"LUCKY HAIG!"

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2801, 20 June 1916, Page 7

"LUCKY HAIG!"

"Lucky Haig" tliey call the British Commander-in-Chief. Still, it is not by luck alone that General Sir Douglas Haig has "won through," but by sheer merit and hard "slogging." "The energy and vigour with which Sir Douglas Haig handled his command show him to be a leader of grent ability and power"— thus wrote tho former Commander-in-Chief in one of his dispatches. Since the beginning of hostilities Sir Douglas has proved liimself ,tho otrong man of tho war, as witness his stern fights at the Aisne, bis .defensive in the haige struggle for Ypres, his important, victory -. at Neuve Chapelle.

In war, as in love, he has proved himself a man of prompt action. He had wedded tho beautiful daughter of the third Lord Viviqjn a fortnight after first setting eyes upon her, and had the almost unique distinction of being married from Buckingham Palace; he rose from captain to major-general in tho astonishing short space of flight yeurs; he has .now risen .from general of an army corps to ' supreme command of tho British forces in the field—in a period of about eighteen months! . Sir Douglas is a Scotsman—a. great leader from a raco that breeds strong leaders. Born in June, 1861, Sir Douglas entered tho 7th Hussars-at tho age .of twenty-four. If the medical examiners of that day had had their, way Haig would not be leading Britain's soldiers to-day, for lie was "turned down" for colour blindness !

Refusing to submit to rejection, young Haig consulted many oculists, urged and argued with tho military authorities, and at last appealed personally to the Duke of Cambridge, who gave a special order for his admittance to tho Staff College. "Haig's way," it would seem, won through even then! Soon tho young officer, by his outstanding merit, became one of that chosen band known as "Kitchener's men," and served with "K. of K." at Atbara, Khartum, and in South Africa.

"Ilaig never misses a.• chance, does he?" a staff officer said one day to Lord Kitchener. "No," was the dry response, "not half a chance!'' High praise from "K. of K." Always having a great personal interest in his men, often in South Africa' Sir Douglas would walk Tound the camps, talk with his soldiers, aud carefully examine their food and accommodation. During oao of these unofficial inspections he heard a non-com's, voice, raised in anger, issue from a tent. "Look you 'ere, me lad!" shouted the irate non-com., "it's lucky for you that I ain't sure'ow to spell 'insubordination,' ur I'd report you to Colonel 'Aig! And '.dig'a a'oiy terror when 'o likes,'Aig is!" But " 'ofy terror" or not, scarce a man in the British Army but would willingly lay down his life for Sir Douglas if need be; They revere him as a leader, they admire him as a. man, for they know his pluck. They know how he rode alone into the desert to within a few hundred paces of about 51)00 maniac Dervishes in order,to' reconnoitre; they know how he ontera tho firing lines in France and chats .jvith them, careless of his own danger; they| remember those moments of horror ono day, a few months back, when two Gorman shells fell, one after the other, plump on top of a haystack train which Sir Douglas was making observations, and they will not blush— those who were there—to tell yet how they thanked ■ God that neither shell exploded. . "It was ,-v fearful moment. Had either shell burst the general must have been blown to pieces," said an eye-witness.