Major-General Yeatman-Biggs

Arthur Godolphin Yeatman of Stockton House Wiltshire was born in 1843 and changed his name to Yeatman-Biggs in Jan 1878. He was destined for a career in law but entered the army as an artillery officer at the age of 17. He served in China and was wounded in the siege of the Taku Forts. He was promoted to captain in 1874, major in 1881 and colonel in 1886. He was awarded the CB in 1891. He commanded the 2nd Division in the Tirah Campaign and was responsible for the Royal Irish Regiment being recalled to India following his adverse report on that unit. The irony was that he placed their camp at Hangu, an unhealthy area, so was to blame for their subsequent mass sickness. He reported them as unfit for duty and had them recalled. He himself succumbed to dysentery and died in Peshawar in Jan 1898, a month before the Royal Irish were re-instated and sent back to the war.