HERO OF BAGDAD DEAD

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 49, 21 November 1917, Page 5

HERO OF BAGDAD DEAD

SUDDEN DEMISE OF SIR STANLEY \ MAUDE BRITAIN LOSES AN ABLE j LEADER London, November 19. : 'J he War OBiri? reports that General Sir Stanlev Maude died in Mesopotamia after a brief illness.-Ans.-N. l>. CabU : ; Aesn.-Reutcr. j PERSONAL NOTE j "A BORN FIGHTER." The lato Sir Frederick Stanley Maude ■ entered the Army in 1884. Ha camo of a fighting family, his father being the 'j lato General Sir F. Maude, G.C.8., v.C, :■ Maudo was a colonel when the European. ■, war broke out, and had previously been, attached to the General Staff. Before that ho had seen service in the Sudan and South Africa, where he won his ,; D.S.O. On tho ontbreak of tho great , war he crossed over to France in charge i of the 14th Infantry Brigade (operation in Flanders). Subsequently ho was on. the staff of tho 3rd Army, and was then given command of tho 13th Division at Gallipoli, with the rank i of major-general. Ho afterwards took ; his division to Egypt, and then on to Mesopotamia, where he eventually sue- j ceeded Sir Percy Lake in the command-in-chief. Maude's conduct of tho operations in that trying theatre marked the turn of the tide in our favour. With lightning thrusts, sweeping tactics, and clever employment of his cavalry, he out-, j generallcd the Turks, seized one position after another, retook Knt-el-Amara, and, advanced swiftly on Bagdad. Maudes : brilliant generalship last summer is too recent not to be well remembered. "The difference between Maude and I many other generals," says a contemporary of him, "is that Maude has a real. liking for fighting. Fighting is ft soldier's business, but of the generals you. see walking about I should say, spook-j ing with moderation, that one out of?, ten positively,loves fighting. Tho other nine may bo fond of drill, or regulations, or administration, or various other kinds of armv routine, but when they final. j themselves faced with a fight, or an un-i known bit of country held by nn un-j known number of enemy troops,] : neither lovo of administration nor anything else will replace tho need for an inborn lovo . of fighting. The man wlio> has not this inborn love of fighting will find the most admirablo reasons for putting off the engagement., ; and wtfen ho has put off tho engagement His chance is gone, Maudo is .one °* thoso rare generals who have this inborn: lovo of fighting, and that is the reasoa j he has come to the front, and has swept victoriously into Bagdad. Ho went out] to France as a colonel, but hie fighting qualities soon rande him a man marked for promotion. When ho left Gallipoli it was'with tho reputation of being oneof tho ablest generals who set foot oa' ; tho Peninsula. The extraordinarily difficult nature of the task gave hie fighting -, proclivities full play. Ho conld not bear ; 6itti% still, and whenever n lull cams ho would be tho first to exclaim, TVTioa j aro we going to havo a dash ?' He look-' ed forward eagerly to tho arrival of enough troops to drive the Turks out of ; tho Peninsula, and to the last minute he ,'; was anxious to havo another go at tho ; Turks rather than leave tho place. His success in Mesopotamia was expected by- • thoso who know the kind of man he is. He made ready, and then he went full rip with his soul full of the love of tho fight-" . ,™ l Sir Stanley Maude's home is at Watford. Lady Maude is a daughter of the late Colonel the Riglit Hon. Thomas Taylor, of Ardgillan Castle, Co. Dublin. Tho general and his wife have one ton and two daughters. A *>w Zealand-born officer at present in Wellington who was with the British Forces at the recapturo of Knt and the taking of Bagdad met General Maudo during the operations. Ho speaks of Ttim as one of the finest types of English gentleman, and a military leader whom everyone absolutely trusted. As a lighting general, he was revered by offic/i'S and men alike, and his control was absolute at all times. "He knew his job" was the best commentary one could make on General Maudo as a soldier. ~ , General -Sir Stanley Maude was a cousin of Mr. Cyril Maude the English actor, who will be in Wellington next week.