Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Francis Herman Barclay Ingall, (24 October 1908 – 21 August 1998) was a

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

officer. He was the founding commandant of the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) is a military academy located nearby Kakul village in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Established in October 1947, it is the only service academy in Pakistan that trains cadets to serve as army of ...

. Francis Ingall was born on 24 October 1908 in

Oxted Oxted is a town and civil parish in the Tandridge District, Tandridge district of Surrey, England. It is at the foot of the North Downs, south-east of Croydon, west of Sevenoaks, and north of East Grinstead. Oxted is a commuter town and Ox ...

, Surrey, and was educated at

Hurstpierpoint Hurstpierpoint is a village in the Mid Sussex district, in the county of West Sussex, England, southwest of Burgess Hill, and west of Hassocks railway station. It sits in the civil parish of Hurstpierpoint and Sayers Common which has an ...

. In 1927, he joined the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant onto the Unattached List of the

on 31 January 1929. After arriving in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, he was attached to the 2nd battalion of the

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

on 23 March 1929. On 23 April 1930 he transferred to the Indian Army and joined the 6th Lancers, which had descended from regiments of

Bengal Lancers Bengal Lancers may refer to numerous regiments of the British Indian Army, many continuing in the Indian Army. Individual units * 1st Bengal Lancers * 2nd Bengal Lancers * 4th Bengal Lancers * 6th Bengal Lancers * 7th Lancers * 8th Lancers * 1 ...

of the

Bengal Army The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Gover ...

. Ingall saw action in the

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ) was a province of British India from 1901 to 1947, of the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, and of the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 1970 to 2010. It was established on 9 November ...

during 1930–31. He transferred to the Army Remount Department, India on 21 September 1934 and was appointed permanently in early 1938, serving as the Assistant Remount Officer, Sargoda Remount Depot (1934–36). Later he served Shahpur Area (1937–38) and Shahpur Remount Depot (1939–40). During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Ingall was the commandant of the Indian Armoured Corps Officer Training School at Ahmednagar in India. He later rejoined the 6th Lancers and participated in the Italian campaign. He was the second in command and in 1945 temporarily commanded 6th Lancers. During the Italian Campaign, he was

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

and awarded 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 1947, Ingall became the founder

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

of the Pakistan Military Academy and continued to remain so till 1951. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

by the

British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

for his vital service to Pakistan by founding

. He officially retired from the British Indian Army a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on 1 January 1949, but remained on the Special List (Ex-Indian Army) British Army while employed with Pakistan Armed Forces. He ceased to be employed with Pakistan Armed Forces on 18 April 1951 and was appointed honorary

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

on the same date.London Gazette 1 April 1952 Later he migrated to the United States. In 1982, he was appointed the Honorary

Consul General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, United States. His autobiography ''The Last of the Bengal Lancers'' was published in 1988. He died on 21 August 1998.

References

Notes

Obituary
* Indian Army List (various dates) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ingall, Francis 1908 births 1998 deaths Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Officers of the Order of the British Empire British Indian Army officers Indian Army personnel of World War II English emigrants to the United States People from Oxted English expatriates in Pakistan