VC Action: Lieutenant General Sir William Babtie VC KCB KCMG (7 May 1859 -11 September 1920) was Scottish, 40 years old, and a major in the Royal Army Medical Corps, British Army during the Second Boer War when he won his VC.
Babtie entered the Army Medical Service on 30 July 1881. He served during the international occupation of Crete as Senior Medical Officer 1897-98, and was created a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in June 1899, also in South Africa on the Staff of the Natal Army, when he was present at all the actions for the relief of Ladysmith and the subsequent operations in Natal and Eastern Transvaal.
On 15 December 1899 at the Battle of Colenso, South Africa, the wounded of the 14th and 66th Batteries, Royal Field Artillery, were lying in an advanced donga close to the rear of the guns, without any medical officer to attend to them; and when a message was sent back asking for assistance, Major W Babtie, rode up under a heavy rifle-fire, his pony being hit three times. When he arrived at the donga, where the wounded were lying in a sheltered corner, he attended to them all, going from place to place exposed to the heavy rifle-fire which greeted anyone who showed himself. Later on in the day Major Babtie went out with Captain Congreve to bring in Lieutenant Frederick Hugh Sherston (The Hon.) Roberts, who was lying wounded on the veldt. This also was under a heavy fire. For his services in this campaign Major Babtie was mentioned in Despatches, received the Queens South Africa Medal with five clasps and the Victoria Cross.
Babtie was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in April 1901, and appointed Assistant-Director, Army Medical Service in that June. In 1903 he was made a Knight of the Venerable Order of Saint John. He was promoted to colonel in 1907, and appointed Inspector of Medical Services. In 1910 he was appointed Deputy Director-General of Medical Services and granted the temporary rank of surgeon-general. The rank was made permanent in 1911. He was made a Companion of the Bath (CB) in the 1912 King's Birthday Honours. On 1 June 1914 he was appointed Honorary Surgeon to the King, holding the post until 7 May 1919.
Subsequently entering the Army Medical Service following his qualification as a surgeon he rose to become its Assistant Director-General in 1901. When general war broke out in Europe in August 1914 Babtie was appointed Director of Medical Supplies in India. He was given a brief of providing medical support to British operations in Mesopotamia, initially under General Barrett and then Sir John Nixon.
Partly owing to the overly aggressive forward strategy adopted by Nixon early in the campaign, which manifestly overstretched British supply lines, and in part due to his own failings, medical provision to the campaign effectively collapsed. Thousands of soldiers fell prey to disease and illness rather than to enemy action; many died.
The British Mesopotamia Commission's report in 1917 clearly condemned Nixon for his part in the campaign's calamities at Kut-al-Amara, but also failed to entirely exonerate Babtie from criticism of his own role in ongoing medical shortages. Babtie had however by then moved on and had served as Principal Director of Medical Services in the Mediterranean, a post he held from June 1915 to 1916. He was therefore responsible for medical supplies on Gallipoli and in Egypt and Salonika; once again his role attracted adverse criticism.
By the time the Mesopotamia Commission finally produced its report Babtie was already Director of Medical Supplies at the War Office in London; he had also been knighted. The following year brought further promotion, to Inspector of Medical Services and he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 1919 King's Birthday Honours.
Following the armistice Babtie was chairman of the Babtie Committee on Reorganisation of the Army Medical Service.
He died at Knocke, Belgium, on 11 September 1920, aged 61.
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