Every week, we shall take a leaf from one such book and treat you to a little taste of history.
BOOK NAME: Khaki and Gown
AUTHOR: Field Marshal Lord Birdwood
PUBLISHER: Ward, Lock & Co., Limited
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 1942
The following excerpt has been taken from Page: 17 - 20
Early days of Field Marshal Lord Birdwood
“To begin at the very beginning: I was born at Kirkee, Poona, on the 13th September, 1865. My father, Herbert Birdwood, was at that time Under-Secretary to the Government of Bombay, Sir Bartle Frere then being Governor of that Presidency.
“It is in no mere spirit of concession to the canons of filial piety that I describe my father as the finest example of the English Christian gentleman that I have ever known. He was a real and steadfast believer in his faith, with never an unkind thought, word, or deed towards a fellow-being, and ever ready to help a lame dog over a style. When he left India after more than thirty years service in that country, he did so as one of the best-loved men that had ever served in the Bombay Presidency and Sind.
“My mother was Edith Impey; and she also came of a family whose roots went deep into the annals of British India, for she was the daughter of Surgeon-Major Elijah Halhed Impey of the Bombay Horse Artillery, whose forbears had long been connected with that country. Surgeon-Major Impey, at the time of my birth, was holding what would now seem an unusual position for a military medical officer — that of Postmaster-General of Bombay.
Waziristan
“During 1922, a proposal was being discussed that the Royal Air Force should take over the control of the North-West Frontier, thus enabling a considerable reduction of ground troops (and consequently of army expenditure) to be made. Air Marshal Sir John Salmond came up to Murree to discuss the subject with me. I knew the Frontier well and had the highest regard for the R.A.F., but I was convinced that, in dealing with Pathan tribesmen, the personal factor is all-important. The civil and military officers on the border must be able to keep in the closest possible touch with the tribes, and strong bodies of troops must ever be available to search out the hills and valleys of that difficult country, if a proper control over the tribesmen is to be maintained. It must be remembered, too, that on the Frontier many of the inhabitants are cave-dwellers, and that there are few targets of military importance for bombing. I doubted, and still doubt, the ability of the Royal Air Force to replace our ground troops in these duties, and I am glad to say that my views were accepted. But this does not mean to say that, as the years go by, the R.A.F, will not be able to play an increasingly valuable part in Frontier administration.
“Towards the end of 1922 it became necessary to engage in military operations in Waziristan. For some time past, the Waziris had been sorely trying the patience of the Government, and it was now decided that we must at last occupy their country, establishing headquarters at Razmak and driving good roads through that wild and mountainous territory. To carry this into effect, columns from the north under Hugh Herdon and from the south under Torquhil Matheson were to enter the country and converge on Razmak. The southern column was directed by Army Headquarters, the northern by myself, with headquarters at Dardoni. Matheson and Herdon met at Bannu, and with Pears and Cunningham, the Political Officers, went into plans. I then went up the Tochi with Herdon, and rode on with Cunningham over the Chinari and Dumdil kotals to Asad Khel on the Khaisora, where I found excellent work being done by Colonel Haswell, R.E., who had with him two companies of Sappers and Miners under Greenwood and Bryan Robertson and the 32nd and 34th Pioneers. Their working-parties were all in good fettle, and between them they built a good graded road over some 15 miles of difficult country.
“Escorted by a couple of armoured cars I pushed on up the Tochi to Datta Khel. Here the old fort, which I had last seen in 1911, had been destroyed by the tribes in 1919, and was now being rebuilt under the guardianship of the Scouts, commanded by Claud Erskine of the Guides. Erskine was a particularly fine officer, and I felt great confidence in him and his 1700 Tochi Scouts when I inspected them at Miran Shah.
“Razmak, which stands at 7200 feet, was occupied by Herdon without much difficulty, thanks to his admirable dispositions. In a snow-storm he led his column to a high ridge commanding Razmak-it was captured by the 3rd Queen Alexandra’s Own Gurkhas and known thenceforward as ‘Alexandra Ridge’ — and with the loss of this position the Waziris were unable to oppose the advance into Razmak itself. I myself went up there two days later, arriving in heavy snow to find a small tent pitched for me with the legend ‘Snow’d on!’ — a punning allusion to ‘Snowdon,’ the Commander-in-Chief’s residence in Simla. Towering above the camp was the great mountain of Shuidar, 12,000 feet high and covered with snow-laden pines. The troops were very fit and in great heart, despite the wind and cold. Herdon’s leadership had certainly been splendid, and he had successfully joined up with Matheson’s column from the south. It was grand to be on service with troops once more in the midst of that wild Frontier country, and I longed to stay on indefinitely. But that, of course, could not be. An Army Commander out of his proper place is nothing less than an unmitigated nuisance!
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