My Army Life

by Lieut.-Gen. The Earl of Dundonald

Overview

This fascinating autobiography charts the military career of Lieut.-Gen. The Earl of Dundonald, a Victorian general of much renown as he himself writes:

“The MS. of these pages was written at various periods. It describes many matters in connection with my life in the Army from Cornet of Horse to Lieutenant-General, including my experiences in the Soudan War for the relief of Khartoum, and the South African War. It also contains a description of service in Canada, where as General Officer Commanding I was engaged in reorganizing the Militia; and it concludes with an account of experiment, observation and development in the utilization of smoke screens during the Great War 1914-1918.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781787203396
Publisher:	Normanby Press
Publication date:	01/23/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	338
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Lieutenant General Douglas Mackinnon Baillie Hamilton Cochrane, 12th Earl of Dundonald, KCB, KCVO (29 October 1852 - 12 April 1935), styled Lord Cochrane between 1860 and 1885, was a Scottish representative peer and a British Army general.

Cochrane was the second but eldest surviving son of Thomas Cochrane, 11th Earl of Dundonald, by Louisa Harriet Mackinnon, daughter of William Alexander Mackinnon. Thomas Cochrane, 1st Baron Cochrane of Cults, was his younger brother.

He was educated at Eton College and commissioned into the Life Guards in July 1870. He was promoted to lieutenant the following year and captain in 1878. He served in the Nile Expedition, the Desert March and the Relief of Khartoum in 1885.He was appointed Commanding Officer of 2nd Life Guards in 1895.

He served in the Second Boer War and in November 1899 he was appointed Commander of the Mounted Brigade, part of the South Natal Field Force. He took part in the Relief of Ladysmith in February 1900, although his South African troops, unimpressed by his leadership, referred to him as “Dundoodle”.

In April 1902, it was announced that Lord Dundonald would be appointed General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada, the senior military officer in Canada. He left Liverpool on 15 July, and arrived in Quebec the following month to take up his position. He served in Canada for two years.

He was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in December 1901, and in June 1907 knighted as a Knight Commander (KCVO) of the order.

He later served in the First World War as Chairman of the Admiralty Committee on Smoke Screens in 1915.

Lord Dundonald died at his home in Wimbledon in April 1935, aged 82, and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son, Thomas. He is buried in Achnaba Churchyard, Ardchattan near Benderloch, Lorne, Argyll & Bute. Dundonald Park, in Centretown, Ottawa, is named after him.