Frederic Cecil Currer Briggs | |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 November 1889 Pipestone, Minnesota |
| Died | 22 November 1919 Bannu |
| Allegiance | File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom |
 British Indian Army | |
| Unit | King's Regiment (Liverpool) |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Order (1917) |
Frederic Cecil Currer Briggs (26 November 1889 - 22 November 1919), was a British army officer with the King's Regiment (Liverpool) who served in India, Mesopotamia, and the North-West Frontier. On 13 April 1919 he accompanied Reginald Dyer to Jallianwalla Bagh, Amritsar, and became eyewitness to the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre.
Early life and education[edit | edit source]
Frederic Briggs was born on 26 November 1889, in Pipestone, Minnesota, to William Currer Briggs.[1][2] He completed his early education from Bedford Grammar School.[3][4] After training at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, he joined the King's Regiment (Liverpool).[5]
Military career[edit | edit source]
Briggs was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 3 November 1909.[6] He was subsequently posted to India, travelling aboard the HMHS Rewa in January 1910.[7] He was promoted to lieutenant later that same year.[8]
During the First World War, he attained the rank of captain in December 1914.[9] In May 1917 he was posted to Mesopotamia with the King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) as acting major and second-in-command of a battalion.[10] For his service in the campaign, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in August 1917.[2][11]
On 11 April 1919, Briggs accompanied Reginald Dyer to Amritsar, and escorted him to Jallianwalla Bagh two days later.[12][13][14] His account of the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre was submitted as a witness statement to the official Hunter Inquiry.[15]
Before leaving Amritsar to participate in the Third Anglo-Afghan War and the Waziristan campaign, Briggs was invited to the Golden Temple and initiated a Sikh.[1][16]
Death and legacy[edit | edit source]
On 22 November 1919, Briggs underwent surgery for appendicitis at Bannu and died the following day from peritonitis.[15][lower-alpha 1] At the time of his death, he had in possession, Dyer's personal notes on the massacre.[15]
Briggs's name was inscribed on the Delhi memorial, India Gate,[2] and on a plaque at his school.[17]
Notes[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Major Frederic Cecil Currer Briggs". www.cwgc.org. Commonwealth War Graves. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "We remember Frederic Cecil Currer Briggs". www.livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
- ↑ "Cricket". Bedfordshire Times and Independent. 12 June 1908. p. 9. Retrieved 22 September 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ Creagh, Sir O'Moore; Humphris, Edith M. (1924). The V. C. and D. S. O. Standard art book Company Limited. p. 211.
- ↑ "Infantry". Army and Navy Gazette. 6 November 1909. p. 20. Retrieved 22 September 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ "Infantry" (PDF). The London Gazette. No. 28303. 2 November 1909. p. 8015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2025.
- ↑ "Infantry". Evening Mail. 25 July 1910. Retrieved 22 September 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ "Infantry" (PDF). Supplement to the London Gazette. No. 29013. 18 December 1914. p. 10899. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
- ↑ "Infantry" (PDF). Supplement to the London Gazette. No. 30104. 29 May 1917. Archived from the original on 28 September 2025. Retrieved 23 September 2025.
- ↑ "Awarded a Bar to the Distinguished Service Order" (PDF). Supplement to the London Gazette. No. 30252. 25 August 1917. Archived from the original on 12 March 2025. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
- ↑ Wagner, p.132
- ↑ Collett, p. 215
- ↑ Wagner, p.160
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Collett, pp. 335-336
- ↑ Wagner, p.206
- ↑ "E W C Griffith and F C C Briggs DSO". Imperial War Museums. Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
Further reading[edit | edit source]
- Report of the Committee Appointed in the Government of India to Investigate the Disturbances in the Punjab, Etc: Amritsar. Vol. I–III. H.M. Stationery Office. 1920.
Bibliography[edit | edit source]
- Collett, Nigel (2007). The Butcher of Amritsar: General Reginald Dyer. London: A&C Black. ISBN 1-85285-575-4.
- Furneaux, Rupert (2022). Massacre at Amritsar. Abingdon, Oxon: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-68932-7.
- Swinson, Arthur (1964). Six Minutes to Sunset: The Story of General Dyer and the Amritsar Affair. Life Span Publishers and Distributors. ISBN 978-81-039094-3-0.
{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: checksum (help) - Wagner, Kim A. (2019). Amritsar 1919: An Empire of Fear & the Making of a Massacre. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-24546-2.