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D Tyrie Laing
Brevet Lieutenant Colonel David Tyrie Laing, Commander-in-Chief's Bodyguard. In Nov 1900 Lord Roberts authorised the raising of the Commander in Chief's Body Guard a fighting regiment, 570 strong, ...view moreBrevet Lieutenant Colonel David Tyrie Laing, Commander-in-Chief's Bodyguard. In Nov 1900 Lord Roberts authorised the raising of the Commander in Chief's Body Guard a fighting regiment, 570 strong, with 2 guns, 2 pom-poms, and 2 machine-guns, commanded by Major Laing, an officer who had served in the 91st and 93rd regiments (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders), and had settled in South Africa. The corps took the field in the Orange River Colony. He was in command of a force sent to reconnoitre from Lindley to Reitz. They were suddenly attacked at Kromspruit on 3 Jan 1901, and Lieutenant Colonel Laing fell, shot through the heart. This was their first major contact and 18 were killed and 22 wounded. He was Mentioned in Despatches by Field Marshal Earl Roberts (London Gazette 16 Apr 1901), who stated that he deeply deplored his death, and that he had shown himself "an officer of great merit, and I am much indebted to him". Lieutenant Colonel Laing was a Fellow of the Royal Colonial Institute, and his name was inscribed upon a memorial tablet in the hall of the building in Northumberland Avenue, London (memorial since lost).-Memorialview less