SOME FAMOUS RANKERS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 59, 24 May 1907, Page 4

SOME FAMOUS RANKERS.

The interes-ling announcement that thr War Oliice Commiitye which ir, considering tiu; deficiency in the limber of oilicers iu the Hriiish Army contemplates additions to the number of meu who are given commissions from the ranks draws attention to the notable military service tha has be;»n achieved bv the "ranker.-.'' And this, perhaps, is not at all surprising, since it is generally recognised that th 1 n;>n-eoi:iinis-sioiicd ollicer is the backbone of the Army and that ill many cases he is a highiv eilicieiit and seientilic soldier.

Until the abolition of the "purchase system" there were no commissions for the rank and Jile in the British Army; but the French Revolution had already proved, among many other things, that military genius is no: necessarily the monopoly of either 'birth or money. Napoleon conquered Europe with an army led by men most of whom were in every .-ense the ".sous of the peopl<\'

l>erna\iotte, who was afterward* to become King of Norway ;; ; nd Swvden. an,l whose descendant* now sits on the Swedish throne, w is-, a vrgeant when the Revolution broke out in 1731).

Jourdian serv.d, as n private with Yayette in America; Klelur was Iho •on of a nn'son; Valines, perhaps the inoM a<voinp!i.sh.'d of Napoleon's mar*!uis. and the hero of Jena, was originally apprenticed to a dyer; ,; the favorite child of victory," w v; the son of a vine-presser; Murat. afterwards King of Naples, had a laborer for a father; and the great Marsh.U Ney was the son of a cooper. There are many generals in the .American Army who have risen from the ranks.

Although the British Army can show no such wondrous list as this, it i; not without many examples of the succeccful ranker.

The most famous example of a great soldier risen from the ranks is that of the late Major-General Sir Hector Archibald Macdonald, K.O.R, D.S.O. "Maedonald served close upon ten years in Ihe ranks before receiving his lieutenancy. lie was offered, and accepted, a commission in lieu of the Victoria Cross, which he had earned for conspicuous bravery. The services of this brilliant soldier, who was a. typical "Tommy Atkins'' at the beginning of his career, were among the most heroic in the annate of the British Army.

The only two V.O. men who rose from the rank of private soldier to that of major-general were Major-General "Yuke'' O'Connor and the late William M'Bean, 03rd Highlanders. M'Bean, gained his cross at the storming of Luckivow. (WObnnor., who is now in his 70th year, won his cross on the heights of Alma, Queen Victoria, gave him the trophy in Hyde Park, and he is now the sole survivor of tlie rank and file who were decorated on that occasion.

General O'Connor's story of the feat of gallantry which won him the V.C. is a thrilling one. As he and his comrades dashed up the heights the fire was so awful that seven oilicers were shot dead at O'Connor's side.

"At that moment," lie says. "I was knocked over tiy a bullet striking me in the breast n.ud breaking two of my ribs. I was helped on my legs, and J then snatched up the flag, rushed to the earth-work, and planted it on the par; pet. ' The silk standard was riddled with shot, but the redoubt itself sheltered my body. I did this to rally and encourage the men,, the line being Br ken and the regiments mixed p in confusion, for tlie loss of life was great In the Crimean campaign the galliu general received the Sardinian. Ol'ih for having served longer in the trenches til 1)1 any other officer in his regiment. In the Indian Mutiny he was present at the relief and capture of Lucknow and many other historic affairs.

Lieut.-Coloncl John Stackpole wf mitde a subaltern in the Gordon HJgl landers after eight years' service in the ranks. He superintended a great part of the embarkation of troops to tf front in the Boer War, after a distinguished career in the Highlanders, Leicester?, and Welsh Fusiliers. Colonel John Gratten, whose rose from the ranks of the commissariat, was such an able administrator that be practically laid the reorganisation of the transport and supply service in the British Army bv advice which lie gave to General Sir Evelyn "Wood—advice which was afterwards carried out by Generals Wood and Bnller. Lieutenant W. Robertson. V.C., of the Gordon Highlanders, a fine type of the Scots soldier, was promoted from the ranks. Tie was awarded the Victoria Cross for conspicuous gi.llantrv at Elandslaagte. When the 80-r position in that battle was captured to the cry of "Remember Majuba!" Lieutenant Robertson, then Sergt.-Major, stormed and captured the Boer laiger with a small body of men. n.nd heid it against odds until reinforced, dust as he was assisting an officer who was wounded 1 by trusting the while flag, Robertson was danperouslv wounded in tivo places.

Lieut.-Oolonci A. J. Arnold, D.S.O. Promoted after seven years in the ranks

Lieut.-Coloncl R. Egerton, of the Colonial Forces in Jamaica, was two tioncd in despatches. • Lieut.-Colonel O. IT. C. Hamilton, commands the 14th Hussars after being five years in the ranks Took part in the relief of Lndysmith, and was mentioned in detapsches. Nearly a score of majors now on the active list lia.ve been "rankers," some of them having served as long as ten. thirteen, and even nineteen years before {promotion. Many • uon (commissioned officers, too were gazetted to commissioned rank for distinguished conduct in the South African war.

It will be seen, therefore, that commissions, and even high rank, are bv no means denied to the rank and file of the British Army. Indeed, their prospects in that respect are continually improving; while, on the other hand, a mail from the main deck of a warship has practically no opportunity at all of att ,inin» commissioned rank, and he has no more chance of becoming an admiral than of becoming a king