life or to go in for any social round and my uncle simply would not face it. Yet, when they were in society neither of them ever showed that he was bored. My uncle was especially impatient of what he called ‘a platitudinous dog’ but while talking to such a person would be almost extravagantly courteous.16
Again this analysis may throw light on some of Jack White’s behaviour. Referring, for example to D.H. Lawrence’s accounts of him, including, most famously, White punching the author in what appears to be a thuggish act, the fact that he was ill at ease and under stress might provide mitigating circumstances.17
Unlike his son, George White pursued a lifetime career in the army. He was appointed an ensign when aged eighteen in 1853 in the 27 Foot and, although quite ambitious, took five years to become a lieutenant, another five to reach captain, and was 38 before he became a major. Instead of being posted to ‘a real war in the Crimea’, he found himself in India which he detested, at first telling his sister that if he ‘had known what sort of a place it was I should have left the army and taken to breaking stones in Ireland’.18 Things changed, however, and he did see action in the Indian Mutiny of 1857–59 in which he won a medal, but it was not until the Afghan War (1879–80) that his much-desired career took off when he had attained the mature age of forty-four. The citation for the award of his Victoria Cross runs as follows:
George Stuart White, Major (now Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel), 92nd Regiment (Gordon Highlanders). Date of Act of Bravery: 6th October, 1879. For conspicuous bravery during the engagement at Charasia on the 6th October, 1879, when, finding that the artillery and rifle fire failed to dislodge the enemy from a fortified hill which it was necessary to capture, Major White led an attack on it in person. Advancing with two companies of his regiment, and climbing from one steep ledge to another, he came upon a body of the enemy strongly posted and outnumbering his force by about eight to one. His men being much exhausted and immediate action being necessary, Major White took a rifle and, going on by himself, shot the leader of the enemy. This act so intimidated the rest that they fled round the side of the hill and the position was won. Again on the 1st September, 1880, at the Battle of Kandahar, Major White, in leading the final charge under heavy fire from the enemy, who held a strong position supported by two guns, rode straight up to within a few yards of them, and seeing the guns, dashed forward and secured one of them, immediately after which the enemy retired.19
It is clear that White displayed a total disregard for the conventional instincts of self-preservation on 6 October 1879. Of course this is a primary requirement for such an award, but, as the citation makes clear, he acted in this fashion on more than one occasion. This lead some to mistakenly believe he had won a double VC; family documents maintain he was recommended on both occasions and ‘his VC bears the two dates’.20 At the age of 44, and with a newly-born son, White displayed a character that could appear enigmatic, at least to a modern sensibility. There are numerous other examples, but these occasions are the most dramatic indications of dedication to a cause that would have to be called selfless.
What The Times called ‘his readiness for any service’ manifested itself in accepting an offer of duty, ‘when at home in command of his own regiment in Edinburgh (a very pleasant duty)’, in Egypt where ‘the post assigned to him was less important than he deserved, and afforded little opportunity for military distinction’.21 A family record of his subsequent career provides details:
In October 1885 he was given a Brigade in Burma and six months later, in March 1886, he was given command of the field force in Burma with the local rank of Major General and remained in this command till 1888, when the subjugation of Upper Burma was complete […] From 1893 to 1898 he was the Commander in Chief in India after which he was appointed Quarter Master General in the War Office. At the outbreak of the South African War in 1899, he was appointed to command the Natal Field Force and defended Ladysmith in the famous siege. 22
For more than twenty years, despite his ambitions, his career had been undistinguished – a rank of major when his compatriot Frederick Roberts (Bobs), just three years older, was already a major general – but from the moment he charged up the hill of Takht-i-shah, his path to eminence took a similar trajectory.
Although earning the soubriquet ‘Hero of Ladysmith’ could be described as the apogee of his fame – he was probably the most famous man in the United Kingdom in 190023 – he continued to earn further plaudits and became a field marshal in 1903. When he died in London in 1912 his body was brought for burial to Fulke Whyte’s plot in Broughshane and his funeral was described as one of the biggest ever in the north of Ireland. Crowds met the ferry at Larne and accompanied it to the graveside; the town of Ballymena, en route, was completely shut down for a number of hours.24
Sir George, despite being known as the ‘Hero of Ladysmith’, had been the subject of questions about the wisdom of his actions in the Boer campaign. Even his obituary in The Times mentioned that ‘he had never commanded an army in the field against forces armed with modern weapons’ and acknowledged that ‘criticisms ha[d] been directed at him’ during the siege.25 However, his popularity overrode any such misgivings and on his return to England, Durand said, ‘it would serve no purpose to describe the various complimentary ceremonials’ that Sir George received except ‘a great dinner given in his honour by the Ulster Association in London’ where he was congratulated ‘upon the way in which he had acted upon the motto of Ulster, “No surrender”’.26 Queen Victoria commissioned a portrait of him by Philip De László, and it still forms part of the royal family painting collection today.27
On 11 July 1900 Sir George White ‘was sworn in as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the City and Garrison’ of Gibraltar.28 This strategic promontory had been occupied continuously by the British since 1713. It was a staging post for anyone travelling by sea to the Mediterranean, and since the completion of the Suez Canal all shipping bound for the Far East passed through its waters as well. France and Germany during this time were competing for influence in Morocco and a considerable amount of diplomatic activity took place prior to the Algeciras agreement in 1906 shortly after Sir George retired in 1905. The British Empire made its presence felt with flotillas of naval ships steaming around the area in various maritime exercises. The governor’s visitors’ book is replete with a list of the ‘great and good’ as well as those of a more commercial disposition; the fact that it features both King Edward and the Kaiser (twice) indicates the importance of the posting.29 Jack White joined his father there in 1902 as an aide-de-camp and it is probably the only occasion that the two were together for any extended period. It was there also that Jack saw at first hand the real face of imperialism, that is, those operators, those ‘movers and shakers’ whose creed was the garnering of the resources of the world towards primarily themselves.
Chapter 2
Training for Imperialism
Childhood and Education
White’s first reminiscence consists of what he calls his ‘consecutive memories’ at the age of seven when he was told either that no one could stand on a three-legged stool or that he specifically was not allowed to do so. Having done so, and having fallen and cut his head, he still persisted in maintaining that authority was wrong. The floor was uneven; if it had not been so, he would have been unhurt – therefore he was correct in his refusal to accept the edict handed down to him.1 In the early schools he attended he recalls the constant corporal punishment, and although the amount of beatings he took would not have been exceptional in those days, there does seem to have been a rebelliousness in him that made him stand out from the other children.
At the same time, his autobiography demonstrates a remarkable good-naturedness about his recollections of travails, a readiness to accept that people found themselves at the mercy of forces over which they had no control, whether these were external pressures and conditioning, or internal in the sense that it was their nature to behave so. This attitude is one that persisted right through his life, showing itself overall as a lack of bitterness about various injustices that he suffered, coupled with a deep appreciation of kindnesses that were shown him. Of course, this could have been with the hindsight of many years – he was 50 when he wrote Misfit; on the other hand, there are numerous occasions when he attempted to concentrate on what he imagined to be the good side in some recalcitrant opponent.