James Walter Sandilands

Major-General James Walter Sandilands CB CMG DSO (1874–1959) was a senior British Army officer who served as Commander of British Troops in South China.

James Walter Sandilands
Born1874
Hampstead,[1] London, England
Died (aged 85)
Surrey,[2] England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1895−1933
RankMajor-general
Unit
Commands held35th Brigade
Commander of British Troops in South China
Battles/wars
Awards

Military career

Sandilands joined the Militia as he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Manchester Regiment on 14 April 1895.[3] He was later promoted to lieutenant in a militia battalion of the Gordon Highlanders. He transferred to the regular army as he was commissioned for a full-time appointment as second lieutenant in the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders on 24 March 1897,[4] and fought in the Mahdist War in 1898, for which he was mentioned in despatches[5] and promoted to lieutenant on 28 September 1898.[6]

Captain Bernard Montgomery (right) with Brigadier-General J. W. Sandilands, commander of the 104th Brigade, 35th Division. Montgomery served as brigade major with the brigade from January 1915 until early 1917.

He served in the Second Boer War with Mounted Infantry. During the war, he was present for operations in the Orange Free State from February to May 1900, then in Transvaal and the Orange River Colony during the rest of 1900. He took part in actions near Johannesburg and Pretoria in May and June 1900, and in the battles of Diamond Hill (June 1900), Wittebergen (July 1900) and Elands River (August 1900).[6] He was wounded on 13 December 1900 during the Battle of Nooitgedacht and evacuated under fire from the battlefield by Sergeant Donald Farmer who was awarded the Victoria Cross for this act of bravery.[7] He continued to serve in South Africa throughout the war, including in Cape Colony, and was promoted to captain on 29 May 1901.[6] For his service in the war, he was twice mentioned in despatches (including in the final despatch by Lord Kitchener dated 23 June 1902[8]), received the Queen's South Africa Medal with four clasps, and the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).[9]

Sandilands also served in World War I as a Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster-General.[10] Later he became Military Attaché in Berlin.[11] He also commanded the 104th Brigade, part of the 35th Division.[12]

He was appointed Commander of British Troops in South China in 1929[13] and retired in 1933.[14]

Further reading
  • The History of the 7th Battalion Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders by James Walter Sandilands, Richardson Publishing, 2009, ISBN 978-1-115-56592-9
  • A Lancashire Brigade in France by James Walter Sandilands, Business Newspapers Ltd, 1919

References
  1. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  2. "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  3. "No. 26624". The London Gazette. 14 May 1895. p. 2777.
  4. "No. 26848". The London Gazette. 30 April 1897. p. 2368.
  5. "No. 27009". The London Gazette. 30 September 1898. p. 5730.
  6. Hart′s Army list, 1903
  7. "No. 27304". The London Gazette. 12 April 1901. p. 2540.
  8. "No. 27459". The London Gazette. 29 July 1902. p. 4848.
  9. "No. 27490". The London Gazette. 31 October 1902. p. 6904.
  10. "No. 28879". The London Gazette. 25 August 1914. p. 6688.
  11. "No. 33385". The London Gazette. 18 May 1928. p. 3504.
  12. "Each One a Pocket Hercules: The Bantam Experiment and the case of the 35th Division". Western Front Association. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  13. "No. 33457". The London Gazette. 15 January 1929. p. 399.
  14. "No. 33912". The London Gazette. 17 February 1933. p. 1082.
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