Orders, Decorations and Medals

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A fine Great War C.B., C.M.G., Boer War D.S.O. group of eight awarded to Brigadier-General J. S. Ollivant, Royal Artillery: first decorated for his services in “Chestnut Troop”, R.H.A. and 5th Brigade, R.F.A. in South Africa, he displayed courage of a high order as a Battery Commander at Ypres in October 1914 - in his famous history of that campaign Conan Doyle describes how the village that Ollivant was defending was ‘furiously assailed’, so much so that when he finally reported back to our lines, everyone was amazed to see him, his battery long since having been written off

The Most Honourable Order of The Bath, C.B. (Military) Companion’s neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel; The Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, C.M.G. Companion’s neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel; Distinguished Service Order, V.R., silver-gilt and enamel; Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 5 clasps, Tugela Heights, Orange Free State, Relief of Ladysmith, Laing’s Nek, Belfast (Capt. & Adjt. J. S. Ollivant, D.S.O., R.F.A.); King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (Capt. & Adjt. J. S. Ollivant, D.S.O., R.F.A.); 1914 Star, with clasp (Major J. S. Ollivant, D.S.O., R.H.A.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (Brig. Gen. J. S. Ollivant), the whole contained within an old glazed display frame, the fourth with minor official correction to unit, enamel work slightly chipped in places, generally very fine or better (8) £2500-3000

C.B. London Gazette 3 June 1919: ‘For military operations in France and Flanders.’

C.M.G. London Gazette 1 January 1917: ‘For services rendered in connection with military operations in the Field.’

D.S.O. London Gazette 27 September 1901: ‘In recognition of services during the operations in South Africa’.

Mention in despatches London Gazette 10 September 1901; 17 February 1915; 4 January, 15 May and 11 December 1917; 20 December 1918 and 5 July 1919.

John Spencer Ollivant was born in July 1872, the son of Colonel E. A. Ollivant of Nuthurst, Sussex, and was educated at Rugby and the R.M.A. Woolwich. Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in October 1892, he went out to India at the end of 1904, where, stationed in the Central Provinces with 17th Battery, R.F.A., he was advanced to Lieutenant in October 1895.

Transferred to ‘A’ Battery, R.H.A. (a.k.a. the “Chesnut Troop”), in 1897, he witnessed active service in the same unit in the Boer War, initially with Buller’s relief of Ladysmith column, including the operations of the 5-7 February 1900 and the action at Vaal Kranz, when over 14 days his battery expended 565 rounds in anger.

Advanced to Captain in April 1900, Ollivant subsequently participated in operations in the Transvaal from June to November of the same year, latterly as Divisional Adjutant, 5th Brigade, R.A., which comprised 63, 64 and 73 Batteries, R.F.A., and in which role he acted until December 1901; so, too, in the Orange River Colony from January to March, and May 1902. He was mentioned in despatches (London Gazette 10 September 1901 refers), and awarded the D.S.O., which insignia he received from the King at an investiture in October 1902.

Having then served again in India, he returned to the U.K. to take up appointment as a Staff Captain at the War Office in October 1904, in which capacity he remained employed until November 1908. Advanced to Major in October of the following year, he assumed command of ‘F’ Battery, R.H.A., in 1911, and took it to France in October 1914. Here, then, the opening chapter to a most gallant and distinguished wartime career, best summarised by a fellow gunner, General Sir Robert Gordon-Finlayson, K.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., who wrote to The Times on Ollivant’s death:

‘It was not till the War that he had the opportunity to single himself out from among his fellows as the born leader, the really high-class gunner, and most gallant officer that he undoubtedly was. It is sufficient to mention his command of ‘F’ Battery, R.H.A., with the 7th Division at the opening of the battle of Ypres. In the village of Kruiseik he was shot out of his O.Ps over and over again, but, half buried in bricks and beams around him, he gave an example of calmness and confidence which had far-reaching effects. He never for one moment relaxed his search for those targets the destruction of which would assist the infantry he was supporting. After the battle he showed me with pride the note he had received from those infantry (the Guards, 20th Brigade) thanking him for the very effective support he had given’.

An indication of the ferocity of the fighting at Kruiseik may be gleaned from Conan Doyle’s The British Campaign in France and Flanders 1914, in which he states the village and crossroads were ‘furiously assailed’. No wonder then that Ollivant discovered on his return from the battle that his battery had been “written off” some days ago as destroyed or captured. 2nd Lieutenant T. H. Sebag-Montefiore, one of his subalterns, concluded, ‘This first week of active fighting in which ‘F’ Battery took part was remarkable for the fact that for practically the whole period the front line was never more than 600 yards from the guns and that the Battery was for most of the time under rifle and machine-gun fire’; see Major Tyndale-Biscoe’s history of ‘F’ Battery for full details.

Mentioned in despatches, Ollivant remained in command of the Battery until appointed C.O. of 35 Brigade, R.F.A., as a Lieutenant-Colonel, in August 1915, the intervening period having seen his guns once more in action at Neuve Chapelle, Aubers, Festubert and Givenchy. A few weeks later, he took over 3 Brigade, R.H.A. and, in July 1916, became Brigadier-General, C.R.A. 3rd Division. To begin with his relations with the Divisional G.O.C. were strained, and it was only following the arrival of General (afterwards Field Marshal) Deverell that he was able to put in place vital improvements, among them the policy of making alternative gun positions for each of his batteries. Thus, with the advent of the German Spring Offensive, all of the Division’s guns were moved at short notice, thereby denying the enemy an early opportunity to engage our artillery. In the words of Major Sir Edward Chadwyck-Healey, Bt., M.C., who was then Ollivant’s A.D.C., such tactics proved vital in providing one of the major turning points of the War:

‘The result of this [successful movement of batteries] was that the Third Division became the hinge of the German penetration. South of us there was a complete void until most of the Guards Division was marched across our rear to form a defensive flank to us. I think there is little doubt that if the Third Division had given way, the B.E.F. in France would have been divided in two, one half rolled back on to Calais and Dunkirk, the other left in the air with no communications to the coast except possibly through Le Havre. This feat of the Third Division was widely acclaimed at the time by the High Command, both French and British, and indeed German, and in the Press at home.’

Given the Brevets of Lieutenant-Colonel (London Gazette 18 February 1915 refers) and Colonel (London Gazette 1 January 1918 refers), Ollivant was five more times mentioned in despatches and awarded the C.B. and C.M.G.

The General, who possessed ‘a character as straight as the line he took to hounds’, died at his residence in Winchester in October 1937.