White, George Stewart (1835-1912)

Northern Irish soldier, commander-in-chief of British forces in India 1893-98. During the Second Anglo-Boer War, he won fame as commander of the forces that held the town of Ladysmith during an arduous four-month siege (November 1899-February 1900).

White was born at Ballymena, County Antrim. He accompanied Earl Roberts on his victorious Afghanistan campaign of 1878-80, winning the Victoria Cross for his bravery in the relief of Kandahar. In 1893 he succeeded Roberts as commander-in-chief in India, and in 1898 became quartermaster-general of the forces. He was governor of Gibraltar 1900-04, and was made a field-marshal in 1903.