Alister Dallas

Major-General

Alister Dallas

CB CMG
Born10 June 1866
Kensington, London, England
Died2 February 1931 (aged 64)
Hambledon, Hampshire, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
BranchBritish Army
RankMajor-General
Commands32nd Infantry Brigade
53rd (Welsh) Division
ConflictsSecond Boer War
First World War
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of the White Eagle, 2nd Class (Serbia)

Major-General Alister Grant Dallas, CB, CMG (10 June 1866 – 2 February 1931) was a British Army officer.

Early military career

Born the son of Alexander Grant Dallas, JP, DL and Mabel Alice Brooke,[1] Dallas was commissioned into the 16th The Queen's Lancers as a lieutenant on 23 August 1886.[2]

He was promoted to captain on 7 March 1892, and in 1897 served in the campaign in the North West Frontier of India, first as orderly officer to Major-General Penn Symons, commanding 2nd brigade, Tochi Field Force, and then followed Symons as aide-de-camp when he commanded the 1st division in the Tirah campaign. During the latter, he was present at the capture of the Sampagha and Arhanga passes (October 1897), the reconnaissance of the Saran Sar, operations in the Waran an Mastura Valleys and forcing of the Sapri pass (November 1897). For his service in this expedition he was mentioned in despatches and received the India Medal with two clasps.[3]

Second Boer War

He served in the Second Boer War, where he was seconded for special service in South Africa[4] and was wounded during the conflict.[5] He was promoted from supernumerary captain to captain in October 1901[6] and to major the next month.[7]

Post-war years

After the war, and after transferring to the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) in October 1902,[8] he served from January 1905 onwards as a DAAG at the War Office, in succession to Colonel William Henry Birkbeck.[9] He then became commandant of the School of Musketry in South Africa in 1907.[1] He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in June 1907.[10] Towards the end of his assignment as commandant, he was promoted to colonel in July 1911.[11] He relinquished this appointment later that month and was then placed on half-pay.[12] In October, after coming off of half-pay, he succeeded Colonel Count Gleichen as a general staff officer, grade 1 (GSO1) at the War Office in London.[13]

First World War

In October 1914, a few weeks after the start of the First World War, Dallas became GSO1 (essentially chief of staff in most modern armies) to Lieutenant General Sir Henry Rawlinson, who had recently been assigned as general officer commanding of the newly formed IV Corps of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front.[14][15] Promoted in January 1915 to temporary brigadier general, and made a brigadier general, general staff of the corps, now the senior officer on the staff,[16] he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath the following month.[17] In his new role he helped in the planning for the major engagements in which IV Corps found itself involved in that year, most notably the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in March and the Battle of Aubers Ridge in May.[18]

Rawlinson made staff changes in August and Dallas, promoted once again to temporary brigadier general (having since reverted to his permanent rank of colonel) in September,[19] became commander of the 11th (Northern) Division's 32nd Infantry Brigade, which he led in the final stages of the Gallipoli campaign.[1]

After being evacuated from Gallipoli Peninsula in January 1916, Dallas was promoted to the temporary rank of major general in January 1916[20] and became GOC of the 53rd (Welsh) Division, a Territorial Force formation, at the time serving in Egypt after having been recently evacuated from Gallipoli. After having had his major general's rank made substantive in January 1917,[21] he was appointed to the Order of the White Eagle, 2nd Class by the King of Serbia in February.[22]

He saw action with his division at the First and Second Battles of Gaza, in which his division suffered significant losses, in March and April.[23] Aa a result, he handed over command of his division in April.[24]

Final years

He retired from the army in January 1922.[25]

He died in February 1931, at the age of 64.[26]

References

  1. ^ a b c Who was Who, 1929–1940 ISBN 0-7136-0171-X
  2. ^ "No. 25619". The London Gazette. 24 August 1886. p. 4130.
  3. ^ Hart′s Army list, 1901
  4. ^ "No. 27143". The London Gazette. 12 December 1899. p. 8328.
  5. ^ "The War - Casualties". The Times. No. 36102. London. 29 March 1900. p. 8.
  6. ^ "No. 27360". The London Gazette. 1 October 1901. p. 6397.
  7. ^ "No. 27380". The London Gazette. 26 November 1901. p. 8088.
  8. ^ "No. 27486". The London Gazette. 21 October 1902. p. 6651.
  9. ^ "No. 27765". The London Gazette. 17 February 1905. pp. 1203–1204.
  10. ^ "No. 28033". The London Gazette. 25 June 1907. p. 4347.
  11. ^ "No. 28517". The London Gazette. 28 July 1911. p. 5634.
  12. ^ "No. 28524". The London Gazette. 22 August 1911. p. 6227.
  13. ^ "No. 28541". The London Gazette. 13 October 1911. p. 7464.
  14. ^ "No. 28981". The London Gazette. 20 November 1914. p. 9540.
  15. ^ Atwood, Rodney (2018). General Lord Rawlinson: From Tragedy to Triumph. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 124. ISBN 978-1474246989.
  16. ^ "No. 29075". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 February 1915. p. 1710.
  17. ^ "No. 29074". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 February 1915. p. 1686.
  18. ^ James, E. A. (1990) [1924]. A Record of the Battles and Engagements of the British Armies in France and Flanders 1914–1918 (London Stamp Exchange ed.). Aldershot: Gale & Polden. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-948130-18-2.
  19. ^ "No. 29336". The London Gazette. 22 October 1915. p. 10388.
  20. ^ "No. 29459". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 February 1916. p. 1326.
  21. ^ "No. 29886". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1916. p. 15.
  22. ^ "No. 29945". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 February 1917. p. 1606.
  23. ^ Anglesey, Lord (1994). A History of the British Cavalry: Volume 5: 1914-1919 Egypt, Palestine and Syria. Pen and Sword. p. 77. ISBN 978-0850523959.
  24. ^ "Army Commands" (PDF). Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  25. ^ "No. 32588". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 January 1922. p. 711.
  26. ^ "We remember Alister Grant Dallas". Imperial war Museum. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alister_Dallas