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One of
the most eminent and influential Cameron Highlanders of the late 19th and
early 20th centuries Spencer Ewart was born in 1861 and educated at
Marlborough and Sandhurst. He was commissioned into the Queen’s Own
Cameron Highlanders in 1881 and this regiment above all others remained at
the centre of his affections for the rest of his life.
He served with the Camerons in Eqypt in 1882 and fought at the battle of
Tel- el- Kebir. Thereafter his battle experience included the Nile
Expedition of 1884-85, the Sudan Frontier Field Force 1885-86, Sudan 1898
and South Africa 1899-1902. While serving with the Camerons it was Ewart
who began the Regimental Journal, The 79th News. This was one of the
earliest regimental journals of its kind and it was published in an
unbroken run until the regiment was amalgamated in 1961.
After 1902 Spencer Ewart began a distinguished career at the War Office
which culminated in 1910 with his appointment as Adjutant General. In the
various appointments which he held at the War Office he was influential in
implementing all of the major reforms of the period from the birth of the
Territorial Force to planning, training, selection and equipment reviews
following the South African War and a major reappraisal of the system of
Battle honours. As a result of this latter work the “Cypher of Queen
Victoria within the Garter” was added to the honours of the Camerons.
Ewart was also involved in the founding of the British Secret Service, the
formation of the Piobaireachd Society, which was destined to train all
Army Pipe Majors for 50 years, and the compilation and writing of the
Historical Records of the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, volumes which
set new standards for regimental histories.
Ewart’s career and influence was abruptly curtailed in March 1914 when he
resigned as Adjutant General as a result of “the Curragh Incident” when
British officers stationed at the Curragh camp near Dublin made it clear
that they would choose not to march against Ulstermen in the north.
Thereafter Spencer Ewart was appointed as General Officer Commanding in
Chief, Scottish Command and, in spite his brilliant brain and his battle,
staff and planning experience, he spent a heartbreaking war at home. He
was never invited to visit the Western Front or see his beloved Cameron
Highlanders in the front line.
Spencer Ewart died in 1930 at his home Craigcleugh, near Langholm.
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