General Sir Robert Archibald Cassels, GCB, GCSI, DSO (15 March 1876 – 23 December 1959) was a British Indian Army officer. He was the father of Field Marshal Sir James Cassels.
Sir Robert Cassels | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 March 1876 Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India |
| Died | 23 December 1959 (aged 83) Battle, England, United Kingdom |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Indian Army |
| Years of service | 1896–1941 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands | Commander-in-Chief, India Northern Command, India Peshawar District 18th Indian Division 11th Indian Cavalry Brigade |
| Battles / wars | First World War Second World War |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Distinguished Service Order Officer of the Legion of Honour (France) |
| Relations | Field Marshal Sir James Cassels (son) |
Military career
editEducated at Sedbergh School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Cassels was commissioned into the Indian Staff Corps as a second lieutenant on 22 January 1896.[1] He received promotion to lieutenant on 22 April 1898,[2] to captain on 22 January 1905[3] and to major on 22 January 1914.[4] Whilst serving in India, Cassels made a single appearance in first-class cricket for the Europeans cricket team against the Parsees at Bombay in the 1902–03 Bombay Presidency Match.[5] Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed for 2 runs in the Europeans first innings by Ardeshir Mehta, whilst in their second innings he was dismissed without scoring by Maneksha Bulsara.[6]
He went on to serve in the First World War, receiving rapid and successive promotion to temporary lieutenant colonel on 19 January 1916,[7] brevet lieutenant colonel on 3 June 1916,[8] brevet colonel in June 1917,[8] and to temporary brigadier general on 6 August 1917.[9][10][11] In November 1917 he was appointed Commander of 11th Indian Cavalry Brigade and took his brigade on a great turning movement up the left bank of the River Tigris, outflanking the Turks and helping to bring the Mesopotamian Campaign to an end.[12] Following the war, he briefly commanded the 18th Indian Division while it was stationed in the Middle East.[13]
Cassels was promoted to major general on 1 January 1919[14] in the Cavalry in India when he was appointed Commander of Peshawar District.[11] He became Adjutant-General, India in 1928, and was promoted to lieutenant general on 14 April (back-dated to 1 May 1927).[15][16] He was promoted to general on 15 October 1929[17] and appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command, India in 1930.[11] He was next made Commander-in-Chief, India and a Member of the Executive Council of the Governor-General of India in 1935.[11] He continued in that post into the Second World War and retired in 1941.[11]
Honours
edit- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath – 3 June 1933[18] (KCB – 3 June 1927;[19] CB – c.1918)
- Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India – 11 July 1940[20] (CSI – c.1919)
- Distinguished Service Order – c.1919
- Officer of the Legion of Honour – 7 June 1919[21]
References
edit- ^ "No. 26873". The London Gazette. 16 July 1897. p. 3977.
- ^ "No. 26987". The London Gazette. 15 July 1898. p. 4276.
- ^ "No. 27778". The London Gazette. 24 March 1905. p. 2280.
- ^ "No. 28815". The London Gazette. 24 March 1914. p. 2546.
- ^ "First-Class Matches played by Robert Cassels". CricketArchive. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
- ^ "Europeans v Parsees, Bombay Presidency Match 1902/03". CricketArchive. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
- ^ "No. 29442". The London Gazette. 18 January 1916. p. 739.
- ^ a b "No. 30179". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 July 1917. p. 6976.
- ^ "No. 30271". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 September 1917. p. 9249.
- ^ "No. 30538". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 February 1918. p. 2340.
- ^ a b c d e Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ^ India's Commander-in-Chief The Age, 8 April 1935
- ^ Generals.dk
- ^ "No. 31210". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 March 1919. p. 2995.
- ^ "No. 33280". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 May 1928. p. 3605.
- ^ "No. 33542". The London Gazette. 11 October 1929. p. 6476.
- ^ "No. 33562". The London Gazette. 20 December 1929. p. 8298.
- ^ "No. 33946". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 June 1933. p. 3801.
- ^ "No. 33280". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 June 1927. p. 3605.
- ^ "No. 34893". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 July 1940. p. 4245.
- ^ "No. 31393". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 June 1919. p. 7397.
Bibliography
edit- Mead, Richard (2007). Churchill's Lions: a biographical guide to the key British generals of World War II. Stroud (UK): Spellmount. ISBN 978-1-86227-431-0.
- Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.