OBITUARY

Evening Star, Issue 19617, 25 July 1927, Page 5

OBITUARY

GENERAL DYER. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, July 24. (Received July 25, at 10 a.m.) The death is announced of General Dyer.—A. and N.Z. and ‘ Sun ’ Cable. Genera! R. S. H. Dyer, when in command at Amritsar in Apri, 1919, ordered Ills troops to fire on a mob of 5,000 rioting natives. This they did, killing 379 and wounding 1,200. General Dyer was severely censured by a Commission appointed to investigate the shooting, and he had to retire from the Army. He claimed that there was danger of a general riot that might have led to a rising of natives against the British residents.

A libel action was afterwards brought by Sir Michael O’Dwyer (the Governor), in view of serious attacks on his administration published in a book written by Sir Sankaran Nair. The jury awarded plaintiff £SOO damages. Mr Justice M‘Cardie gave as his deliberate opinion that General Dyer acted rightly in ordering his troops to fire. General Dyer was stricken with a serious attack of paralysis in 1921. Much sympathy was expressed for General Dyer by those who thought his prompt action had averted a' serious rising, and through the ‘Morning Post ’ over £21,000 was raised for him.