OBITUARY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 220, 17 August 1937, Page 7

OBITUARY.

LIEUT.-COLONEL CYRIL McNEILE

LONDON, Aug. 15. . The author Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril McNeile, widely known under the pseudonym of “Sapper,” is dead.

Lieut.- Colonel Cyril McNeile was a, son of the lato Captain Malcolm McNeile, R.N., and was born in 1888. Ho was educated at Cheltenham College and the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. . In 1907 he was posted to the Royal-Engineers, and in 1914 was promoted captain. Ho retired, with tho rank of lieutenant-colonel, in the first year after the war. Ho attracted notice during wartime for his spirited sketches and short stories of army life which appeared in various magazines ,and from these proceeded to tho writing of books. “Sergeant Michael Cassidy,” “Men, Women and Guns,” and “No Man’s Land, ’ established him, and then ho proceeded to tho creation of “Bulldog Drummond,” which book, published in 1920, led to fame of tire sort that, reaches sequels and the screen. He published also “The Man in Ratcatcher” (1921), “Jim Maitland” (1923), “’flic Final Count” (1926), etc. His name was the creation of Lord Northclilfe. he said, given to an anonymous article which lie sent to the Daily Mail. When lie was home on leave shortly afterward his wife, who was a daughter of Lieut.-Colonel Arthur Baird Douglas, of the Cameron Highlanders, said that she had seen an interesting article in the Daily Mail signed “Sapper,” and McNeile discovered that tho article was his own. Bulldog Drummond, he declared eerne years ago, was the result of a wager with a friend who declared that McNeile could not create a character, get him into dangerous situations in each chapter, and get him out again. Latterly Lieut. -Colonel McNeile lived in Switzerland, writing in the mornings and playing golf, cricket, or tennis in the afternoons.

LORD STRATHCARRON. LONDON, Aug. 15. The death has occurred of Lord Strathcarron. He collapsed while lunching at a restaurant.

Lord Strathcarron, formerly Sir lan Macphorson, was born in 1880. lie was a Privy Councillor from the last year of the Great 'War, and was created a baronet in 1933, and a baron in 1936. It was not long after he left, the university that he entered Parliament, and soon received recognition. Ilis first Parliamentary work was as private secretary to the Secretary of War, and later he became Under-Secre-tary of War, serving under Lord Kitchener and Mr Lloyd George during the wholo period of the Groat \Y ar. 1' roin 1918, for two years, be was Chief Secretary for Ireland ' and made history by introducing the last ’of the Home Rnfe Bills. During the turbulent days of the Irish revolution he was in considerable danger of assassination and a plot, to kidnap him was only frustrated at the last moment. But for the turn of political fortunes of the Jjberal Party Mr Macphcrson would probably have been a Governor of one of the Dominions. He was one of the Liberals to join the Government in 1931. Member of Parliament for Ross and Cromarty from 1911 to 1936 he was Recorder of Southend from 1931 onward, and also filled the position of Vice-President of the Army Conned, of which he was a member from 1916 to 1919. He was a Bencher of the Middle 1 einple, London. , , , ... He wrote several hooks: chief among them, perhaps, are his “Life at a Scottish University.” and his “Satire in Celtic History ” He was not the only member of his family to achieve fame. An eldei brother—now dead—after a distinguished career at the Bar, became a brilliant judge m India. A younger brother has played for Scotland on several occasions in international Rugbv. Each in turn has honourably upheld the high traditions of that parent stock from which all Macphcrsons spring the stock of Gilli Chattan Mor, Maomore ’of Moray, and father-in-law to the daughter of Lulacli, the last of a line of Scottish Kings.