LIEUTENANT Colonel Douglas Robertson, who has died aged 88, was a member of a distinguished Scottish family with the tradition of service in the British army, and was awarded an MC for gallantry on the North-west Frontier of India in 1937.
Frank Douglas Robertson, the son of an army officer, was born in South Africa on August 26, 1909, and was educated at Herne Bay College and Sandhurst. His early life was spent in India where his family was serving at the time, which enabled him to speak Urdu and Pushtu fluently and, after Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the Durham Light Infantry whom he joined at Razmak on the North-west Frontier. In 1930 he transferred to the Kumaon Rifles and then in 1933 to the South Waziristan Scouts, renowned for their skill, endurance, and fighting records in quelling disturbances on the frontier.
On April 9, 1937, a routine
convoy of 51 vehicles set out
from Manzai to Wana and was ambushed in a narrow gorge between steep rocky hills containing numerous places for concealing guns and sniper positions. When the convoy was deep into the gorge it was attacked by
Mahsud and other tribesmen who had been incited to rebel by a religious zealot named Faqir of Ipi.
The first burst of fire killed most of the officers and drivers in the convoy, set fire to some of the vehicles, and effectively blocked the road by damaging others. When Robertson, at that time commanding a South Waziristan fort near Wana, heard the news, he quickly assembled a small force which he then proceeded to lead up the hill behind the ambushing tribesmen. Although intercepted, he led his men through brisk fighting up to the summit from which he could attack the ambushers from behind. He was then hit by a dum-dum bullet, which spreads on impact, inflicting an appalling wound which is usually fatal. In spite of this injury, Robertson refused to be evacuated, and after a night's rest managed to get on to his feet and walked around organising the next phase of the attack. He then rested again but his scouts fought their way down to the
convoy, killing some 40 of the ambushing tribesmen and dispersing the rest, for a loss of only seven of their own killed.
After recovering from his wounds, Robertson attended the Staff College, Quetta, and was then posted as second-in-
command to the 2nd Hyderabad Regiment. After training in
jungle warfare in India the 2nd Hyderabad were posted to India
to take part in the heavy fighting around Imphal in which Robertson was awarded a bar to his
MC, and he went on to command other regiments.
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