CHIEF OF STAFF

Evening Post, Volume XCIII, Issue 101, 28 April 1917, Page 14

CHIEF OF STAFF

SIR WILLIAM ROBERTSON

HIS RISE FROM THE RANKS.

On the day that William Robertson, a trooper in the 16th Lancers, had secured, after barely a year of enlistment, the second-class certificate which gave him a "stripe," he announced to the Army schoolmaster that he intended to compete for a first-class certificate. "What is the use?" was ail the encouragement he received. "You surely do not expect to become a commissioned officer?" "One never knows'" answered the Lincolnshire lad, who to-day fills the commanding position of Chief of the Imperial General Staff. That episode is one of many related by Mr. G. A. Leask.in his life-story of Sir William Robertson (published: by Cassell and here reviewed by the Daily Telegraph), which illustrate the efficacy of self-help in the. British Army, and prove the literal accuracy of Napoleon's famous maxim. When he placed his foot on the first rung of the ■ military ladder, Sir William Robertson had nothing but his own character to pull him up. He had not even, in these early days, a war in which quick promotion could be won in the field, nor an expanding army and a corresponding demand for new officers. General Robertson rose exclusively on personal merit, by methods which the rawest recruit in the New Army may emulate, and may consummate with success. The millions of men who now serve under him know that he was once one of themselves, facing their own hardships, subservient to the same discipline, enjoying no more, but no less, facilities than themselves for gaining promotion; What more timely publication than a shilling book which, in simple sequence and re-' strained eulogy, N tells the story of this famous self-made soldier? From its pages the public will learn many facts about a career singularly little advertised in the past. The ambitious man. in the New Army could not possibly want a better stimulant than' this unadorned yet adorning biography.. Trooper Robertson, of the 16th Lancers, had a much harder row to hoe than (say) Private Robinson,, who has recently left the counter for the colours. To jump from a corporal to a sergeant in the 'seventies meant much diligent study; to become a sergeant-major was beyond the dreams of most soldiers. But Robertson was dauntless—and he seized every honourable chance. As a corporal, Mr. Leask tells us, he had to take change of the messing account and attend to the catering of his own troop. It was a week-in and week-out job, but the messing during the first week controlled by Corporal Robertson showed such an improvement that he was requested by his comrades to take permanent charge. Thus early did the man destined, as Quarter-master-General of the British Expeditionary Force which crossed the Channel in 1914,' to play an invaluable part' in an historic operation exhibit his. powers of organisation. Sir William Robertson first made his mark as " the man behind the grub." .

The impression gained in reading this welcome little book is that of a, young soldier who, come 'what might, was determined to advanc^ in his profession, j He became efficient in-'every branch and j arm of the service. . He was signalling instructor and. musketry, instructor for some years to his regiment. He was the best man in his troop at skill-of-arms with, sword and lance j he soon became a crack shot. Though a healthy and natural upbringing had given him a fine physique, he made a habit of running ten miles every Saturday afternoon, " just for the fun of it," as he told his comrades. During"the last few years spent in the., ranks—doubtless with a view to a commission—he turned his attention, to the study of war. He became a diligent student of tactics and strategy, and read every war book he could lay his hands on. . , ' . ; A good story is told of his oral examination in Dublin, a requisite preliminary for every non-commissioned officer applying for a commission. Sergeant-Major Robertson was required to take command of all the officers and men drawn up on parade. Several movements were satisfactorily performed. Then Robertson gave his order for a very complicated movement, one seldom executed on parade. - Away went tHe adjutant and regimental, sergeant-major to give. the usual base, but they were on-the wrong flank of the regiment. The colonels-eyes twinkled. He saw the mistake, and resolved he would catch outthe base and the sergeant-major at the same time. The latter^ however, had also seen what was wrong, and delayed giving the word, of command for the regiment to move. The commanding officer immediately started to hustle, and brusquely called ; out, '■" Now, then, sergeant-major, ' get on '— give the word of command." "Very well, sir," replied Robertson; "I will, when the base is placed in the right position." , In the ranks General Robertson was learning and preparing.. Whenhe went to India as a subaltern in the 3rd Dragoon Guards he matriculated in the art of war. "From 1888 onward," says Mr; Leask, "we find him acting in the capacity of a leader, a man possessing. power of initiative, and with every facility for putting the knowledge gained in -his apprenticeship to the best use. • - Men. under him marvelled at his almost uncanny knowledge of everything pertaining to the art of war arid the soldier's duties.". His work 'as intelligence officer with the Chitral Relief Expedition, and as staff officer at Simla, vividly outlined by Mr. Leask, must have boen intensely interesting to a mind so keen anH ambitious. Of course, he could never have fulfilled the difficult and delicate tasks imposed without a knowledge of. native languages. Here, again, his well-known methodical habits were illustrated. Instead of engaging a teacher of Pushtu and Punjabi, and paying him so much a lesson or course, Robertson paid him by results! "He would call Robertson every morning at 5. a.m. for lessons, before the young lieutenant went to his day's work. Naturally, the teacher was anxious for his pupil to excel, and gave him no peace until, he had passed, when, of course, he got his share of the reward. In two and a-half years, we are told, Robertson could speak'five different native tongues. Later, when he returned to England, and entered the Staff College at Camberley (Sir Douglas Haig was a fellow pupil, by the way), Sir William Robertson developed his linguistic ability. His tutor and he used to take long walks in the country talking French or German all the time. "He was not a man," says the former, "who expected his tutor to have a les6on prepared for him, but he. himself drew out of the. tutor all he. wanted to know. Nothing that might be of any service to him escaped his notice. He always asked, 'What is the name for this?' 'What is the namo for that?' and you had to be prepared for him, or out came his pocket dictionary. In dictation he would not omit a comma or the modification signs on a German vowel. In order to be able to express himself correctly in French or German at the dinner-table he frequently invited me to dinner, and, of course, 1 did the same. He was silent, cool, and clearheaded,' and the only complaint I ever heard him make was that promotion was slow." ..