff captain in the Intelligence Section at the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from t ...

on 27 June 1901, promoted to major on 23 July 1902, and received the

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 ...

rank of lieutenant colonel on the following day. He was military attaché with the Imperial Japanese Army from July 1904 to September 1905 during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

, and accompanied Japanese forces into Manchuria. Following promotion to brevet

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 ...

, Haldane was appointed Companion of the Bath on 16 March 1906 and granted the rank of colonel on 29 October 1906. From 1906 to 1909, he served as assistant director of

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from ...

. On 1 October 1909, Haldane was promoted to temporary brigadier-general and in 1910 become commander of 10th Infantry Brigade. Aylmer Haldane Grave

Haldane fought in World War I initially as General Officer Commanding 3rd Division, then part of the British Expeditionary Force. He was given command of 6th Army Corps in France in 1916. After WWI, Haldane was appointed General Officer Commanding Mesopotamia in 1920 and remained in that post until 1922. He retired in 1925.

Death

Haldane died in his 88th year on 19 April 1950 at his home in London, his body was buried at

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regis ...

, in Surrey.

Honours and decorations

* Order of the Sacred Treasure, Japan, 1905.

Selected works

Haldane's published writings encompass 6 works in 8 publications in 1 language and 311 library holdings. * * * * *

Papers

*LIDDELL HART CENTRE FOR MILITARY ARCHIVES :''The papers of Lt Gen Sir Lawrence Worthington Parsons include letter from Haldane relating to 16 Irish Div 1916; the papers of Brig Sir James Edward Edmonds include 12 letters from Haldane 1905–1935'' (ref: Edmonds) *BRITISH LIBRARY, ORIENTAL AND INDIA OFFICE COLLECTIONS, LONDON :Copy of Haldane's official report, ''Battle of the Sha-Ho, Second Japanese Army, operations from the 5 September to the 19 October 1904'' (ref: 9057.de.2) *CHURCHILL ARCHIVES CENTRE, CHURCHILL COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY :The papers of Maj Gen Sir Edward Louis Spears include correspondence 1934–1938 (ref: SPRS 1/156) *IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM, LONDON :Diary as 10 Bde Commander, Shorncliffe 1912–1914; The papers of FM Sir Henry Hughes Wilson include correspondence with Haldane 1920–1921 (ref: HHW) *NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SCOTLAND, EDINBURGH :Collection of papers 1890–1950 (ref: MSS 20247-59); including letters and diaries; papers relating to his World War I service; papers relating to Mesopotamia 1920–1922

Notes and references

* *

External links

Haldane, James Aylmer Lowthorpe Sir 1862–1950
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haldane, Aylmer 1862 births 1950 deaths Scottish military personnel British Army generals of World War I British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British military personnel of the Chitral Expedition British military personnel of the Iraqi revolt of 1920 British military personnel of the Tirah campaign Burials at Brookwood Cemetery Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Gordon Highlanders officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Aymler Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Edinburgh Academy People of the Russo-Japanese War Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure British Army generals