Alfred Gaselee

General Sir Alfred Gaselee, (3 June 1844 – 29 March 1918) was a soldier who served in the British Indian Army.

Early life Gaselee was born at Little Yeldham, Essex, the eldest son of the Reverend John Gaselee, rector of Little Yeldham, and his wife, Sarah Anne Mant. He entered Felsted School in 1853 and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in 1861.

Career Gaselee was commissioned as an ensign into the 93rd regiment (later the Sutherland Highlanders) on 9 January 1863. He was involved in the campaign on the North-West Frontier of India in that year. He was promoted lieutenant on 11 October 1866, transferred to the Bengal staff corps, and joined the 4th Punjab infantry on 27 September 1867.

Gaselee went with the Indian force to Abyssinia, where he acted as assistant to the director-general of transport and was present at the capture of Magdala (13 April 1868). Gaselee was nominally put in charge of the Gaselee Expedition because the Eight-Nation Alliance refused to the allow the Japanese general Yamaguchi Motomi to lead it, even though he was the highest-ranking officer present. As a reward for his services, he was created Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE) on 24 July 1901. He was promoted lieutenant-general on 30 June 1903 on appointment as Commander-in-Chief Bengal Command and to full general on 30 June 1906. He became General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Northern Army in India in 1907. He retired in November 1908 and, having been created a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) on 25 June 1909, he died at his residence in Guildford on 29 March 1918. He was buried at Mount Cemetery.

Family

On 20 August 1895 he married secondly Alice Margaret, daughter of Gartside Gartside-Tipping of Rossferry, County Fermanagh, Ireland, who outlived him.