Brigadier-General Sir Terence Humphrey Keyes, (28 May 1877 – 26 February 1939) was a British officer in the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

and the

Indian Political Service The Indian Political Department, formerly part of the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India, was a government department in British India. The department looked after the diplomatic and "political" relations with the subs ...

.Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 28 February 1939

Early life and family

Keyes was born on 28 May 1877. He was the son of General Sir Charles Keyes, the younger brother of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Keyes and older brother of Commander Adrian Keyes, who served with distinction during the Gallipoli campaign. He was educated at

Haileybury College Haileybury is a co-educational public school (fee-charging boarding and day school for 11- to 18-year-olds) located in Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire. It is a member of the Rugby Group and enrols pupils at the 11+, 13+ and 16+ stages of edu ...

and as Queen's India Cadet at 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 ...

, from which he was commissioned second lieutenant in the Indian Army in January 1897.

Military career

Keyes served in the Tirah Expedition in 1897–1898, attached to the 2nd Battalion,

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 ...

, where he was slightly wounded in the hand by a splinter and hit by a spent bullet in the chest at the Battle of Chagru Kotal on 18 October 1897. 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 ...

for these operations, and promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in April 1899. In 1900 he served with troops helping to relieve the famine in the

Central Provinces The Central Provinces was a province of British India. It comprised British conquests from the Mughals and Marathas in central India, and covered parts of present-day Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra states. Nagpur was the primary ...

. In October 1904, he received his first political post when he was appointed

vice-consul 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 ...

Seistan Sistān (), also known as Sakastān (, , current name: Zabol) and Sijistan (), is a historical region in south-eastern Iran and extending across the borders of present-day south-western Afghanistan, and south-western Pakistan. Mostly correspon ...

and Kain in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. He was promoted

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 ...

in January 1906, and in February he became

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

in Turbat-i-Haidari and

Karez A qanāt () or kārīz () is a water supply system that was developed in ancient Iran for the purpose of transporting usable water to the surface from an aquifer or a well through an underground aqueduct. Originating approximately 3,000 years a ...

, also in Persia. He served in the Baluchistan Campaign in 1908 and in 1914 was appointed

political agent Political Agent or political agent may refer to: *Political Resident, a representative with consular duties and political contacts with local chiefs * Political officer (British Empire), an officer of the British imperial civil administration, also ...

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. Promoted

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 ...

in 1915, he served in the

Mesopotamian campaign The Mesopotamian campaign or Mesopotamian front () was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the British Empire, with troops from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain, Australia and the vast major ...

during 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 ...

. In 1916, he headed the Mekran Mission, for which he was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) Appoint ...

(CIE) in June 1917. In 1917 he was attached to the Russian army in Romania, was promoted temporary lieutenant-colonel in January 1918, and brevet lieutenant-colonel in June. For the next two years, he served on "special duty" in Russia during the

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

. He served in the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

in 1919–1920, serving as Brigadier-General

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

South Russia and Army of the Black Sea from December 1919 to June 1920, and being mentioned in despatches three times and appointed

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(CMG) in November 1919. From 1919 to 1920, he served as deputy high commissioner and acting high commissioner in South Russia. For his war service he also received several foreign orders: Officer of the

Order of the Crown of Romania The Order of the Crown of Romania is a chivalric order set up on 14 March 1881 by King Carol I of Romania to commemorate the establishment of the Kingdom of Romania. It was awarded as a state order until the end of the Romanian monarchy in 1947. ...

with Swords,

Order of St Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hon ...

1st Class,

Order of St Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Kingdom of Poland between 1765 a ...

1st Class, and

Order of St Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir () was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus'. Grades The order had four ...

with Swords 4th Class, all Russian. After the war he returned to India, serving in Baluchistan again from 1921 to 1928, for which he was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

(CSI) in 1928. He was promoted substantive lieutenant-colonel in January 1923. In 1928, he was appointed British envoy at the court of

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 ...

; from 1928 to 1929, he was

British resident A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of in ...

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

; in 1929, he was agent to the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

in the princely states of Western India; and from 1930 to 1933, he was resident in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

. A school in

Secunderabad Secunderabad () is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South ...

, the Keyes High School for Girls, was named after him, as he helped Dewan Padma Rao Mudaliar secure land to establish a permanent home for a school established by Venu Gopal Pillai that had six dispersed campuses. He retired from the army in May 1932 with the honorary rank of brigadier-general, and the following year returned to England to live at Freezeland Farm, near

Ninfield Ninfield is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is quite linear and centred 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Bexhill-on-Sea where two roads cross: the A269 from Bexhill to Battle and the ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. He was appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) Appoint ...

(KCIE) shortly before his retirement from the IPS in the

1933 New Year Honours The 1933 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were a ...

Personal and later life

He married Edith Beatrice M'Mahon, daughter of Lieutenant-General C. A. M'Mahon. They had three sons, Roger (who became a well-known

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

journalist), Patrick and Michael, and two daughters, Rosemary and Lavender. Keyes was a committed Christian and a supporter of the

Oxford Group The Oxford Group was a Christian organization founded by American Lutheran minister Frank Buchman in 1921, originally under the name First Century Christian Fellowship. Buchman believed that fear and selfishness were the root of all problems. ...

and its principles of "moral rearmament", as well as an active

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, serving as the Master of Lodge Ekram at St. John's Masocic Hall during his stay at

in 1931 He died in hospital in

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

on 26 February 1939 after a long illness.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keyes, Terence 1877 births 1939 deaths People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College British Indian Army generals Indian Political Service officers Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Companions of the Order of the Star of India Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Fellows of the Zoological Society of London Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British military personnel of the Tirah campaign Indian Army personnel of World War I British military personnel of the Russian Civil War Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Nepal British Christians Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England Officers of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class People from Wealden District British people in colonial India King's Own Scottish Borderers officers 19th-century British Army personnel Military personnel from East Sussex