DEATH OF A GREAT GENERAL

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1755, 22 November 1917, Page 1

DEATH OF A GREAT GENERAL

SIR STANLEY MAUDE. ' London, Nov. 19. General Sir Stanley Maude, commanding in Mesopotamia, is dead. v . “MILDEST-MANNERED MAN.” LOVES FIGHTING WITH HIS WHOLE SOUL. “He is the mildest-mannered man who ever loved fighting with his whole soul. He is, like ‘Sergeant Cassidy, V.C.,’ a man of marvellous audacity, who nevertheless looks as though he would not hurt a fly. He is a tall, handsome man, whom you would notice in any company, though he is the last man to elbow himself to the front. “His manner is sauve and gentle —I should not describe him as unassuming, for that would give an incorrect impression—but lie is not one of the ‘pushful’ kind—until there is a chance of a fight. When he sees the chance of a light he jumps at it. He does not go baldheaded —he possesses the quality which makes the difference between a man of tremendous audacity and a gambler —he makes careful preparation beforehand, but when the fighting chance comes he takes it for all he is worth. - “He is the kind of general who is ready to risk, not merely his life, but his reputation, for the good of his country.” In these words a friend of Lieu-tenant-General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude, lately described the victor of Kut and Bagdad. “The difference between Maude and many other generals,” he added, “is that Maude has a real liking for fighting. Fighting is a soldier’s business, but of the generals you see Avalking about I should say, speaking with moderation, that one out of ten positively loves fighting. The other nine may be fond of drill, or regulations, or administration, or various other kinds of army routine, but when they find themselves faced with a fight, or an unknown bit of country held by an unknown number of enemy troops, neither love of administration nor anything else will replace the need for an inborn love of fighting. “The man who has not this inborn love of fighting will find the most admirable reasons for putting off the engagement, and when he has put off the engagement his chance is gone. “Maude is one of those rare generals who have this inborn love of fighting, and that is the reason he has come to the front, and has 'swept victoriously into Bagdad. He went out to France as a colonel, but his fighting qualities soon made him as man marked for promotion. He took part in the fighting in Flanders in General Pulteney’s 3rd army, and fought for a long time in the neighbourhood of Hill CO. In May, 1915, three divisions were sent out to reinforce Sir lan Hamilton at Gallipoli. Within a short while the three generals commanding them disappeared —General Shaws fell sick within about a fortnight, and Maude was sent out to take his place. When he left Gallipoli it was with the reputation of being one of the ablest generals who set foot on the peninsula. The extraordinarily difficult nature of the task gave his fighting proclivities full play. He could not bear sitting still, and whenever a lull came he would be the first to exclaim, ‘When are we going to have a dash?’ “He looked forward eagerly to the arrival of enough troops to drive the Turks out of the Peninsula, and to the last minute he was anxious to have another go at the Turks rather than leave the place. “Lord Kitchener’s visit to France led, hoAvever, to the decision to make the attack at Loos, and the reinforcements which, in the opinion of some who were at Gallipoli, would probably have won the Peninsula, Avere not sent out, and ultimately, on General Sir Charles Munro’s advice, Gallipoli Avas evacuated. Maude Avas, I believe, to the end against evacuation, and to the last day hoped that there would be another fight with the Turks. “His success in Mesopotaniia Avas expected by those who knoAV the Mud of man he is. He made ready, and then he 'Avent full rip with, his soul full of the love of the fight.” Sir Stanley Maude inherits the pluck of his father, the late General Sir F, Maude, G.C.8., Y.C. He has spent nearly 33 years in the Army, having entered in 1884. In 1915, a feAV mouths after going to France, he AA r as on the staff of the 3rd Army, after commanding the 14th Infantry Brigade, and in 1915 he Avas made a major-general. From Gallipoli he took hie 13th Division to Egypt, and from Egypt he went to Mesopotamia,, AA’here he

succeeded to the command last summer. Sir Stanley Maude’s home is at Watford. Lady Maude is a daughter of the late Colonel the Right Hon. Thomas Taylor, of Ardgillan Castle, Co. Dublin. The general and his wife have one son and two daughters.