Lieutenant-General Sir James Moncrieff Grierson, ADC (Gen.) (27 January 1859 – 17 August 1914) was a British soldier.

Life

He was born in 1859 the son of George Moncrieff Grierson and his wife Allison Lyon Walker. Grierson was commissioned into the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1877.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He served in the Egyptian War including the actions at Kassassin and

Tel el Kebir Tell El Kebir ( ar, التل الكبير lit."the great mound") is 110 km north-north-east of Cairo and 75 kilometres south of Port Said on the edge of the Egyptian desert at the altitude of 29 m. Administratively, it is a part of the Isma ...

, as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General with the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n contingent in 1882. He was Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General for the Sudan expedition and was involved in actions at

Suakin Suakin or Sawakin ( ar, سواكن, Sawákin, Beja: ''Oosook'') is a port city in northeastern Sudan, on the west coast of the Red Sea. It was formerly the region's chief port, but is now secondary to Port Sudan, about north. Suakin used to b ...

, Hasheen and

Tamai The Battle of Tamai (or Tamanieh) took place on 13 March 1884 between a British force under Sir Gerald Graham and a Mahdist Sudanese army led by Osman Digna. Despite his earlier victory at El Teb, Graham realised that Osman Digna's force was ...

in 1885. He was Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General for 2nd Brigade during the Hazara expedition in 1888. He was appointed Deputy Assistant Adjutant General, Intelligence, at Army Headquarters in 1890 and then became Brigade Major for the

at Aldershot from 1895 to 1896 when he became Military Attaché in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

acquiring what Sir John French later described as "an intimate knowledge of the German army." He served in China during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, and later the same year in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. Lt-Col Grierson was in charge of army baggage during Roberts’ march on Bloemfontein. After returning from the war he became Assistant Quartermaster General for the 2nd Army Corps and Chief Staff Officer to Sir Evelyn Wood, commanding the corps; and was promoted to the substantive rank of

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 o ...

on 28 October 1901. In early 1902 he was ordered for temporary duty in the Remount Department. Later that year he returned to his position in the 2nd Army corps, where he was appointed a Brigadier-General on the Staff and Chief Staff Officer of the corps from 4 September 1902. Grierson was appointed Director of Military Operations at Army Headquarters in 1904. As DMO, Grierson and his deputy Robertson organised the Strategic War Game of 1905, which persuaded them that British intervention (still expected to be deployed to Antwerp at this stage) was necessary to avoid French defeat in the event of a Franco-German war. Grierson acted as umpire for the wargame. In January 1906, as the First Moroccan Crisis continued, Grierson was tasked with drawing up detailed plans for deployment of an expeditionary force to Le Havre in the event of war. Grierson and Robertson began talks with the French General Staff and with the French military attaché Colonel Victor Huguet, and that same year Grierson, Robertson and Huguet toured the Charleroi to Namur area. However, little further progress was made until after Wilson became DMO in 1910. Grierson was then appointed General Officer Commanding, 1st Division at Aldershot Command in 1906 and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief for Eastern Command in 1912. In the Army Manoeuvres of 1912, he made full use of aircraft reconnaissance to decisively beat Douglas Haig, despite Haig having the odds in his favour. In the Army Manoeuvres of 1913, Grierson acted as Chief of the General Staff (CGS) for Sir John French. Douglas Haig noted in his diary, "Sir John French's instructions for moving along the front of his enemy (then halted on a fortified position) and subsequently attacking the latter's distant flank, were of such an unpractical nature that his Chief of the General Staff demurred. Some slight modifications in the orders were permitted, but Grierson ceased to be his CGS on mobilization, and was very soon transferred to another appointment in the BEF." Even before leaving the field of the manoeuvres (26 September 1913), French told Wilson that he was not satisfied with Grierson's performance. Murray was appointed chief of staff designate in his place. French himself described Grierson as a "dear old friend and comrade", ..who astonished French soldiers by his knowledge of the history of their regiments and whose "military acquirements were brilliant and in every respect up to date." Grierson was very overweight, and used to go red in the face from bending over, due to high blood pressure, and Edmonds later claimed that his staff were issued with penknives to bleed him if necessary. He died of an aneurism of the heart on a train, near Amiens at 7:00 a.m. on 17 August 1914. His replacement as commander of II Corps was Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien. Grierson spoke French fluently and was a personal friend of Haig, the commander of I Corps, so it is possible that relations over the next few days, both between the two British corps and with the French, might have been better had he lived. Grierson's body was repatriated, a practice allowed at that time, and is buried in the

Glasgow Necropolis The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's Cathedral). Fifty thousand individuals have been buried here. Typical for the period, only ...

in PRIMUS 38 with his sister, father and mother. These were full interments. The grave lies north of the path connecting the south-east corner of the upper plateau with the low-lying southern section.

Recognition

The Sir James Moncrieff Grierson Prize for languages was later established at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

Medals and Orders

British decorations * Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) - ''26 June 1902'' - Coronation Honours list *

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

, Commander (CVO) - ''1904'' (Member MVO 1890s) *

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as o ...

(KCB), ''1911'' (Companion (CB) ''29 November 1900'', in recognition of the services during operations in China) * Knight of Grace of The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem * Egypt Medal, 1882, clasps for "

" and "

1885" * India General Service Medal (1854), clasp for " Hazara 1888" * Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Medal * Queen's South Africa Medal, clasps for "Cape Colony", " Driefontein", "

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

", and "Diamond Hill" *

China War Medal (1900) The China War Medal 1900 was a British campaign medal approved on 1 January 1902 for issue to British and Indian land and sea troops who served during the Boxer Rebellion, between 10 June and 31 December 1900. The medal was issued in silver to ...

* King Edward VII Coronation Medal *

King George V Coronation Medal The King George V Coronation Medal was a commemorative medal instituted in 1911 to celebrate the coronation of King George V, that took place on 22 June 1911. Award It was the first British Royal commemorative medal to be awarded to people who w ...

* Aide de Camp General to the King Foreign decorations * 5th Class,

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 ...

, Ottoman Empire * Khedive's Star, Khedivate of Egypt - ''1882'' * 1st Class, Order of the Crown, Kingdom of Prussia - ''1901'' - on the termination of his appointment as Military Attaché at Berlin (he had previously received the 2nd class of the same order in late 1899, in connection with a visit of Emperor Wilhelm II to the United Kingdom.) *

Albert Order The Albert Order (german: link=no, Albrechts-Orden or Albrechtsorden) was created on 31 December 1850 by King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony to commemorate Albert III, Duke of Saxony (known as Albert the Bold). It was to be awarded to anyone w ...

Medal, Kingdom of Saxony - ''1911'' * Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Siam, Kingdom of Thailand - ''1911'' * King Rama VI's Coronation Medal, Kingdom of Thailand - ''1911''

Publications by Grierson

* ''Notes on the Turkish Army'' Simla 1882 (compiled for the Intelligence Branch, India) * ''A Vocabulary of the Arabic Language'' Roorkee 1882 * ''The War in Turkomania: Skobeleff's Campaign of 1880-81'' Translated from the Russian of Major-General N. I. Grodekov. Simla 1884-85 * ''The Armed Strength of Russia'' Two editions: London 1886 and 1892 (compiled for the Intelligence Branch, London) * ''The Armed Strength of Japan'' London 1886 (compiled for the Intelligence Branch, London) * ''The Armed Strength of the German Empire'' Two editions: London 1888 and 1892 (compiled for the Intelligence Branch, London) * ''Staff Duties in the Field: With Notes by Lieut.-General H. Brackenbury'' London 1891 * ''Handbook of the Military Forces of Russia'' London 1894 (compiled for the Intelligence Branch, London) * ''Umpiring at Field Manoeuvres as practised by various foreign armies'' (Aldershot Military Society Lectures, No. 51) Aldershot 1894 * ''Die Heere und Flotten der Gegenwart: II: Grossbritannien und Irland'' The British Army. Berlin 1897 * ''Records of the Scottish Volunteer Force, 1859–1908'' Edinburgh and London 1909 * Military Papers and Articles, Translations, Reviews contributed to military journals both British and foreign, and to the daily press.

References

External links