Lt Col J H Whitehead 93rd Burma Infantry

[Eastindia]

This is another chap of whom I have scant information other than that he was killed on 12th January 1917 at the Battle of Kut al Amara. Any more about him would be much appreciated.

[MickLeeds]

Full name is John Holberton Whitehead. Born 1868 Torquay, Devon.

A report in the Manchester Evening News, 25/01/1917 states:

"Lt Col John Holberton Whitehead, Indian Infantry of Torquay, commanded a battalion of the East Lancashires in Gallipoli and after the evacuation he rejoined his regiment in another theatre."

Mick.

[Eastindia]

That is a great help, Mick. Your assistance is much appreciated

[Matthew B.]

Born 4th March 1868

Originally commissioned into the Wiltshire Regt 22nd August 1888

Transferred to Indian Army 13th January 1890

Promoted Lt-Col 22nd August 1914

He has a war services statement in my Jan 1915 Indian Amy List:

Burma, 1889-92 - medal with clasp

N.-E. Frontier of India, Katchin hills, 1892-93 - clasp

I hope that helps.

Matthew

[Eastindia]

Many thanks, Matthew. It does indeed add some more detail.

[Matthew B.]

According to the January 1917 Indian Army List Whitehead was appointed commanding officer of the 93rd Burma Infantry on 31st May 1916.

Matthew

[Eastindia]

That extra titbit is helpful too. Thank you.

[William Haycraft]

On ‎11‎/‎06‎/‎2016 at 15:57, Eastindia said:

This is another chap of whom I have scant information other than that he was killed on 12th January 1917 at the Battle of Kut al Amara. Any more about him would be much appreciated.

 

I've just joined this forum to offer more information in response to this question, as just a couple of days ago I finished a complete OCR scan of the Regimental History of the 93rd Burma Infantry. This was written by my grandfather (after whom I'm named). I quote from page 81:

 

Colonel Whitehead, who had watched the attack from a

very exposed position, fell, shot through the body. He knew

he was done for, and said good-bye to all officers as he was

carried away. It was one of the most inspiring moments of

the regiment's history. Stripped to the waist, except for the

bloodstained bandages, he lay paralysed on a stretcher. As the

bearers carried him away he encouraged the men with words,

in a voice still strong enough to be heard above the din of

battle.

 

And from page 82:

 

Next morning, we were relieved by the 105th Mahrattas,

and retired to Brigade Reserve at K13D, where the news that

we were expecting was received - that Colonel Whitehead had

died of wounds in hospital. He was buried at Imam al Mansur,

and once more the earth covered the remains of a gallant officer,

brave in war and gentle in instinct. He had joined the regiment

when they were at their lowest ebb of depression, after an

unsuccessful campaign. He brought them through a terrible

hot weather, himself in no condition to stand it. Finally he led

the regiment into action, inspiring them by his own splendid

example of coolness under fire, and died in the attempt. Could

any man have done more ?

 

And there are further mentions of him on other pages...

[MaureenE]

William, That seems to be a very rare book. I cannot even see it in the catalogue of the British Library. Are you considering republishing it, or something similar? If not, perhaps you could consider uploading a scan of the book, or the OCR version,  to the Internet Archive (Archive.org). so that others have access to it.

 

I wrote a previous topic about this:

Cheers

Maureen

[William Haycraft]

Hi Maureene, yes I know about Archive.org and will certainly consider posting it there, but first I want to see if I can convert his hand-drawn maps into vector format (Wacom drawing pad ordered and on its way). 

 

I also have further ambitions to turn it into a multimedia document with hotlinks to images etc. as part of a general family history project. In the interim (this will be a lot of work!) I'd be happy to share it in its current form, with anyone who's interested.