Page 27 - They Also Served

6George White 1853.
George Stuart White was born on 6th July 1835 at Low Rock Castle, Portstewart. Educated at King William’s College, Isle of Man, he was commissioned from Sandhurst into the 27th Regiment in 1853. Joining them in India, he served during the Indian Mutiny then transferred to the 92nd in 1863.
White fought in the Second Afghan War
of 1879 and was awarded the Victoria
Cross with the citation reading: ‘Leading
two companies of his regiment, he came
upon a body of the enemy outnumbering
his force by eight to one. His men being
exhausted and immediate action being
necessary, Major White took a rifle, and,
going on by himself, shot the leader of the enemy. This action so intimidated the rest that they fled, and the position was won’.
Promoted to lieutenant-colonel in 1871, he commanded the 2nd Battalion of his regiment before serving on the staff on operations in Egypt. Commanding a brigade, he fought in the Anglo-Burmese War of 1885 and was knighted for his service. Spending many years in India, he was promoted to lieutenant-general and became commander-in-chief before returning home as quartermaster general.
However, White’s front-line service was not over when, as Commander of British Forces in Natal at the start of the Second Boer War, he won one of the few decisive British victories at Elandslaagte in October 1899. Withdrawing to Ladysmith, he commanded the garrison as the Boers laid siege to the town. With supplies running out, the overall commander, General Buller, ordered White to surrender. However, he sent the reply, ‘I hold Ladysmith for the Queen’, which he promptly did, for another four months, earning the nickname ‘Hero of Ladysmith’.
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