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 ...

Ian MacAlister Stewart, 13th Laird of Achnacone, (17 October 1895 – 14 March 1987) was a Scottish military officer who served in the

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 ...

during both the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

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 ...

s. Known for his eccentric training methods, he commanded the 2nd Battalion of the

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) is a light infantry company (military unit), company (designated as Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland) and was a line infantry regiment of the British Army tha ...

, which participated in the

Malayan campaign The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allies of World War II, Allied and Axis powers, Axis forces in British Malaya, Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the World War ...

and the

Battle of Singapore The fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of Japan captured the British stronghold of Singapore, with fighting lasting from 8 to 15 February 1942. S ...

during the Second World War.

Early life

Stewart was born on 17 October 1895, part of the Stewart family of Appin in

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area ...

shire. His place of birth, in Surore, Poona, India, was where his father, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Kenneth Stewart, 12th of Achnacone, was a medical officer in the

Poona Horse The Poona Horse is an armoured regiment in the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army. The regiment, known before independence as The Poona Horse (17th Queen Victoria's Own Cavalry), was raised as a regular cavalry regiment in the Bombay Presidency ...

before his parents returned to Scotland. Stewart attended Cheltenham College before going to 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 ...

, on a prize cadetship. He passed through Sandhurst in 1913 as the top student of his year, and the youngest.

First World War

Stewart was commissioned into the

in February 1914 and on 11 August of that year became the first British soldier to land on French soil and the first to be mentioned in a despatch. He served throughout 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 ...

and was highly decorated, earning the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

and

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

, and 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 ...

. At the end of the war, Stewart was a temporary

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. He became heir to Achnacone after his older brother, Captain Alexander D.L. Stewart, died in a motorcycle accident in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1919.

Between the wars

As with many army officers between the wars, Stewart was placed on half pay, but was restored to full pay as a captain on 3 June 1925. On 8 September 1931, Stewart was promoted to

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 ...

. Stewart's military career was dominated by his service with the Argylls, a regiment to which he was so wedded that when he was given command of the 2nd Battalion in the 1930s some of his brother officers did not even realise that he was married with a daughter. Stewart had married Ursula Morely-Fletcher in 1937 when he was 42 years old. He even refused a position at the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...

to remain with his battalion, thereby losing the only way to senior command.

Second World War

At the outbreak of the

Stewart was still in command of the 2nd Battalion of the Argylls. Stewart was one of the few British officers to realise the need for training in jungle warfare that would be necessary in order to defeat the Japanese in a war in Malaya. Due to this obsession with jungle training Stewart earned himself a reputation as a crank amongst the more traditional minded officers of

Malaya Command The Malaya Command was a formation of the British Army formed in the 1920s for the coordination of the defences of British Malaya, which comprised the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States and the Unfederated Malay States. It consi ...

. In early 1941, after his battalion had been transferred from India to Malaya, Stewart began rigorously training his men and developing new tactics to fight in all of the extreme and hostile natural terrain of Malaya. When the 2nd Argylls were thrown into the battle in early December 1941, the battalion was one of the few effective units the Japanese would face in their rapid advance down the peninsula, inflicting heavy casualties in every engagement. The Argylls' effectiveness meant that the battalion was continuously used as the buffer and suffered heavy casualties as a result. Stewart was temporarily given command of the

12th Indian Infantry Brigade The 12th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade at the outbreak of the Indian Army during World War II. It was sent to Singapore in August 1939 and took part in the Malayan Campaign before going into captivity with the Fall of Sing ...

after Brigadier Archibald Paris took over the 11th Indian Infantry Division in late December 1941. He was in command of this brigade during the disastrous

Battle of Slim River The Battle of Slim River occurred during the Malayan campaign in January 1942 between the Imperial Japanese Army and the British Indian Army on the west coast of Malaya. Background Japanese forces had invaded north-west Malaya from southern Th ...

, where the Argylls suffered their worst casualties. When the

Battle of Malaya The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the Second World War. It was dominated by land battles between ...

finally ended and the surviving Allied soldiers retreated across the causeway onto Singapore Island, Stewart and his

batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

, Drummer Hardy, were the last to cross.

Plymouth Argylls

Stewart was soon returned to his beloved Argylls in Singapore after they had been decimated in the fighting on the mainland. The 250 surviving Argylls were reformed with 210

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

, survivors from the sinking of and , becoming known as the Plymouth Argylls. Stewart had six days to train the new composite battalion before it was put into action on Singapore Island itself. The Plymouth Argylls suffered heavy casualties during the brief

. Stewart was evacuated unwillingly from Singapore before its surrender due to the need for experienced officers and men who had proven ability to fight the Japanese Army, an ability rare in the British Army at this time. By the time of the surrender on 15 February, the Plymouth Argylls were reduced to 40 officers and men. What was left of the Plymouth Argyll Battalion, under the command of three captains, were marched into captivity behind their piper. According to some witnesses hundreds of other British Empire soldiers stood to attention as they marched past. Only 52 Argylls managed to escape before Singapore surrendered and make it to

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. Many others were killed or captured when the ships they were escaping on were sunk by Japanese surface and air attack.

Later commands

On 23 January 1942, Stewart was 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 ...

for his services in the South West Pacific area. He was initially employed as a General Staff Officer Grade 1 in India, lecturing on his experiences in Malaya. Officers with jungle warfare experience who had actually fought the Japanese and seen their tactics in action were in high demand by the army command in India. Of the officers to have escaped from Singapore, Stewart was one of the most experienced. He became the Chief Instructor at the School of Infantry as a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

, and later Brigadier General Staff (Training) with 11th Army Group in India. Of Stewart, Field Marshal

Archibald Wavell Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, (5 May 1883 – 24 May 1950) was a senior officer of the British Army. He served in the Second Boer War, the Bazar Valley Campaign and the First World War, during which he was wounded ...

wrote: Stewart's report, written after his arrival in India, and his knowledge along with that of the other officers and men who escaped from Singapore, had a direct effect on the training and tactics that would be used by the British and Commonwealth Armies in fighting the Japanese throughout the rest of the war. Stewart returned to the United Kingdom in early 1945, being given command of the 144th Infantry Brigade on 19 March. He spent a period of time as the District Commander for Stirling, the home of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.source London Gazette

Retirement

Stewart retired from the army on 13 April 1947 at the age of 52, a short time after the death of his father. Stewart was a substantive colonel on retirement but was awarded the honorary rank of

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 ...

. Stewart wrote the book ''The Thin Red Line, 2nd Argylls in Malaya'' (Thomas Nelson, 1947), which was reprinted by the Argyll and Sutherland Regimental Museum. He became well known in the Scottish farming community, and became President of the National Farmers Union of Scotland. Stewart died on 14 March 1987 at the age of 91. His funeral was well attended, with Major Eric Moss as the piper (Moss was

Pipe Major The pipe major is the leading musician of a pipe band, whether military or civilian. Like the appointment of drum major, the position is derived from British Army traditions. During the early twentieth century, the term sergeant piper was used ...

of Stewart's 2nd Argylls in Malaya). The address was given by Lord Maclean of Duart.Daily Telegraph Magazine, 2 August 2014, 60.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

*
Appin StewartsPlymouth Argylls

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Ian Macalister 1895 births 1987 deaths Anglo-Scots Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders officers British Army personnel of World War I British Army brigadiers of World War II Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Military of Singapore under British rule Officers of the Order of the British Empire Military personnel from Argyll and Bute Recipients of the Military Cross Military personnel of British India Military personnel from Pune