Major General Sir Henry Timson Lukin (1860-1925) : the making of a South African hero

[摘要] Henry Timson Lukin was born and educated in Britain. After completion of his schooling at theMerchant Taylor's School in 1875 he had hoped to enter the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, butfailed the entry examinations. However, seizing the moment of a war in South Africa, he left in1879 for Natal, where he worked first as a road foreman, but soon, with the help of a cousin,Lieutenant Jack Spurgin, he was commissioned into the 77th Regiment and under the command ofMajor H.M. Bengough and saw service during the Anglo-Zulu War. Having distinguished himself inthe field in Zululand, Lukin was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Cape Mounted Riflemen(CMR) and served with this outfit in the Basuto War (1881), the Langeberg campaign (1896-97)and the South African War (1899-1902). During the South African War he received theDistinguished Service Order (DSO) for the defence of Jammersbergdrift and played an importantrole in capturing key rebel commando leaders, including Commandant Johannes Lötter andCommandant Gideon Scheepers. After the war he received the Commander of the Order of StMichael & St George (CMG) and was appointed as the Commandant General of the Cape ColonialForces. He played an important role in establishing the structures of the Union Defence Forces(UDF) and was appointed as Inspector General of the Permanent Force in 1912. He influenced thedebate on colonial warfare with the writing of the maxim handbook and a training pamphlet,Savage Warfare: Hints on Tactics to be adopted and Precautions to be taken and during the FirstWorld War distinguished himself as commander of a force of the South African troops in GermanSouth-West Africa (1914-1915) and as commander of the South African Brigade in Egypt (1916)and in France (1916-17). He was promoted to Major General when he assumed the command the9th Scottish Division in December 1916. In 1917 one of the highest honours was bestowed uponhim when he was knighted. The illness of his wife, Annie Marie (Lily) necessitated a transfer toBritain, where he commanded the 64th Division until the end of the war. He retired from the militaryshortly after the Armistice and returned with his wife to South Africa, where he remained active in avariety of ex-servicemen's organisations, including that of 1 South African Infantry Brigade. He wasalso a guest speaker at various functions, including the unveiling of monuments and memorials,and served on the Defence Commission of Enquiry (1924). Major General Sir Henry Timson Lukindied after a full, varied and distinguished military career in December 1925. Lukin and the Brigadehad an enormous impact on the creation of a new South African identity during the First World Warand period immediately after and played an important role in the formation of a new South Africanmilitary organisation and culture.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University