| Sir James Grierson | |
|---|---|
Lt. Gen. Sir James Grierson |
|
| Born | 27 January 1859 |
| Died | 17 August 1914 (aged 55) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | British Army |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Unit | Second Boer War World War I |
| Commands held | 1st Division Eastern Command |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Commander of the Royal Victorian Order |
Lieutenant General Sir James Moncrieff Grierson KCB, CMG, CVO, ADC (27 January 1859 – 17 August 1914) was a British soldier.
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Grierson was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1877.[1]
He served in the Egyptian War including the actions at Kassassin and Tel el Kebir, as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General with the Indian contingent in 1882.[1] He was Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General for the Sudan expedition and was involved in actions at Suakin, Hasheen and Tamai in 1885.[1] He was Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General for 2nd Brigade during the Hazara expedition in 1888.[1] He was appointed Deputy Assistant Adjutant General, Intelligence, at Army Headquarters in 1890 and then became Brigade Major for the Royal Artillery at Aldershot from 1895 to 1896 when he became Military Attaché in Berlin.[1]
He served in the Second Boer War in 1900 and then became Assistant Quartermaster General for 2nd Army Corps in 1901.[1] He was appointed Director of Military Operations at Army Headquarters in 1904, General Officer Commanding, 1st Division at Aldershot Command in 1906 and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief for Eastern Command in 1912.[1]
In the Army Manoeuvres of 1912, he decisively beat Douglas Haig, despite Haig having the odds in his favour.
In the Army Manoeuvres of 1913, Grierson acted as Chief of the General Staff (CGS) for Sir John French. Douglas Haig noted in his diary, "Sir John French's instructions for moving along the front of his enemy (then halted on a fortified position) and subsequently attacking the latter's distant flank, were of such an unpractical nature that his Chief of the General Staff demurred. Some slight modifications in the orders were permitted, but Grierson ceased to be his CGS on mobilization, and was very soon transferred to another appointment in the BEF."[2]
Grierson died of an aneurism of the heart on a train, near Amiens at 7:00 a.m. on 17 August 1914. His replacement as commander of II Corps was Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien. Grierson's body was repatriated, a practice allowed at that time, and is buried in the Glasgow Necropolis in PRIMUS 38 with his sister, father and mother. These were full interments.
The Sir James Moncrieff Grierson prize for languages was later established at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Below is a family history of Sir James Moncrieff Grierson:
George Lyon of Garemount, Dumbartonshire, born 25 August 1793; died 21 February 1872; married at Falkland, 14 June 1825, Jane, daughter of Harry HOPE of Millfield, Fife, and had 9 children:
(issue 3) ALLISON LYON, born 12 February 1829; married, 31 March 1858, GEORGE MONCRIEFF GRIERSON, (Merchant), Glasgow, 2nd son of the (Reverend) JAMES GRIERSON, Doctor of Divinity, (Minister) of Errol, & his wife, MARGARET MONCRIEFF. George died 4 February 1896; issue (3) three sons and six daughters:
The Life of Sir James Moncrieff Grierson by D.S. Macdiarmid (London: Constable, 1923)
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Arthur Paget |
General Officer Commanding the 1st Division 1906 – 1910 |
Succeeded by Samuel Lomax |
| Preceded by Sir Arthur Paget |
GOC-in-C Eastern Command 1912–1914 |
Succeeded by Sir Charles Woollcombe |
| Preceded by New Post |
GOC II Corps August 1914 |
Succeeded by Horace Smith-Dorrien |