Tag Archives: Quetta

Arthur Guy Worthington

19150722_Worthington,AGDuring his time at the school, Worthington was a member of the Scientific Society and shortly before he left the school in December 1914, he read a paper to the society on ‘Insects and Disease’, which he “illustrated with a series of personal drawings”.

He was also in the Officer Training Corps and, in the February after leaving school, he sat the Sandhurst Examination. He took a high place on the lists and was sent to Northern India in April 1915 to the newly re-opened Cadet College in Quetta. Worthington was one of the first batch of 100 cadets to undertake a six month course to train to be a British Officer in the Indian Army.

The cadets’ working day was between 6am and 11pm, and included an intensive introduction to infantry and cavalry tactics, field engineering, map reading, musketry, sanitation and language instruction in Hindustani, along with drill and physical training.

Worthington was taking part in a routine Bathing Parade in a lake near Quetta on the 22nd of July, when he was accidentally drowned. The Commandant of the College wrote: “your son showed every prospect of becoming a good and useful officer. He was a most popular lad, and we are all most deeply grieved at the loss of a most promising young life on the threshold of its career.”

On the British Path├® website you can view footage of a First World War British Army Bathing Parade:http://www.britishpathe.com/video/bathing-parade

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Duncan Stuart Ross Macpherson

Duncan Stuart Ross Macpherson was the only son of Surgeon General William Grant Macpherson and his American wife, Elizabeth Anne Clunas. He attended Westminster for just a year before leaving for Fettes College in Edinburgh where his father had been educated. Father and son were clearly close. After training at Sandhurst, Duncan became a member of the Indian Army. His father, William, requested and received an appointment as Assistant Director of Medical Services to the 4th Quetta Division whilst Duncan was based at the Quetta Imperial Garrison.

19141123_William_Macpherson
Major General Sir William Grant Macpherson

On the outbreak of war Duncan was attached to the Black Watch and served with them until November 1914. At that point he was transferred to the2/8th Gurkha Rifles. By this time his father was also serving in France, as Brigadier-General in the Army Medical Service Staff.

Duncan was killed in action on 23rd November at the defence of Festubert, near La Bassee, France. He had spoken to his father only a few hours prior to his death. William refused to discuss the death of his son. He continued to serve during the war until his forced retirement in June 1918.

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