Ian MacAlister Stewart

Infobox Military Person
name= Ian MacAlister Stewart
lived=
placeofbirth=
placeofdeath=


caption=
nickname=
allegiance= Great Britain
serviceyears=
rank= Brigadier
commands= 2nd Bn, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
Indian 12th Infantry Brigade
British 144th Infantry Brigade
unit= Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
battles=
awards= D.S.O., O.B.E., M.C.*
laterwork=

Ian MacAlister Stewart, 13th Laird of Achnacone was a British Army officer.

Stewart was born in 1895, part of the Stewart family of Appin in Argyllshire. He was commissioned in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) and served in World War I. During this war, he was awarded the Military Cross and Bar, and created an Officer of the British Empire (O.B.E.). At the end of the war, Stewart was a Temporary Captain. As with many Army officers between the wars, Stewart was placed on Half Pay, but was restored to Full Pay as a Captain on the 3 June 1925 [Source London Gazette] On the 8 September 1931, Stewart was promoted Major. Stewart's military career was dominated by his service with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, a regiment that he was so wedded to that when he was given command of the 2nd Battalion in the 1930s some of his brother officers did not even realise that he was married with a daughter. He even refused a position at the staff college at Camberley to remain with his battalion thereby losing the only way to senior command. At the outbreak of the Second World War Stewart was very happily still in command of the 2nd Battalion. Stewart was one of the few British officers to realise the need for training in Jungle warfare that would be necessary in order to defeat the Japanese in a war in Malaya. Due to this obsession with jungle training Stewart earned himself a reputation as a crank amongst the more traditional minded officers of Malaya Command [pp 270-279 Colin Smith] . In early 1941 after his battalion had been transferred from India to Malaya, Stewart began rigorously training his men and developing new tactics to fight in all of the extreme and hostile natural terrain of Malaya. When the 2nd Argylls were thrown into the battle in early December 1941 they were to prove one of the few effective units the Japanese would face in their rapid advance down the peninsular, inflicting heavy casualties in every engagement. Sadly their effectiveness meant that they were continuously used as the buffer and suffered massive casualties as a result [Colin Smith] .

Stewart was temporarily given command of the Indian 12th Infantry Brigade after Brig.Paris took over the Indian 11th Infantry Division in late December 1941. He was in command of this brigade during the disastrous Battle of Slim River which was where the Argylls suffered their worst casualties [oob person | id = 1268 | name = Ian MacAlister Stewart] . Stewart soon returned to his beloved Argylls in Singapore after they had been decimated in the fighting on the mainland. The Argylls were reformed with Royal Marines, survivors from the H.M.S. "Prince of Wales" and the H.M.S. "Repulse", becoming known as the Plymouth Argylls. [pp445,484,506,519 Colin Smith]

He was evacuated unwillingly from Singapore before it's surrender due to the need for experienced officers and men who had proven ability to fight the Japanese Army successfully, an ability rare in the British Army at this time. What was left of the Plymouth Argyll Battalion were surrendered with three captains in command and marched into captivity behind their piper. According to some witnesses hundreds of other British Empire soldiers stood to attention as they marched past. Only 52 Argylls managed to escape before Singapore surrendered and make it to Ceylon. Many others were killed or captured when the ships they were escaping on were sunk by Japanese surface and air attack, like Major Angus MacDonald (pictured with Stewart and Sgt.Maj.Munnoch) who died on The Rooseboom.

On the 23 January 1942, Stewart was awarded the Distiguished Service Order for his services in the SOuth West Pacific area [source London Gazette] He was initially employed as a General Staff Officer Grade 1 in India lecturing on his expereinces in Malaya. He became the Chief Instructor at the School of Infantry as a Colonel, and later Brigadier General Staff (Training) with 11th Army Group in India. He returned to the United Kingdom in early 1945, being given command of the 144 Infantry Brigade on the 19 March 1945 [Joslen Order of Battle] . He spent a period as the District Commander for Stirling, the home of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, before retirement on the 13 April 1947 [source London Gazette] He was a substantive Colonel on retirement, but was awarded the Honorary rank of Brigadier. Stewart wrote the book 'The Thin Red Line, 2nd Argylls in Malaya' (Thomas Nelson, 1947) which was reprinted by the Argyll and Sutherland Regimental Museum. He died on the 14 March 1987 aged 91 years.

External links

*oob person | id = 1268 | name = Ian MacAlister Stewart
* [http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/stoz/appin_stewarts.htm Appin Stewarts]
* [http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/ Plymouth Argylls]
* [http://www.cofepow.org.uk/pages/armedforces_2nd_argylls.htm The Armed Forces web site]

References

Books

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