General Gatacre Part 6

In spite of the misfortune recorded in Gatacre's own letter given below, he more than satisfied his General, who writes on June 11, 1909:

"I found him a remarkably clever, zealous, and efficient officer.

During the operations his horse fell, and injured his ankle so that he could neither ride nor walk, but that did not prevent him from thinking out and arranging all our plans; though disabled and in great pain, he would write till two in the morning, and all went well with the Division, which he accompanied carried on a stretcher, owing to his devotion."

Below is Gatacre's own account of it all:

HEADQUARTERS 2ND DIVISION, CAMP KRISTNARAJAHPUR,

_January_ 27, 1884.

"MY DEAR FATHER,

"I send you a short letter by this mail, but will write at length by next one, and tell you all about the manoeuvres. They are over now and have been most successful. I have enjoyed them thoroughly, though I have been most unfortunate. I told you one of my horses or charger ponies died of anthrax a few days before leaving Burma (I had just sold the brute for 600 rupees); and the other charger, which I had had for two years, and who {54} was a first-rate animal, died of colic the day after I arrived here. Fortunately for me a friend of mine was kicked off his horse a few days after coming here, and hurt a good deal, so he asked me to ride him, which I have done all through the fortnight's work. Though a very fine horse, he, like many walers, was very nervous and shy, and the last day of the manoeuvring he got nervous in jumping a nullah, and instead of jumping it he jumped into it, and rolled over me, giving me a regular flattening out; he has damaged my ankle and both my knees slightly, and I think it will be at least a month before I can do anything at all, though I am perfectly well in every way. The doctor says that the small bones of the foot are crushed, but that in a month I shall be all right. It was very annoying, just at the finish, wasn't it? Sir Frederick Roberts came to see me, and said he was very sorry about it; so did General Hardinge, the C.-in-C. in Bombay; he came and had a long talk in my tent, and told me all about John and his regiment. He thinks a great deal of John, and says his regiment is one of his best. Your luminous match-box has furnished lights for all these big people; it is always on my table; I shall scratch their names on the back of it. I wanted to see Sir Frederick Roberts about the command of the regiment; so I asked to see him in the usual way, and he sent word to say he would be glad to see me; so I got a litter and went across. He was most kind, said he knew all about it, that he would give his support, and that I need have no doubts on the matter. He asked me if I would like a staff appointment; I said I would, but that I wanted to command the regiment.

"At present the camp has all broken up; {55} my regiment goes to-morrow, and I go with it. I have not seen my own regiment since I came here scarcely; as they were in the 1st Division and I was A.Q.M.G.

of the 2nd Division."

[Sidenote: In command]

On June 24, 1884, Gatacre realised his immediate desire, and succeeded to the command of the 2nd Battalion Middles.e.x Regiment, as the old 77th had been renamed.

Although nothing occurred during his period of command to distinguish him from many another equally efficient officer, still a recapitulation of the qualities which remain in the minds of those who served under him will give us some idea of what he then was. I am mainly indebted for the material for the following sketch of Gatacre as a Commanding Officer to the kindness of Colonel N. W. Barnardiston, M.V.O., who writes in July 1909:

"I was adjutant at the time, and never before or since have I served under a better or more efficient battalion commander, nor have I come across one during my experience on the staff."

Gatacre was forty years old when he succeeded Colonel Colquhoun; he had served very little with the regiment, but the time spent on the staff had added to his professional value. While his acute perceptions and easy receptiveness had ripened his judgment on many points, his simplicity of character and natural integrity remained unimpaired. He had downright notions about right and wrong, but was influenced more by the spirit than by the letter of the {56} bond: he was very just, but never hard, always showing a lofty sympathy for those in trouble of any sort, and a tender consideration for their feelings. There was about him a curious balance of moral austerity and physical tenderheartedness; these apparently contradictory qualities both came into fuller play when in the field. He taught the regiment to work with the disinterested spirit that animated himself; to work for the work's sake: he insisted on every duty being done correctly and conscientiously and strictly according to regulations. He never shrank from the disagreeable duty of rebuke, where the interests of the service were at stake; but at the same time he never unduly worried his subordinates, or interfered with their province, and in no way pa.s.sed the frontier of his own department. If he wanted more work, he looked beyond and not below his own sphere of influence.

Even at this time Gatacre's willingness to accept responsibility and to undertake troublesome and unexpected tasks was remarkable. Where some men might raise objections and fear obstructions when asked, or even ordered, to get something done that was new or out of the common, he would welcome the call on his resources, and do his utmost, by enlisting the goodwill and co-operation of those about him, to carry the business through. Later on, one of his colleagues in Poona looked upon his trick of saying, "No difficulty about that," as evidence of a very valuable quality; and in {57} the Office in Bombay there was a joke that the word "impossible" was not allowed.

It was a sign of the lack of vanity in his composition that Gatacre took so long to find out that there was anything exceptional about himself, but it is now admitted on all sides that his capacity for work was far in excess of the average. According to Mr. G. W. Steevens in 1898, "his body was all steel wire." He was certainly lean and light; at sixty he discovered to his great satisfaction that his weight was the same, ten stone two, as it had been as a subaltern in Peshawur. In appearance also he changed very little, looking always about ten years younger than his age. His back was short in proportion to the length of his limbs, which gave the impression of a shorter man than he measured, but at the same time this was the secret of his graceful seat on a horse, and of his extraordinary walking powers. Like the good horses that he loved to bestride, Gatacre was fast and free, and had the staying powers of the thorough-bred animal; it was inevitable that such a one should be sometimes difficult to "follow," and that other men should occasionally feel that he called upon them for exertions that were beyond their powers.

His whole heart was in his profession; and with the material that was now under his hand he developed an apt.i.tude for the practical training of both officers and men. Acting on ideas suggested by the recent camp at Bangalore, {58} he initiated small field-days at Secunderabad, in which one major with one half-battalion was pitted against another with the remainder. This was before the days of staff-rides and annual camps of exercise, and was so much of a novelty that his adjutant writes that many of his officers "learnt more of the art of organising manoeuvres, drawing up schemes, and issuing orders than it was then possible to do at the Staff College." Moreover, to accompany Gatacre on a field-day was a lesson in horsemans.h.i.+p. He had two capital Arab ponies, and would often lend the spare one to his adjutant or galloper.

No obstacle stopped him, though sometimes these clever little animals were expected to move over the most impossible-looking country--craggy hills, big rocks and boulders, and the steep sides of deep nullahs. If really pounded, he would slip off and lead or drive his pony, until at the earliest moment he would be on its back again.

[Sidenote: 1885]

His gift for administration was further exercised in perfecting the regulations for the rapid turn-out of the Movable Column which had its base at Secunderabad: every little detail was most carefully thought out on the lines of a far larger mobilisation, and every man knew exactly where he had to go, and what he had to do, whenever he should hear the "Alarm."

If he was impatient of laziness or s.h.i.+rking, he was, on the other hand, generous in his appreciation of honest work. He made it a practice to help good men to get forward. There were at that time in India a large number of {59} extra-regimental appointments open to non-commissioned officers. The natural training-ground for such aspirants was in the orderly room, but few commanding officers cared to part with a man who had just become really competent in his particular job and valuable to themselves; with the result that the more promising and ambitious young fellows were unwilling to serve. But during Gatacre's reign the plan was reversed: if a good man, no matter what his duties were, or how difficult he would be to replace, applied for a suitable and desirable position outside the regiment, Gatacre would heartily support the application. Very soon there were plenty of keen young soldiers eager to qualify for billets which were the sure road to advancement. When as a General Officer he had the opportunity of pus.h.i.+ng forward promising young officers, he acted on the same principle; he was always ready to train, but never hesitated to let others reap the harvest that he had sown.

Thus in a hundred ways the Colonel built up a reputation for kindness, efficiency, originality, and power: and we are not surprised to read that "his period of command was a very happy one for the 77th."

In April 1885 the far-reaching consequences of the Russian scare made themselves felt at Secunderabad, where the following telegram was received:

"Warn for service the 2nd Middles.e.x Regiment and 24th Madras Native Infantry. Detail hereafter."

{60}

The excitement was intense. No officer was allowed to leave his bungalow for a walk without saying in which direction he was going. To Gatacre the idea of leading his regiment into action must have presented visions of endless opportunities, and those who knew him must always regret that he had no chance to display as a regimental officer that personal valour and forwardness under fire for which, as a General Officer, he has been subjected to so much criticism.

This state of expectant commotion lasted for six weeks, and then all hopes were quenched, for on May 26 official intimation reached the Commanding Officer that:

"War with Russia having been averted, the regiment need no longer hold itself in readiness for active service."

This was the second time that he had had to bury his disappointment, and again a third time was it to happen.

[Sidenote: D.Q.M.G.]

It was clear to all that before long there would be another Burmese War. The grievances of Europeans against King Theebaw had gone on acc.u.mulating: diplomatic efforts had entirely failed to secure attention or redress, the patience of the Foreign Office was at an end, and the Government of India was directed to prepare an expeditionary force to march on Mandalay, and thereby to teach King Theebaw that he could not afford to flout the British Government. This {61} mission was entrusted to General Prendergast. Gatacre volunteered to come down and help his former Chief in the embarkation of the troops at Madras for Rangoon. Having proved his value as a staff officer, and having heard of his previous journey to Mandalay, Prendergast was most anxious to take Gatacre with him; but all the posts had been filled, and to the General's "grievous disappointment and much to the disadvantage of the Government," the application to take him as Military Secretary or Special Transport Officer was refused, and Gatacre had to be content with the thanks of the Government of India for his services in the embarkation of troops which he was not permitted to accompany.[2]

[2] _Proceedings of Government_, No. 6502, November 17, 1885.

[Sidenote: Secunderabad]

In a later chapter we shall follow the fortunes of the Expedition, but for the moment all thought of Burma was swept out of Gatacre's mind by the prospect of serving on the Headquarters Staff of the army. On November 24, 1885, the following telegrams were exchanged:

"If agreeable to you, Sir Frederick proposes to recommend you to Government as Deputy Quarter-Master-General; you will have to join at once if Government approve."

To which this reply was sent:

"I gratefully accept His Excellency's offer; am ready to go anywhere."

On December 11 the following Farewell Order was issued:

{62}

"Lieutenant-Colonel Gatacre wishes the Battalion farewell.

"He thanks the officers, non-commissioned officers, and men for the way in which they have zealously and loyally carried out his orders during the short eighteen months he has had the honour of commanding them, and will always take the deepest interest in their welfare.

"He especially thanks his regimental staff, viz. Lieutenant and Adjutant N. W. Barnardiston, and Captain and Quarter-Master Hunt, for their good service as Adjutant and Quarter-Master respectively, and Lieutenant Savile and Lieutenant Burton, who have on many occasions officiated in their capacities.