General Gatacre The Story of the Life and Services of Sir William Forbes Gatacre, K.C.B., D.S.O., 1843-1906 — Background and Themes

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Authors: Gatacre, Beatrix Wickens Davey, Lady Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2013 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: South African War, 1899-1902; Gatacre, William Forbes, Sir, 1843-1906 Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 82,319

Reading time 358 min

Text sections 9

The catalog record for General Gatacre The Story of the Life and Services of Sir William Forbes Gatacre, K.C.B., D.S.O., 1843-1906 — Background and Themes provides practical reading context through 82,319 words, 5 hr 58 min estimated reading time, and 9 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 22.8 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “South African War, 1899-1902,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #41788

Lady Beatrix Gatacre's biography of her husband, Sir William Forbes Gatacre, draws on official reports, personal letters, and telegrams to document his military career and plague-fighting work in Bombay. The narrative shifts from a restrained, fact-based early life to a more intimate, firsthand account of his South African command.

Editorial Edition Score 4.8/5

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Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
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Edition quality

File: pg41788

Read the Text

And was not, comforts me. R. B.

LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W. 1910

PRINTED BY HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD., LONDON AND AYLESBURY.

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO TWO FRIENDS WITHOUT WHOSE SYMPATHY AND ASSISTANCE IT WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN WRITTEN

Assured of worthiness, we do not dread Competitors; we rather give them hail And greeting in the lists where we may fail: Must, if we bear an aim beyond the head! My betters are my masters; purely fed By their sustainment I likewise shall scale Some rocky steps between the mount and vale; Meanwhile the mark I have, and I will wed. So that I draw the breath of finer air, Station is naught, nor footways laurel-strewn, Nor rivals tightly belted for the race. God-speed to them! My place is here or there; My pride is that among them I have place: And thus I keep the instrument in tune.

The main object in laying this book before the public is to provide an authentic narrative of Sir William Gatacre's work in South Africa. At the time of his recall no despatch giving the reason for this step was published, but a letter dealing with this matter has since appeared as an Appendix in the _Official History_ of the war; it is with reluctance that I have been persuaded to reprint this letter at the end of this volume. It seemed, however, that Sir William's previous career was such a large factor in determining any opinion regarding his later work that some account of the man and his surroundings from the beginning would not be without interest.

In preparing the first half of this story I have been entirely dependent on the recollections of others, and have studiously avoided any attempt to eke out the material with an imaginary amplification; in the latter half my own personal knowledge of himself and his affairs has enabled {x} me to seek my information from numerous sources, and to draw the portrait in richer colours on a more suggestive background.

I wish to acknowledge in full the loyal assistance afforded me by my husband's friends. In every case I have received the most cordial response and co-operation. I am sincerely grateful both to those who have asked me to refrain from naming them and to those who have given me the support of their names. Through the courtesy of these officers and others, I am able to say that every word has been read by one who has personal knowledge of the incidents recorded. In this way I trust that this narrative will have acquired an unimpeachable accuracy.

I am also deeply indebted to the _Official History of the War in South Africa_. Indeed, before the publication of this authoritative statement my task would have been impossible.

To the facts therein recorded I have added extracts from officers' reports, and from Sir William's own letters, and also the words of certain important telegrams which I had found amongst his papers, and for the reproduction of which official permission has been graciously accorded.

I beg the indulgence of the reader for faults of literary inexperience, and trust that he will recognise my honest endeavour to handle the facts fairly and dispassionately.

TO INDIA AND BACK . . . 13

SECUNDERABAD . . . 52

BLACK MOUNTAIN EXPEDITION . . . 63

FROM ALDERSHOT TO BERBER . . . 184

ATBARA AND OMDURMAN . . . 198

CAPE COLONY . . . 221

ORANGE FREE STATE . . . 239

BACK TO COLCHESTER . . . 261

DESPATCH, APRIL 16, 1900 . . . 286

MAJOR-GENERAL SIR WILLIAM GATACRE, K.C.B., D.S.O. (_Photogravure_) . . . _Frontispiece_

COLONEL W. F. GATACRE, D.S.O., 1888 . . . 74

KACHIN BRIDGE, OVER WHICH 500 MEN CROSSED IN ONE DAY . . . 90

GOORKHAS CROSSING THE LOWARI PASS . . . 134

ON THE ROAD TO CHITRAL . . . 138

GENERAL GATACRE AND HIS FAVOURITE PONY . . . 142

BELUCHI MURDERERS . . . 158

HINDU BURNING-GHAT . . . 162

HOUSE-TO-HOUSE VISITATION . . . 172

INVASION OF CAPE COLONY: THE BOERS MARCHING SOUTH OVER THE ORANGE RIVER AT ALIWAL NORTH . . . 224

MAP I. INDIA [Transcriber's note: this map was omitted, being too large to scan.]

MAP II. EGYPT AND THE SOUDAN

MAP III. EASTERN CAPE COLONY AND PART OF THE ORANGE FREE STATE

According to a venerable Shropshire antiquarian, that county "has ever been inhabited by a race of men characteristic for uniformity of principle and energy of action."[1] Mr. Eyton goes on to tell of various places mentioned in the Domesday Book, and among these of the Manor of Claverley, which included a very large tract of country, and is described as an "ancient demesne of the Crown." The Manor of Claverley was broken up into various townships, to three of which he accords special notice, "in regard that the King's Tenants thereof were of a rank superior to that of the average class of Freeholders in Royal Manors. These Townships were Broughton, Beobridge, and Gatacre."[2]

[1] _Antiquities of Shropshire_, by R. W. Eyton, 1854, preface.

[2] _Ibid._, vol. iii. p. 77.

[Sidenote: Ancestors]

Continue Reading →

The biography opens with a preface that establishes a dual narrative strategy: the first half relies on others' recollections, while the second half draws on the author's personal knowledge. This structural division shapes the book's voice, moving from a restrained, fact-based account to a more intimate, firsthand perspective. The author explicitly avoids 'imaginary amplification,' grounding the early chapters in documented evidence.

From Official Reports to Personal Letters

The narrative voice shifts markedly between the early and later chapters. In the preface, the author states she has 'studiously avoided any attempt to eke out the material with an imaginary amplification' for the first half, relying on recollections of others. The latter half, however, draws on her 'own personal knowledge' and a wider range of sources, including Sir William's letters and telegrams. This transition is evident in the excerpt on the Bombay plague, where the text incorporates official government correspondence, such as a letter from the Government of Bombay praising Gatacre's 'energy,' alongside his own pseudonymous newspaper articles. The inclusion of direct quotations from telegrams and reports gives the later sections a documentary immediacy absent from the earlier, more summarized passages.

Pace and Detail in the Plague Campaign

The pace of the narrative accelerates during the account of the Bombay plague crisis. The text moves briskly through a sequence of concrete actions: Gatacre publishes articles under a pseudonym, the municipality votes funds, Lord Sandhurst offers his residence, and within ten days 150 beds are ready. The author lists specific details—'matting huts,' 'a little Oratory,' 'Roman Catholic Convents'—that create a sense of rapid, organized response. This section contrasts with the more measured, chronological tone of earlier military service descriptions. The inclusion of a government letter dated February 23, 1897, further anchors the timeline, while the author's commentary that the Governor 'wanted a man endowed equally with the administrative capacity to conceive a comprehensive plan' signals a shift toward evaluative language.

Voice Through Quotation and Commentary

The author frequently lets documents speak for themselves, but her own voice emerges through framing and selection. In the plague section, she reproduces Gatacre's forceful prose from The Times of India: 'What is a lakh or ten lakhs of rupees where the prosperity of Bombay is concerned?' The blunt, rhetorical question reveals his directness. The author then adds that 'the municipality took the hint,' a wry comment that underscores his influence. Later, she describes Lord Sandhurst's decision to appoint Gatacre as a 'coup' that 'startling supersession of all the traditions.' Such phrasing injects a personal, almost admiring tone into the otherwise official record. The preface's dedication to 'two friends' and the epigraph from George Meredith further hint at the author's emotional investment, though she maintains a disciplined focus on factual narrative.

Readers attentive to narrative voice will observe how the biography's structure mirrors its subject's career: methodical in early life, urgent in crisis, and reflective in aftermath. The author's restraint in the first half makes the later, more vivid passages—where she draws on letters and personal knowledge—all the more striking. This is a work that rewards attention to its shifts in pace and documentary texture.

Reading about Gatacre’s steady, unsung toil made me think of my father’s old map drawer, and how I once found a folded letter inside it, yellowed and unread. That reminded me of Scott's Wabash Expedition, 1791 — Reading Companion, which also exhumes a quiet, almost forgotten voice from the margins of history. Both books feel like opening a drawer someone else forgot.