General Sir John Irvine Murray, (31 July 1826 – 20 May 1902) was a Scottish commanding officer of the

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 ...

Career

Murray was the son of James Murray of

Denholm Denholm is a small village located between Jedburgh and Hawick in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland, UK. The estimated population of Denholm is 600. There is a village green in the centre. It lies in the valley of the River Teviot. Denho ...

and Margaret Irvine. He joined the British Indian Army in 1842, serving in the Punjabi campaign of 1848–49. During the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

, while a captain serving with the Gwalior Contingent, he raised and commanded the famed " Murray's Jat Lancers" (later known as the 14th Bengal Lancers). His regiment participated in a number of actions in 1857–58, especially at

Meerut Meerut (, ISO 15919, ISO: ''Mēraṭh'') is a city in the western region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located in the Meerut district, it is northeast of the national capital, New Delhi, and is ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

and

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

. Murray's Lancers subsequently served in the Bhutan Field Force and formed part of the cavalry brigade of the

Kabul Field Force The Kabul Field Force was a field force created in September 1879 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War, under the command of General Frederick Roberts. It combined British Army and British Indian Army regiments, and initially numbered around 7,500 ...

during the 1878–79 Afghanistan War. In the second Oudh campaign and the operations on the

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

frontier, he was in command of the regiment, and commanded a column in the final operations in Nepal. He was mentioned in despatches three times, and promoted to the brevet rank of major. For his services in the

Bhutan War The Duar War (or Anglo-Bhutanese War) was a war fought between British Raj, British India and Bhutan in 1864 to 1865. It has been the only military conflict between the two states since 1774. Background Across the nineteenth century, British ...

, 1864–65, he was appointed a Companion or the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(CB) in the

1873 Birthday Honours The 1873 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the Queen, and wer ...

. He retired after commanding the Lahore division and was knighted in the same order (KCB) in the

1897 Diamond Jubilee Honours The Diamond Jubilee Honours for the British Empire were announced on 22 June 1897 to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria on 20 June 1897. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and ar ...

Personal life

In 1854, he married Wilhelmina Stanley Malcolm, daughter of Duncan Archibald Malcolm and Caroline Charlotte Stanley. They had two sons and four daughters. Their eldest son, Lt. Archibald Ross Murray, served in the Afghan War but died of cholera in 1879 at Tret Punjab. Their daughter Agnes Meade Murray married Lt.-Gen. Sir

Charles Woollcombe Lieutenant General Sir Charles Louis Woollcombe (23 March 1857 – 6 May 1934) was a British Army General during World War I. Early life and education Woollcombe was born in Devon, the eldest son of Rev. Louis Woollcombe, Rector of Petrocksto ...

, and had two sons and a daughter. Agnes's younger son was killed in action in the First World War while serving with the

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers, Royal Highland Fusiliers ...

at the

Battle of La Bassée The Battle of La Bassée was fought by German and Franco-British forces in northern France in October 1914, during reciprocal attempts by the contending armies to envelop the northern flank of their opponent, which has been called the Race to th ...

. Their daughter, Brigadier Mary Stewart Murray of the

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

, was decorated for her work in the

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

and was awarded the

Mons Star The 1914 Star, colloquially known as the Mons Star, is a British First World War campaign medal for service in France or Belgium between 5 August and 22 November 1914. Institution The 1914 Star was authorised under Special Army Order no. 350 in ...

in 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 ...

. He died in 1902 and was buried on the western side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

References

1826 births 1902 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery British Indian Army generals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath {{BritishIndia-mil-stub