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General Sir Robert Archibald Cassels, GCB, GCSI, DSO (15 March 1876 – 23 December 1959) was a British Indian Army officer. He was the father of Field Marshal Sir James Cassels.

Military career

Educated at Sedbergh School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Cassels was commissioned into the Indian Staff Corps as a second lieutenant on 22 January 1896. He received promotion to lieutenant on 22 April 1898, to captain on 22 January 1905 and to major on 22 January 1914. Whilst serving in India, Cassels made a single appearance in first-class cricket for the Europeans cricket team against the Parsees at Bombay in the 1902–03 Bombay Presidency Match. Batting twice in the match, he was dismissed for 2 runs in the Europeans first innings by Ardeshir Mehta, whilst in their second innings he was dismissed without scoring by Maneksha Bulsara.

He went on to serve in the First World War, receiving rapid and successive promotion to temporary lieutenant colonel on 19 January 1916, brevet lieutenant colonel on 3 June 1916, brevet colonel in June 1917, and to temporary brigadier general on 6 August 1917. In November 1917 he was appointed Commander of 11th Indian Cavalry Brigade and took his brigade on a great turning movement up the left bank of the River Tigris, outflanking the Turks and helping to bring the Mesopotamian Campaign to an end. Following the war, he briefly commanded the 18th Indian Division while it was stationed in the Middle East.

Cassels was promoted to major general on 1 January 1919 in the Cavalry in India when he was appointed Commander of Peshawar District. He became Adjutant-General, India in 1928, and was promoted to lieutenant general on 14 April (back-dated to 1 May 1927). He was promoted to general on 15 October 1929 and appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command, India in 1930. He was next made Commander-in-Chief, India and a Member of the Executive Council of the Governor-General of India in 1935. He continued in that post into the Second World War and retired in 1941.

Honours

• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath – 3 June 1933 (KCB – 3 June 1927; CB – c.1918)
• Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India – 11 July 1940 (CSI – c.1919)
• Distinguished Service Order – c.1919
• Officer of the Legion of Honour – 7 June 1919

References

1. "No. 26873". The London Gazette. 16 July 1897. p. 3977.
2. "No. 26987". The London Gazette. 15 July 1898. p. 4276.
3. "No. 27778". The London Gazette. 24 March 1905. p. 2280.
4. "No. 28815". The London Gazette. 24 March 1914. p. 2546.
5. "First-Class Matches played by Robert Cassels". CricketArchive. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
6. "Europeans v Parsees, Bombay Presidency Match 1902/03". CricketArchive. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
7. "No. 29442". The London Gazette. 18 January 1916. p. 739.
8. ^ "No. 30179". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 July 1917. p. 6976.
9. "No. 30271". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 September 1917. p. 9249.
10. "No. 30538". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 February 1918. p. 2340.
11. ^ Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
12. India's Commander-in-Chief The Age, 8 April 1935
13. Generals.dk
14. "No. 31210". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 March 1919. p. 2995.
15. "No. 33280". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 May 1928. p. 3605.
16. "No. 33542". The London Gazette. 11 October 1929. p. 6476.
17. "No. 33562". The London Gazette. 20 December 1929. p. 8298.
18. "No. 33946". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 June 1933. p. 3801.
19. "No. 33280". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 June 1927. p. 3605.
20. "No. 34893". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 July 1940. p. 4245.
21. "No. 31393". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 June 1919. p. 7397.

Bibliography

• Mead, Richard (2007). Churchill's Lions: a biographical guide to the key British generals of World War II. Stroud (UK): Spellmount. ISBN 978-1-86227-431-0.
• Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.

External links

• Generals of World War II

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• 1876 births
• 1959 deaths
• Indian Army generals of World War II
• Indian Staff Corps officers
• Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
• Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India
• Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
• Indian Army cavalry generals of World War I
• English cricketers
• Europeans cricketers
• British Indian Army generals
• Members of the Council of the Governor General of India
• British people in colonial India
• British Commanders-in-Chief of India
• Military personnel from Mumbai
• 19th-century British military personnel
• People educated at Sedbergh School