Ian MacAlister Stewart

Brigadier Ian MacAlister Stewart, 13th Laird of Achnacone, (17 October 1895 – 14 March 1987) was a Scottish military officer who served in the British Army during both the First and Second World Wars. Known for his eccentric training methods, he commanded the 2nd Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, which participated in the Malayan campaign and the Battle of Singapore during the Second World War.

Early life Stewart was born on 17 October 1895, part of the Stewart family of Appin in Argyllshire. His place of birth, in Surore, Poona, India, was where his father, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Kenneth Stewart, 12th of Achnacone, was a medical officer in the Poona Horse before his parents returned to Scotland. Stewart attended Cheltenham College before going to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, on a prize cadetship. He passed through Sandhurst in 1913 as the top student of his year, and the youngest. and on 11 August of that year became the first British soldier to land on French soil and the first to be mentioned in a despatch. He served throughout the First World War and was highly decorated, earning the Military Cross and Bar, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. At the end of the war, Stewart was a temporary captain. He became heir to Achnacone after his older brother, Captain Alexander D.L. Stewart, died in a motorcycle accident in Dublin in 1919. On 8 September 1931, Stewart was promoted to major. Stewart's military career was dominated by his service with the Argylls, a regiment to which he was so wedded 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. Stewart had married Ursula Morely-Fletcher in 1937 when he was 42 years old. When the 2nd Argylls were thrown into the battle in early December 1941, the battalion was one of the few effective units the Japanese would face in their rapid advance down the peninsula, inflicting heavy casualties in every engagement. The Argylls' effectiveness meant that the battalion was continuously used as the buffer and suffered heavy casualties as a result. When the Battle of Malaya finally ended and the surviving Allied soldiers retreated across the causeway onto Singapore Island, Stewart and his batman, Drummer Hardy, were the last to cross. The Plymouth Argylls suffered heavy casualties during the brief Battle of Singapore. Stewart was evacuated unwillingly from Singapore before its surrender due to the need for experienced officers and men who had proven ability to fight the Japanese Army, an ability rare in the British Army at this time. By the time of the surrender on 15 February, the Plymouth Argylls were reduced to 40 officers and men. He was initially employed as a General Staff Officer Grade 1 in India, lecturing on his experiences in Malaya. Officers with jungle warfare experience who had actually fought the Japanese and seen their tactics in action were in high demand by the army command in India. Of the officers to have escaped from Singapore, Stewart was one of the most experienced. 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. Of Stewart, Field Marshal Archibald Wavell wrote:

Stewart's report, written after his arrival in India, and his knowledge along with that of the other officers and men who escaped from Singapore, had a direct effect on the training and tactics that would be used by the British and Commonwealth Armies in fighting the Japanese throughout the rest of the war. He spent a period of time as the District Commander for Stirling, the home of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.

Retirement Stewart retired from the army on 13 April 1947 at the age of 52, a short time after the death of his father.