The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-07-05

/ morning of the week, at en- early hour.
one may see among the horsemen in
the park a tall, square shouldered.
powerfully built. dark-complexioned
man in kahki.
He Is riding with evident enjoy
ment. as OF a man who loves fresh
air and exercise
| He sallops by you in fash, his
quick eyes seeming to take in all
around him in an observant compre-
hension that leaves nothing unnoted
But while he has noticed everything.
! II Is likely that nobody has particu-
larry noticed him.
Hardly one among the loungers in
the park, not one among the passers-
by In Whitehall who may have seen
the same trim soldiery figure passing
within the portals of the War ONCE,
Is aware that this bushy- browed.
grave, and even stoiid featured Of
ficer Is the master strategist OF the
British Army. the controller of the
movement OF Ave million men in arms
When 1t was officially announced
one day some months ago that Gem
eral Sir William Robertson, the chief
OF the general STAFF of the British ex-
peditionary forces, was returning from
general headquarters in France to take
up the post of chief OF the imperial
general staff, few people realized that
this meant a big new broom coming
to the War ONCE. Fewer still reali2-
ed that another bald official announce
lnent as to the orders to the army In
the field going out under the name of
Sir william Robertson. without the
signature OF Lord Kitchener as sec
rotary OF war, betokened a momentous
change in the British higher COM
mand
Sir william Robertson happens
never to have shone in the limelight
OF a spectacular military episode. He
would dislike It If he had. for the
Chief shares all kitchener's horror
of publicity and aversion to fuss of
any kind.
He has always been the man behind
the scenes, the promoter rather than
the player standing forth in the pub
lie eye.
This is not to say. however that he
has done no fighting in his remark
able military career. On the con-
trary, he has been a fighting man all
the time. 1t was his fighting instinct,
his logged combativeness, possibly
that led him as a youth to exchange
schoolmastering for the more robust
life Of the army.
He enlisted in the 18th Iancers
when hardly out Of his teens. went to
IHulh, ana saw nltHly OF service on
the turbulent Northwest Frontier.
There is no place for sharpening a
soldiers wit. for testing n soldiers
skill like the rugged regions around
and beyond the khyber Pass. where
many a campaign has been fought
with warlike tribes whose names you
have hardly heard
After ten years or 40 In the ranks
as dashing young cavalryman. he
had exchanged a troop sergeant-ma-
jorsh1p for q comm ssion In the 3rd
Dragon Guards. The Chitral CAM
paign was In progress. and Ileuten-
ant Robertson, as ne then was, while
riding forward to sketch. an enemy
position. became separated from his
Gurkha guard.
AS he rode along ~ handed his
sword TO his Kazi guide, who. pres
entity Selling an opportunity. treach-
erously fred upon the young officer
from behind. Two shots were dis
passed under Lieutenant Robertson's
right arm. another under his left, Just
grazing the horses ear.
Robertson sprang to the ground
and fred one shot, which hit, but fail
ed to strike down his assallant. And
when. next m oment his pistol jammed.
the Kazi. who had the officers sword
still in his hand. cut him over the
1 head. Robertson threw himself upon
the Kazi whom he rolled to the
ground, and then. observing two more
dusky scoundrels advancing on him.
swords in hand he made a dash for
his escort
For his share In the relief OF Chit
rel during which he was severely
wounded. Sir william Robertson re-
ceived the D. S. o. and was men
toned in dispatches
The Chief has two especial facul-
ties which few young army Officers
can ever be accused of possessing-a
remarkable gift for languages and an
extraordinary appetite for hard work.
In India the linguistic accomplish
ment means the acquisition of numer-
Gus dialects. and his knowledge of
these rendered Lieutenant Robertson
an Invaluable intelligence officer
| Never without a job, Robertson al
ways had time for more work. Others
might play polo. but he was intent
upon the pursuit of his profession
Now a railway transport officer with
/ the Miranzi expedition. now an INTEL
ligence officer at headquarters up in
the hills, Robertson was always do
ing work that mattered. And when
the South African war broke out he
became 4 staff officer and lieutenant
colonel
| The rest of his career has been a
series of rapid promotions. which have
carried the quondAm trooper of Lam
GERS to the highest post in the great
est army Britain has ever raised. But
they have been promotions OF the kind
that people outside the army never
hear about.
Who could know. for instance. out
side a limited circle of army men.
that Robertson, as commandant of the
star college for three years, was prov
ing himself one OF the ablest heads
OF the thinking part Of the army ma
chine the British have ever had. one
OF the finest lecturers and ambitious
young officers could wish to listen to
on matters Of military training.
When the great war broke out Sir
William went to France as quarter
master general in the field. This was
a big job, indeed, for he had to sup
ply the needs of the expeditionary
force in every detail through those
dif1cult and critical weeks when the
army was constantly on the move
from Mons to Marine. The problems
OF feeding the army-and Tommy will
tell you that never was the army so
/ welt fed as It has been during this