Transcript

of

Arthur Champernowne, M.A. [Obituary]

J. Brooking-Rowe (Ed.),

Trans. Devon. Assoc., vol.  XXXVII, (1905), pp. 32-33.

Prepared by Michael Steer

The obituary was read at the Association’s July 1905 Princetown meeting. General Calander was reasonably representative of a large number of “Servants of the Raj” who after lives of highly important military service in often dangerous and invariably remote parts of the Sub-continent, returned “home” to Britain, many seeking sedentary retirement in salubrious South Devon. Military service in the Raj provided a means of employment for substantial numbers of the British upper and middle classes. India provided the prospect of gentlemanly employment, with young men of the "property-less leisured class". After the 1857 mutiny, the East India Company's European forces were merged with those of the crown, while the number of British troops in India was greatly increased. The British garrison in India at full strength at the end of the century consisted of some 75,000 British soldiers.  In many cases officers like General Calander went to India to further their careers, and had no intention of settling there for good. Those who survived long enough returned, generally in poor health, to Britain when they retired. It is only in recent generations that South Devon has lost its 'curry and colonels' reputation. The obituary, from a copy of a rare and much sought-after journal can be downloaded from the Internet Archive. Google has sponsored the digitisation of books from several libraries. These books, on which copyright has expired, are available for free educational and research use, both as individual books and as full collections to aid researchers.

Alexander Callander. Lieutenant-General Callander became a member at the Totnes meeting in 1900. He was born in Stirlingshire in 1829; he was the third son of Mr. Randal W. M. Callander, and grandson of Colonel and Lady Elizabeth Callander, of Craigforth and Ardkinglas, N.B. He entered the 58th Native Infantry as second lieutenant in 1848, became lieutenant in February, 1855, and captain in the Bengal Staff Corps six years later. He was adjutant of the Nusseree Battalion for four and a half years, and brigade-major at Multan for five and a half years, and DA.A.G. also. In 1878 Lieutenant-Colonel Callander married Minna, only daughter of the late W. H. Swinton, H.E.I.C.S., of Warsash House, Hants. During the Afghan campaigns of 1879-80, he acted as ex-commissariat officer at Bareilly. Eight years of his service was spent as Commandant of forts on the Afghan frontier, and for four years he was stationed at Fort Kangra, which was recently totally destroyed by the great earthquake. He became lieutenant-colonel in February, 1874, and colonel in February, 1879; he returned to Europe in 1886, and was placed on the unemployed supernumerary list in March, 1887. He was promoted major-general in January, 1889, and lieutenant-general in December, 1892. The deceased officer was a talented linguist, and passed as interpreter in Persian and Urdu. Lieutenant-General Callander had been in failing health for some time. After two successive paralytic strokes he died at Vineyard, Dartington, Totnes, on 16 June, 1905.