Sir Robert Adams | |
|---|---|
 Robert Adams, c1897 (IWM Q80464) | |
| Born | (1856-07-26)26 July 1856 Muree,British India |
| Died | 13 February 1928(1928-02-13) (aged 71) Inverness, Scotland |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch | Bengal Army British Indian Army |
| Years of service | 1876 - 1911 |
| Rank | Major-General |
| Battles / wars | Second Anglo-Afghan War Chitral Expedition Tirah Campaign |
| Awards | Victoria Cross Order of the Bath |
| Relations | Edward Donald Bellew VC (second cousin) |
Major-GeneralSir Robert Bellew AdamsVC KCB (Muree,Punjab,India, 26 July 1856 – 13 February 1928,Inverness) was aScottish general of theIndian Army and recipient of theVictoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded toBritish andCommonwealth forces.
Robert Bellew Adams, the son of an officer of theCorps of Guides regiment of the Indian Army, entered the Army in 1876 as asub-lieutenant in the 12th Foot (later theSuffolk Regiment).[1] His promotion tolieutenant in 1878 was backdated to 1876.[2] He transferred to theBengal Staff Corps in 1879,[3] served with his father's regiment in theSecond Anglo-Afghan War and was promoted tocaptain in 1887.[4] In 1891 he was appointed to command the cavalry of the Guides. He took part in theChitral expedition and afterwards was promoted tomajor in 1896[5] andbrevetlieutenant colonel "in recognition of his services during the operations of theChitralRelief Force, 1895."[6]
In 1897 the Guides took part in theTirah campaign, and the following event took place:
During the fighting at Nawa Kili, inUpper Swat, on the 17th August, 1897, Lieutenant-Colonel R.B. Adams proceeded with LieutenantsH.L.S. MacLean andViscount Fincastle, and five men of the Guides, under a very heavy and close fire, to the rescue of Lieutenant R.T. Greaves, Lancashire Fusiliers, who was lying disabled by a bullet wound and surrounded by the enemy's swordsmen. In bringing him under cover he (Lieutenant Greaves) was struck by a bullet and killed—Lieutenant MacLean was mortally wounded—whilst the horses of Lieutenant-Colonel Adams and Lieutenant Viscount Fincastle were shot, as well as two troop horses.
—London Gazette, 9 November 1897[7]
Lieutenant Greaves was acting aswar correspondent forThe Times of India. Viscount Fincastle was also acting as a war correspondent, forThe Times. A fuller account is given byWinston Churchill inThe Story of the Malakand Field Force.[8]
Adams and Fincastle were awarded the Victoria Cross (VC). At that time the VC was not awarded posthumously, and theLondon Gazette noted "Lieutenant Hector Lachlan Stewart MacLean, Indian Staff Corps, on account of his gallant conduct as recorded above, would have been recommended to Her Majesty for the Victoria Cross had he survived." MacLean was awarded a posthumous VC in 1907 after the policy had been changed.[9]
During the same campaign Adams wasmentioned in despatches three times and made aCompanion of the Order of the Bath (CB). In 1899 he was appointed to the command of the Guides, and in September 1901 he was appointedaide-de-camp toKing Edward VII and received thebrevet rank ofcolonel.[10] Promotion to the substantive rank oflieutenant-colonel followed on 11 September 1902.[11] In June 1904 he was promoted to temporary brigadier general[12] and given the command of theUmballa Cavalry Brigade. In March 1906 he was promoted tomajor-general[13] and transferred to theDerajat Brigade, but due to illness he resigned the command in 1908. He was invalided out of the army in 1911 and appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in theKing's Birthday Honours of 1912.[14]
Adams died in retirement atInverness in February 1928 at the age of 71. After cremation in Maryhill,Glasgow, his ashes were buried at Tomnahuich Cemetery, Inverness.[15]
Adams was unmarried. He was thesecond cousin ofEdward Donald Bellew, a Canadian WWI VC recipient.
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