Sir Donald Stewart, 1st Baronet
Field Marshal Sir Donald Martin Stewart, 1st Baronet, GCB, GCSI, CIE (1 March 1824 – 26 March 1900) was a senior Indian Army officer. He fought on the Aka Khel Expedition to the North-West Frontier in 1854, took part in the response to the Indian Rebellion in 1857 and, after serving as commandant of the penal settlement of the Andaman Islands, fought in the Second Anglo-Afghan War as Commander of the Quetta Army. In that role, he advanced through the Bolan Pass to Quetta, and then on to Kandahar in January 1879. In March 1880, he made a difficult march from Kandahar to Kabul, fighting on the way the Battle of Ahmed Khel and Battle of Arzu, and then holding supreme military and civil command in northern Afghanistan. He became Commander-in-Chief, India in April 1881 and a member of the Council of the Secretary of State for India in 1893.[1]
Sir Donald Stewart, Bt
1840–1885
Early life[edit]
Stewart was born the son of Robert Stewart and Flora Stewart (née Martin) at Mount Pleasant, near Forres, Moray in Scotland. Both parents were from Highland families. His father represented a branch of the Stewarts of Fincastle, descendants of King Robert II of Scotland. His mother was a daughter of Rev. Donald Martin, Minister of Abernethy, in Strathspey, but originally from Skye, and connected to the clans on that island.[2] Young Donald was educated at schools at Findhorn, Dufftown and Elgin and at the University of Aberdeen.[1][3]
In 1847 Stewart married Davina Marine, daughter of Commander Thomas Dymock Dabine, RN. Lady Stewart was invested as a Companion of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India (CI) by Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle on 6 March 1900.[20] They had two sons and three daughters:[5][21]
Attribution