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Robert Pringle (British Army officer)

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The grave of Major-General Sir Robert Pringle in Green Lane Cemetery in Farnham in Surrey

Major-General Sir Robert Pringle KCMG CB DSO FRCVS (25 August 1855 – 30 June 1925) was Director-General of the Army Veterinary Service from 1910 to 1917.

Pringle was born in 1855, the son of Mary née McCulloch (1819–1902) and Gilbert Pringle (1818–1897), a master blacksmith of Stranraer in Scotland and attended Glasgow College. He joined the Army Veterinary Department of the British Army in October 1878 and served during the Afghan War and in the Mahsud–Waziri Expedition of 1881 (where he was mentioned in despatches), and in the Zhob Valley Expedition of 1884. He was Principal Veterinary Officer of the 3rd Army from December 1901 to February 1903, serving in the Boer War of 1899-1902 as Senior Veterinary Officer. He was again mentioned in despatches and was appointed DSO.

Pringle became Principal Veterinary Officer and Lieutenant-Colonel on 11 December 1901 and was Inspecting Veterinary Officer in India from March 1903 to May 1907, serving on the North West Frontier. He was promoted to Colonel in December 1906. Pringle was Principal Veterinary Officer at Aldershot Command from February 1908 to October 1910 and was created a CB in 1909. He was Director-General of the Army Veterinary Service from 1910 to 1917 and was in that post when World War I broke out. It was through him that the conditions for wounded horses were improved with evacuation stations and motor horse ambulances introduced. He left the War Office in 1917 retiring with the honorary rank of Major-General. Pringle was created KCMG in 1917.

Pringle was a keen sportsman, playing racquets and polo and riding to hounds. In 1898 he married Sophie Moir-Byres (1872-1964), the eldest daughter of George Moir-Byres, of Tonley. They are buried in Green Lane Cemetery in Farnham in Surrey.

References

  1. Gilbert Pringle in the 1861 Scotland Census
  2. ^ Major-General Robert Pringle, C.B., D.S.O., F.R.C.V.S. - The Veterinary Journal (1900), Volume 70, Issue 8, August 1914, Pages 440-442
  3. The London Gazette, 29 July 1902
  4. The London Gazette, 31 October 1902
  5. ^ Robert Pringle - The V. C. and D. S. O.: A Complete Record of All Those Officers, Non-commissioned Officers and Men of His Majesty's Naval, Military and Air Forces who Have Been Awarded These Decorations from the Time of Their Institution, with Descriptions of the Deeds and Services which Won the Distinctions and with Many Biographical and Other Details, Compiled from Official Publications and Despatches, Letters from Commanding Officers and Other Contemporary Accounts, and from Information from Private Sources, Volume II, Standard Art Book Company Limited (1924) - The Distinguished Service Order, pg. 287
  6. ^ Sir Robert Pringle (1855-1926) - Surrey in the Great War: A County Remembers - A Surrey Heritage (Surrey County Council) project
  7. Promotion of Robert Pringle to Colonel - The London Gazette 8 January 1907
  8. Grave of Sir Robert Pringle in Green Lane Cemetery, Farnham - Find a Grave
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