Evening star., 1923-11-11
By The MARQUIsE DE FoNTENoY.


Sir John Salmond. who Is about to
marry Lord Desborough's daughter.
the Hon. Monica GrenfeIl. Is Gne of
the most distinguished officers of the
Royal Air Force, in which he holds
the rank of air marshal. which is
equivalent to that of vice admiral
in the Navy and lieutenant general
In the army. Just now he is in full
military command at Bagdad and of
the Euphrates. Indeed. he has sue
ceeded Sir Percy Cox in the position
of British high commissioner and
commander-in-chie in Mesopotamia,
a very difficult Job, indeed. by reason
Of the inordinate jealousy of King
Feisal of Irak, who affects to resent
the presence there of British troops
as impairing his rights Of sovereignty
in the eyes of his people. although
he is indebted for his throne wholly
to English arms, money and state
craft.
Most Of all Salmond's work, which
is mainly that of inspection. salu-
tary advice and of quickly Furnishing
and rebellion, Is done by aeroplane
and that is why it is necessary to
have in the valley of the Euphrates
especially along the higher reaches
Of the river, an officer who unites to
great administrative ability and re-
sourcefulness military decision and
practical experience of aviation, like
Sir John. He makes his headquarters.
equipped with numerous aeroplanes
at Ragdad, and has large air stations
at Mozul and at Basra. much lower
down the river. He is a son of the
late Gen. Sir William Salmond, a dis
tinguished officer of the Royal En-
gineers, who held for a time. the
post of inspector general of forti-
f1cations and who, himself, was the
son of Col. James Salmond,
gallant soldier of the Napoleonic
wars in the early part of the last
century, and also a county magnate
are an old Cumberlandshire family
which. for more than two hundred
years past, has furnished the nation
with number of gallant fighters on
sea and land.
Sir John is but forty-two years Of
age; indeed. one Of the youngest men
Of the rank Of lieutenant general in the
He got his schooling at Wellington and
at Sandhurst and Joined the army in
the closing stages of the Boer war, in
the early part Of the present century.
winning distinction In South Africa
under Kitchener. He was among the
first to appreciate the military i'm
portance Of aviation. and to devote
himself to it's development, learning
to fly at his own expense at the
Grahame White school at Hendon
and, on the formation of the army
air force, secured his transfer from
his old regiment, the Royal I.anca-
shire to the Royal Flying Corps. He,
by reason OF his aeronotic proficiency.
was appointed thereto with the
rank Of squadron commander. rapidly
major general In 1917 and. on the re-
storation Of peace. was nominated
director general of aeronautics. AS
for his featS of aviation during the
great war. they are best shown by
his long list of orders, Including the
stars Of the Orders of the Bath. and
Of st. Michael and st. George, as well
as the French Legion Of Honor, the
Belgian Croix de Guerre; Sir John
is a widower with a little daughter
who is now about eight years old.
His first wife was Miss Helen
Lumsden.> She died while the war
was in progress.
As for the future Lady Salmond.
she II just thirty years old. served as
q Red Cross nurse In France during
the greater portion Of the war, and u