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{{short description|British Army general and recipient of the Victoria Cross}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Sir George Stuart White
|image= George Stewart White-001.jpg
|image_size=
|caption= Sir George Stuart White
|birth_date= {{Birth date|1835|07|06|df=y}}
|death_date= {{Death date and age|1912|06|24|1835|07|06|df=y}}
|birth_place= [[Low Rock Castle]], [[Portstewart]], Ireland
|death_place= [[Royal Hospital Chelsea]], [[London]], England
|placeofburial= [[Broughshane]] Presbyterian Churchyard, [[County Antrim]]
|nickname=
|allegiance= United Kingdom
|branch= [[British Army]]
|serviceyears= 1851–1905
|rank= [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]]
|unit=
|commands= [[Commander-in-Chief, India]] [[Quetta]] District Upper Burma Field Force 2nd Brigade 2nd Battalion [[Gordon Highlanders]]
|battles= [[Indian Rebellion of 1857|Indian Mutiny]] [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]] [[Third Anglo-Burmese War]] [[Mahdist War]] [[Second Boer War]]
|awards= [[Victoria Cross]] [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]] [[Member of the Order of Merit]] [[Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]] [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]] [[Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]] [[Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]]
|relations=
|laterwork= [[Governor of Gibraltar]] [[Royal Hospital Chelsea#List of Governors|Governor of Royal Hospital Chelsea]]
}}
[[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] '''Sir George Stuart White''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|VC|GCB|OM|GCSI|GCMG|GCIE|GCVO}} (6 July 1835 – 24 June 1912) was an officer of the [[British Army]]. He was stationed at [[Peshawar]] during the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857|Indian Mutiny]] and then fought at the [[Battle of Charasiab]] in October 1879 and at the [[Battle of Kandahar (1880)|Battle of Kandahar]] in September 1880 during the [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]]. For his bravery during these two battles, he was awarded the [[Victoria Cross]]. He went on to command a [[brigade]] during the [[Third Anglo-Burmese War]] in 1886 and became commander of [[Quetta]] District in 1889 in which role he led operations in the [[Zhob]] Valley and in [[Balochistan]]. He was commander of the forces in [[Colony of Natal|Natal]] at the opening of the [[Second Boer War]] and fought at the [[Battle of Elandslaagte]] in October 1899. He commanded the garrison at the [[siege of Ladysmith]]: although instructed by General [[Redvers Buller|Sir Redvers Buller]] to surrender the garrison he responded "I hold Ladysmith for the Queen" and held out for another four months before being relieved in February 1900. He finished his career as [[Governor of Gibraltar]] and then as Governor of the [[Royal Hospital Chelsea]].

==Early career==
White was born at [[Low Rock Castle]], [[Portstewart]], [[County Londonderry]]. He was the son of James Robert White of Whitehall, [[Broughshane]], [[County Antrim]], and Frances Ann Stewart (daughter of George Stewart (d.1808), Surgeon-General to the British Forces in Ireland, and his wife Frances Stewart of [[Killymoon Castle]]).<ref>Durand, p. 9</ref> He was educated at [[Bromsgrove School]] in [[Worcestershire]] and later at [[King William's College]] on the [[Isle of Man]] and then at the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]].<ref name=heath295>Heathcote, p. 295</ref> He was commissioned as an [[ensign (rank)|ensign]] in the [[Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers|27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot]] on 4 November 1853.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=21491|date=4 November 1853|page=2961}}</ref>

White was sent to India in 1854 and, having been promoted to [[lieutenant]] on 29 January 1855,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=21719|date=25 May 1855|page=2014}}</ref> was stationed at [[Peshawar]] during the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857|Indian Mutiny]] in 1857.<ref name=heath295/> He was promoted to [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]] on 10 July 1863<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=22752|date=10 July 1863|page=3453}}</ref> and transferred to the [[92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot|92nd Regiment of Foot]] on 4 August 1863.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=22759|date=4 August 1863|page=3905}}</ref> He returned to England before being further promoted to [[major]] on 24 December 1863.<ref name=heath296/> After five years in England he went back to India with his regiment in 1868.<ref name=heath296>Heathcote, p. 296</ref> He was given command of his battalion in 1875 and then fought at the [[Battle of Charasiab]] in October 1879 and at the [[Battle of Kandahar (1880)|Battle of Kandahar]] in September 1880 during the [[Second Anglo-Afghan War]].<ref name=heath296/>

==Victoria Cross==
He was 44 years old when the following deeds took place in [[Afghanistan]] for which he was awarded the VC:
{{quote|For conspicuous bravery during the engagement at Charasiah on 6 October 1879, when, finding that the artillery and rifle fire failed to dislodge the enemy from a fortified hill which it was necessary to capture, Major White led an attack upon it in person. Advancing with two companies of his regiment; and climbing from one steep ledge to another, he came upon a body of the enemy, strongly posted, and outnumbering his force by about 8 to 1. His men being much exhausted, and immediate action being necessary, Major White took a rifle, and, going on by himself, shot the leader of the enemy. This act so intimidated the rest that they fled round the side of the hill, and the position was won.

Again, on 1 September 1880, at the battle of Candahar, Major White, in leading, the final charge, under a heavy fire from the enemy, who held a strong position and were supported by two guns, rode straight up to within a few yards of them, and seeing the guns, dashed forward and secured one, immediately after which the enemy retired.<ref name=VC>{{London Gazette|issue=24981|page=2859|date=3 June 1881}}</ref>}}

White's Victoria Cross is displayed at the [[Gordon Highlanders Museum]], [[Aberdeen]], Scotland.<ref name=grave/>

==Later career==
Appointed a [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]] in February 1881 and promoted to [[lieutenant colonel]] on 2 March,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=24944|page=976|date=1 March 1881}}</ref> White was briefly Military Secretary to the [[Governor-General of India|Viceroy and Governor-General of India]] before being given command of the 2nd Battalion of the [[Gordon Highlanders]] in October that year.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=25096|date=18 April 1882|page=1740}}</ref> He then joined the staff in [[Egypt]] as assistant-adjutant and quartermaster-general in February 1885<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=25469|date=12 May 1885|page=2160}}</ref> with promotion to [[colonel]] on 2 March 1885.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=25448|date=3 March 1885|page=922}}</ref>

[[File:The Relief of Ladysmith by John Henry Frederick Bacon.jpg|thumb|left|The Relief of Ladysmith. Sir George White greets Major [[Hubert Gough]] on 28 February 1900. Painting by [[John Henry Frederick Bacon]] (1868–1914)]]
In September 1885 White was given command of a brigade of the [[Madras Army]]<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=25561|date=23 February 1886|page=851}}</ref> and led it as the 2nd Brigade of the British Burma Division<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=25599|date=22 June 1886|page=2973}}</ref> during the [[Third Anglo-Burmese War]] in November 1885.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=25599|date=22 June 1886|page=2965}}</ref> Promoted to local [[major general]] on 1 April 1886,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=25573|date=30 March 1886|page=1536}}</ref> he led the subsequent occupation of [[Burma]] as Commander of the Upper Burma Field Force in mid-1886 and was knighted as a [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=25735|date=2 September 1887|page=4755}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=25650|page=5975|date=26 November 1886}}</ref> Promoted to the substantive rank of major general on 1 July 1887,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=25761|date=25 November 1887|page=6376}}</ref> he was given command of [[Quetta]] District in April 1889 and led operations in the [[Zhob]] Valley and in [[Balochistan]].<ref name=heath296/><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=25964|date=13 August 1889|page=4394}}</ref> In the [[1890 New Year Honours]] List White was appointed a [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26008|page=1|date=1 January 1890}}</ref> Upgraded to a [[Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]] in March 1893,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26381|page=1539|date=10 March 1893}}</ref> he became [[Commander-in-Chief, India]] with the local rank of [[lieutenant general]] in April,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=26405|date=23 May 1893|page=3002}}</ref> which was made substantive on 1 April 1895.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=26626|date=21 May 1895|page=2944}}</ref> Made a [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]] in June 1897 and a [[Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]] the following January,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26867|page=3567|date=25 June 1897}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26928|page=164|date=11 January 1898}}</ref> White became [[Quartermaster-General to the Forces]] in October 1898.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27014|date=14 October 1898|page=5989}}</ref>
[[File:Photograph album of Boer War 1899-1900. Wellcome L0026861.jpg|thumb|George White and staff in Ladysmith]]
White became commander of the forces in [[Colony of Natal|Natal]] in September 1899<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27117|date=15 September 1899 |page=5693}}</ref> at the opening of the [[Second Boer War]] and fought at the [[Battle of Elandslaagte]] in October 1899.<ref name=heath297>Heathcote, p. 297</ref> He then withdrew to [[Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal|Ladysmith]] where he took command of the garrison during the [[siege of Ladysmith]] with his [[aide-de-camp]] [[Clive MacDonnell Dixon|Clive Dixon]] (later portraying the siege in watercolour): when his position there became untenable he was instructed by General [[Redvers Buller|Sir Redvers Buller]] to destroy the guns and surrender the garrison on the best terms he could. White responded "I hold Ladysmith for the Queen" and held out for another four months before the town was relieved in late February 1900. His health greatly reduced, White left the city in early March to recover in more peaceful parts of the colony, before he left Cape Town for the United Kingdom later the same month.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Latest intelligence – Cape Colony|date=20 March 1900 |page=5 |issue=36094}}</ref> For his service in the war he was appointed a [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]] (GCMG) later that year,<ref name=GCMG>{{London Gazette |issue=27306 |date=19 April 1901 |page=2698}}</ref> having earlier been made a [[Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]] (GCVO) in May 1900.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27192|page=3070|date=15 May 1900}}</ref>

White became [[Governor of Gibraltar]] in May 1900 and,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27198 |date=1 June 1900|page=3498}}</ref> in that role, was promoted to full [[general]] on 9 October 1900 and to [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|field marshal]] on 8 April 1903.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27236|date=9 October 1900|page=6183}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27547|date=28 April 1903|page=2693}}</ref> In 1905 he was appointed to a Commission of Inquiry into contracts placed with private contractors during the Second Boer War;<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27812 |date=30 June 1905 |page=4555}}</ref> he was appointed a [[Member of the Order of Merit]] later that year.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27811|page=4549|date=27 June 1905}}</ref> He was Governor of the [[Royal Hospital Chelsea]] from 17 June 1905<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27813|page=4631|date=4 July 1905}}</ref> until his death there on 24 June 1912.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28634|page=5919|date=9 August 1912}}</ref> He was buried at [[Broughshane]], a village in [[County Antrim]], [[Northern Ireland]].<ref name=grave>{{cite web|url=http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/nireland.htm |title=Grave location for holders of the Victoria Cross |access-date=25 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716192304/http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/nireland.htm |archive-date=16 July 2012 }}</ref> A statue of White is currently located at [[Portland Place]], London,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/images/conway/96cbae87.html |title=Statue in Portland Place|publisher=Art & Architecture|access-date=25 August 2013}}</ref> while the Sir George White Memorial Flute Band still operates in [[Broughshane]], [[Ballymena]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Sir George White band prepares for Broughshane Remembrance Festival|url=http://www.ballymenatimes.com/lifestyle/sir-george-white-band-prepares-for-broughshane-remembrance-festival-1-4464575|newspaper=Ballymena Times|date=10 November 2012|access-date=25 August 2013}}</ref>

White was also honorary colonel of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion [[Somerset Light Infantry|the Prince Albert's (Somersetshire Light Infantry)]]<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26520|page=3319|date=8 June 1894}}</ref> and, later, of the [[Gordon Highlanders]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26884|page=4673|date=20 August 1897}}</ref>

==Family==
[[File:Statue Of Sir George White-Portland Place.jpg|thumb|Statue of White in [[Portland Place]], London]]

In 1874 White married Amelia Maria Baly, daughter of the Venerable [[Joseph Baly]], Archdeacon of Calcutta, with whom he had one son and four daughters.<ref name=heath296/> James Robert (Jack) White, Rose Frances White, May Constance White (Currie), Amy Gladys Stuart White (Lady Napier) and Georgina Mary White. Lady White was invested as a Companion of the [[Imperial Order of the Crown of India]] (CI) by [[Queen Victoria]] at [[Windsor Castle]] on 6 March 1900.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times|title=Court Circular|date=7 March 1900|page=6|issue=36083}}</ref> In the year after her husband's death their unoccupied house at [[Englefield Green]] was badly damaged by suffragette arsonists. [[Elsie Duval]] and [[Olive Beamish]] were the suspects.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://chertseymuseum.org/local_suffragettes|title=chertsey museum|website=chertseymuseum.org|language=en|access-date=2019-03-17}}</ref>

Their son [[Jack White (trade unionist)|Jack White]], after service in the [[British Army]], became an [[Irish republican]] and socialist who co-founded the [[Irish Citizen Army]] along with [[James Connolly]] and [[James Larkin]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/anarchists/jackwhite/bio.html|title=Captain Jack White (1879–1946)|access-date=25 August 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412123304/http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/anarchists/jackwhite/bio.html|archive-date=12 April 2013}}</ref>

==Honours and awards==
[[File:Field Marshal Sir George Stuart White VC.jpg|thumb|alt=Display of White's awards and Honours|White's medals and honours displayed at the Gordon Highlanders Museum.]]

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:silver;" align="center"
|Ribbon || Description || Notes
|-
|[[File:UK Victoria Cross ribbon bar.svg|40px]] || [[Victoria Cross]] (VC)||
* 1879
|-
|[[File:Order of the Bath (ribbon).svg|40px]] || [[Order of the Bath|Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]] (GCB)||
* 1897
|-
|[[File:Order of Merit (Commonwealth realms) ribbon.svg|40px]] || [[Order of Merit]] (OM)||
* 1905
|-
|[[File:ImperialOrderCrownIndiaRibbon.svg|40px]] || [[Order of the Star of India|Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]] (GCSI) ||
* 1898
|-
|[[File:UK Order St-Michael St-George ribbon.svg|40px]] || [[Order of St Michael and St George|Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Michael and St George]] (GCMG) ||
* 1900
|-
|[[File:Order of the Indian Empire Ribbon.svg|40px]] || [[Order of the Indian Empire|Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]] (GCIE) ||
* 1893
|-
|[[File:Royal Victorian Order UK ribbon.png|40px]] || [[Royal Victorian Order|Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]] (GCVO) ||
* 1900
|-
|[[File:Indian Mutiny Medal BAR.svg|40px]] || [[Indian Mutiny Medal]] ||
*
|-
|[[File:Afghanistan Medal BAR.svg|40px]] || [[Afghanistan Medal (United Kingdom)|Afghanistan Medal]] ||
* Clasps: [[Battle of Kandahar (1880)|Kandahar]], [[Siege of the Sherpur Cantonment|Kabul]] and [[Battle of Charasiab|Charasia]].
|-
|[[File:Kabul to Kandahar Star ribbon.png|40px]] || [[Kabul to Kandahar Star]] ||
*
|-
|[[File:Egypt Medal BAR.svg|40px]] || [[Egypt Medal]] ||
* Clasp: [[Nile Expedition|The Nile 1884-85]]
|-
|[[File:India General Service Medal 1854 BAR.svg|40px]] || [[India General Service Medal (1854)]] ||
* Clasp: [[Third Anglo-Burmese War|Burma 1885-87]]
|-
|[[File:Queen's South Africa Medal.png|40px]]||[[Queen's South Africa Medal]]||
* Clasps: Defence of Ladysmith, Elandslaagte
|-
|[[File:Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Medal (military) ribbon.PNG|40px]] || [[Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Medal]] ||
*
|-
|[[File:UK King Edward VII Coronation Medal ribbon.svg|40px]] || [[King Edward VII Coronation Medal]] ||
*
|-
|[[File:King George V Coronation Medal ribbon.svg|40px]] || [[King George V Coronation Medal]] ||
*
|-
|[[File:Khedives Star.png|40px]] || [[Khedive's Star]] ||
*
|-

|[[File:Med. Austria 1912-1913.JPG|40px]] || Bronze Jubilee Medal for Foreigners ||
* Austria-Hungary 1908
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book|last=Durand|first= Henry Mortimer|author-link=Mortimer Durand|title=The Life of Field-Marshal Sir George White, V.C. |publisher=W. Blackwood|location=Edinburgh, London|year=1915|url=https://archive.org/stream/lifeoffieldmarsh01durauoft#page/n7/mode/2up|isbn=978-1177733694}}
* {{cite book|last=Heathcote|first=Tony|year=1999|title=The British Field Marshals 1736–1997|publisher=Pen & Sword Books Ltd|isbn= 0-85052-696-5}}
{{Commons category|George Stuart White}}

{{Clear}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box | title=[[Commander-in-Chief, India]] | before=[[Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts|Sir Frederick Roberts]] | after=[[Charles Edward Nairne|Sir Charles Nairne]] | years=1893–1898}}

{{s-bef| before = [[Richard Harrison (British Army officer)|Sir Richard Harrison]] }}
{{s-ttl| title = [[Quartermaster-General to the Forces]]
| years = 1898–1899 }}
{{s-aft| after = [[Sir Charles Clarke, 3rd Baronet|Sir Charles Clarke]] }}
{{s-gov}}
{{succession box | title=[[Governor of Gibraltar]] | before=[[Robert Biddulph (British Army officer)|Sir Robert Biddulph]] | after=[[Frederick Forestier-Walker|Sir Frederick Forestier-Walker]] | years=1900–1905}}
|-
{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Henry Wylie Norman|Sir Henry Norman]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Royal Hospital Chelsea#List of Governors|Governor, Royal Hospital Chelsea]]| years=1905–1912}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Neville Lyttelton|Sir Neville Lyttelton]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Governors of Gibraltar}}
{{Royal Regiments of Scotland}}
{{Commander-in-Chief, India}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, George}}
[[Category:British field marshals]]
[[Category:British Commanders-in-Chief of India]]
[[Category:Governors of Gibraltar]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
[[Category:Irish recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Merit]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:People educated at Bromsgrove School]]
[[Category:Irish knights]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Indian Rebellion of 1857]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Second Boer War]]
[[Category:1835 births]]
[[Category:1912 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Irish people]]
[[Category:Irish Anglicans]]
[[Category:Irish officers in the British Army]]
[[Category:27th Regiment of Foot officers]]
[[Category:Gordon Highlanders officers]]
[[Category:People from Portstewart]]
[[Category:Second Anglo-Afghan War recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Mahdist War]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Burmese War]]
[[Category:People educated at King William's College]]
[[Category:British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:Military personnel from County Londonderry]]
[[Category:Members of the Council of the Governor General of India]]

George White (British Army officer) - Revision history

Bot: robot: Create/update articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.