Aylmer Haldane

Sir Aylmer Haldane

c. 1900
Born 17 November 1862
Gleneagles, Scotland
Died 19 April 1950
London, United Kingdom
Buried Brookwood Cemetery
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service 1882–1925
Rank General
Commands held 10th Infantry Brigade
3rd Division
6th Army Corps
Battles/wars Second Boer War
World War I
Awards Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order

General Sir James Aylmer Lowthorpe Haldane, GCMG, KCB, DSO (17 November 1862 – 19 April 1950)[1] was a senior British Army officer with a long and distinguished career.

Early life

Born to physician Daniel Rutherford Haldane and his wife Charlotte Elizabeth née Lowthorpe, James Aylmer Lowthorpe Haldane came from a family of distinguished Scottish aristocrats based in Gleneagles. He was cousin to Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane, Secretary of State for War 1905-1912, instigator of the Haldane Reforms.

Military career

In September 1882, after attending the Edinburgh Academy and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst,[2] Haldane was commissioned as a British officer of the Gordon Highlanders.[3] On 18 February 1886, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and on 8 April 1892 to the rank of captain.[4]

Between 1894 and 1895, Haldane was part of the Waziristan Field Force and participated in the Chitral Expedition.[3] He was dispatched to quell the Afridis rebellion in the Tirah campaign for the next two years (1897–1898),[3] was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 20 May 1898,[5] and became aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-Chief East Indies later the same year. Haldane fought in the Second Boer War in South Africa,[3] where he was taken a war prisoner. While imprisoned in Pretoria, he planned the escape which made Winston Churchill famous. Haldane failed to escape at the same time and later complained of Churchill's lack of regard for those who should have escaped with him. However, Haldane later managed his own escape.[6]

Haldane was appointed a staff captain in the Intelligence Section at the War Office on 27 June 1901,[7] promoted to major on 23 July 1902,[7] and received the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel on the following day.[8][9] He was military attaché with the Imperial Japanese Army from July 1904 to September 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War, and accompanied Japanese forces into Manchuria.[2]

Promoted to brevet colonel, Haldane was appointed a CB on 16 March 1906,[10] receiving confirmation as a substantive colonel in November.[11] From 1906 to 1909, he served as assistant director of military intelligence.[2] On 1 October 1909, Haldane was promoted to temporary brigadier-general[12] and in 1910 become commander of 10th Infantry Brigade.[3]

Aylmer Haldane's grave in Brookwood Cemetery

Haldane fought in World War I initially as General Officer Commanding 3rd Division, then part of the British Expeditionary Force.[3] He was given command of 6th Army Corps in France in 1916.[3]

After the end of the war, Haldane was appointed General Officer Commanding Mesopotamia 1920 remaining in that post until 1922; he retired in 1925.[3]

Later life and death

Haldane died on 19 April 1950, at his home in London and was buried at Brookwood Cemetery.[1]

Honours and decorations

Selected works

Haldane's published writings encompass 6 works in 8 publications in 1 language and 311 library holdings.[13]

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Papers

The papers of Lt Gen Sir Lawrence Worthington Parsons include letter from Haldane relating to 16 Irish Div 1916; the papers of Brig Sir James Edward Edmonds include 12 letters from Haldane 1905–1935 (ref: Edmonds)
Copy of Haldane's official report, Battle of the Sha-Ho, Second Japanese Army, operations from the 5 September to the 19 October 1904 (ref: 9057.de.2)
The papers of Maj Gen Sir Edward Louis Spears include correspondence 1934–1938 (ref: SPRS 1/156)
Diary as 10 Bde Commander, Shorncliffe 1912–1914; The papers of FM Sir Henry Hughes Wilson include correspondence with Haldane 1920–1921 (ref: HHW)
Collection of papers 1890–1950 (ref: MSS 20247-59); including letters and diaries; papers relating to his World War I service; papers relating to Mesopotamia 1920–1922

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Andy Simpson, ‘Haldane, Sir (James) Aylmer Lowthorpe (1862–1950)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn, Oxford University Press, Oct 2008; online edn, May 2009 accessed 3 May 2010
  2. 1 2 3 Kowner, Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War, p. 139-140.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives". Kcl.ac.uk. 19 October 1904.
  4. ↑ Hart´s Army list, 1903
  5. ↑ "No. 26968". The London Gazette. 20 May 1898. p. 3166.
  6. ↑ Haldane, Aylmer (1901). How We Escaped from Pretoria. Wm Blackwood and Sons.
  7. 1 2 "No. 27456". The London Gazette. 22 July 1902. p. 4673.
  8. ↑ "No. 27456". The London Gazette. 22 July 1902. p. 4674.
  9. ↑ "No. 27472". The London Gazette. 9 September 1902. p. 5814.
  10. ↑ "No. 27895". The London Gazette. 16 March 1906. p. 1881.
  11. ↑ "No. 27964". The London Gazette. 6 November 1906. p. 7480.
  12. ↑ "No. 28295". The London Gazette. 8 October 1909. p. 7430.
  13. ↑ WorldCat Identities Archived 30 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine.: Haldane, James Aylmer Lowthorpe Sir 1862–1950

References

Military offices
Preceded by
Colin Mackenzie		 General Officer Commanding the 3rd Division
1914–1916 		Succeeded by
Cyril Deverell
Preceded by
John Keir		 General Officer Commanding the VI Corps
1916–1919 		Succeeded by
Post Disbanded
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