1898-1899
COLCHESTER
[Sidenote: Festivities]
On November 15, 1898, the Honours Gazette for the recent campaign was
published, and Gatacre found himself a Knight Commander of the Bath.
Having also been awarded the Second Class of the Imperial Order of the
Medjidieh by His Highness the Khedive, he was now in possession of two
stars as well as two additional war medals. He had the honour of
receiving his knighthood at the hands of Her Majesty Queen Victoria at
Windsor on December 10, 1898. Not long afterwards he received an
invitation to stay at Windsor Castle, and had the honour of dining with
Her Majesty.
[Sidenote: 1899]
In the following February it was notified that Her Majesty the Queen
had been graciously pleased to nominate Sir William as one of the
officers to receive a Reward for Distinguished and Meritorious Service.
The whole nation was delighted with the success of its representatives
in Egypt, and as all hearts had been wrung by the tragedy of 1885, so
now all rejoiced with the victors of 1898. A {215} unanimous vote of
thanks was passed in both Houses of Parliament. A large copy of these
gratifying words printed on vellum and bound in red and green covers
respectively was presented to each of the senior officers named
therein. These were forwarded through Lord Kitchener, who added a few
words endorsing the appreciation of Sir William's good work.
The Lord Mayor of London gave a dinner at the Guildhall in the Sirdar's
honour. The Lord Provost of Edinburgh invited Lord Dufferin and Lord
Kitchener to accept the Freedom of that ancient city. Edinburgh had
reason to feel a special interest in the campaign, for one of the
brigadiers was a Midlothian man and there had been two Highland
regiments in his command. Lord Dufferin was especially pleased to see
Gatacre again, for as Viceroy of India he remembered him well while
serving on the Headquarters Staff.
There were also two gala days when the General was the central figure;
for his native county of Shropshire was very proud of her son. On
December 15 Sir William was enrolled a Freeman of the City of
Shrewsbury with much acclamation and many kindly speeches. The county
town of Bridgnorth also entertained him handsomely, and reminded him
that he had signed their roll in the year 1860. Sir William was not a
pretentious speaker, but when called upon for a speech on such
occasions his ideas were simple and his words fluent and appropriate.
The appointment he had held at Aldershot {216} having been cancelled on
his departure for Egypt, the General found himself unemployed for a
time after his return, but at the end of October he was informally
invited to say whether the Poona First-class District in India or the
command of the Eastern District with Headquarters at Colchester would
be the more agreeable to him. It was without hesitation that he chose
the latter. From August 1880, when he left Dover with his regiment, to
August 1897, when he had returned to take over his brigade at
Aldershot, he had served continuously in India, while (with a short
interval of five months) he had been working in the tropics for a
further ten months. He had now nearly completed thirty-seven years'
service, of which twenty-three had been spent in India. There was
therefore to him a most attractive novelty about serving at home, and
the independent provincial command that was offered to him would, he
knew, in many ways prove most congenial. He took over the command from
General Burnett on December 8, 1898, and went into residence at
Colchester the next day.
The Eastern District at that time included the nine counties which lie
between Norfolk and London, and between Nottingham and the sea. The
General Officer Commanding was directly responsible to the War Office
for the troops of all arms, regular, militia, and volunteers, within
this area. During the training season the work was very heavy and
necessitated a great deal of touring. His previous experience in
Bombay {217} had given the General a special interest in coast defence,
and it was therefore with pleasure that he again found himself in
command of a long sea-board.
In the last year of his command, 1903, the Army Reorganisation scheme
slightly changed his official position, but this was purely technical,
and only affected his last six months there.
[Sidenote: In Sussex]
Occasionally Sir William was called upon to take part in the training
outside his own district. Early in the year 1899 he was detailed to
conduct one side of a staff-ride that took place in Sussex. An
imaginary Blue Force was supposed to be concentrated at Eastbourne,
while the Defence held the heights to the north of Ashdown Forest. The
wild and picturesque district over which the operations were conducted
added immensely to Gatacre's pleasure in the trip; he wrote with
enthusiasm of the miles of heather-land, and had in the end the further
satisfaction of finding that, as the Blue Invader, he had defeated his
Red Opponent by a night-march on Dorking.
Among other events of the London season Sir William was present at the
Royal Academy Dinner. Invitations to all sorts of public functions and
city dinners followed throughout the summer. As the journey from
Colchester only occupies one hour, it was possible for him to enjoy all
such London diversions without in any way neglecting his professional
duties.
Further evidence of his enhanced reputation was afforded by his
selection to command a Division on Salisbury Plain in the forthcoming
{218} manoeuvres. Two Divisions were organised, under the general
direction of Sir Charles Mansfield Clarke. One had its headquarters at
Perham Down and was commanded by Sir Leslie Rundle, the other by
Gatacre with headquarters on the Downs above Bulford. This latter
Division consisted of two brigades under Colonel Ian Hamilton and
Colonel Clements; the staff remained in camp throughout the ten weeks'
training, but the troops (which included units from the militia and
volunteers as well as the regular army) took part in the training for
two or three weeks only. This was the first occasion on which khaki
uniform was worn in England; a certain battalion having recently
returned from abroad, came into camp as it was, before refitting with
home clothing. The camp lasted from June 25 to September 3; at the end
Sir William wrote that his stay had been most instructive, and that Sir
Charles Mansfield Clarke had expressed himself as much pleased with all
that had been done.
Throughout this summer the situation in South Africa, so far as it
could be known through the daily papers, was giving rise to great
anxiety, and the probability of an outbreak of hostilities before very
long became more and more apparent. Early in October Gatacre was
warned that in the event of an Army Corps proceeding to South Africa he
had been selected for the post of Lieutenant-General commanding the
Third Division. Sir George White had only a week before started to
take command of the forces in {219} Natal, and had borrowed Gatacre's
A.D.C.; and at the same time the 6th Company Army Service Corps had
been sent off from Colchester to the Cape.
Before the middle of the month Sir William's appointment and the
details of his command were gazetted, and he received orders to sail on
the Union-Castle Line mail steamer _Moor_ on Saturday, October 21, from
Southampton. His departure from Colchester was fixed for Friday the
20th. Although it was scarcely ten months since he had been resident
in the district, the General had, as usual, become very popular with
all classes. The Mayor and Corporation insisted on being given an
opportunity of expressing their congratulations and good wishes.
"The Council," they said, "felt that they were parting not only with a
distinguished officer and an ornament to Her Majesty's service, but
with a brother citizen."
[Sidenote: Off to the Cape]
Crowds of friends were assembled on the platform that Friday afternoon,
every officer of the garrison was there in uniform, and there were many
persons who had come in by train to cry "God-speed," for not a few had
husbands, sons, and brothers already at the front. Many people at that
time thought that the war would be a very short affair after the
arrival of the reinforcements, and it was in this spirit that a lady in
her farewell greeting said: "Good-bye, General--good luck to you; but I
fear it will all be over before you get out." To which the General
replied so gravely that she felt reproved: {220} "Make no mistake. We
have a long tough job before us."
In the evening papers that same day the news of the battle of Talana
Hill was published. This was the first conflict of the three years'
war, and very naturally the account of it added fervour to the public
interest in the official departures. Two troopships were leaving
Southampton that Saturday as well as the Union-Castle liner which was
to carry Sir Redvers Buller and his three divisional commanders. The
public knew by what train the officers would travel, and both at
Waterloo and at Southampton the popular enthusiasm was expressed with
extraordinary vehemence.
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