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General Sir J. G. Maxwell’s Uniforms
Maxwell’s dress uniforms as Colonel and General of the
Black Watch (42nd) Royal Highland Regiment, consisting a
levee dress uniform with rank insignia of a Colonel, and a
review order uniform with those of a General.
Accompanied by the appropriate kilt, sporran, plaid,
trousers, cross-belt with plate, stockings, kid gaiters. In
steel trunk with brass plaque engraved “General Sir J. G.
Maxwell, K.B.E. M.V. R.M.S. D.S.O.”
General Sir John Grenfell Maxwell GCB, KCMG, CVO, DSO,
PC (11 July 1859 – 21 February 1929) was a British Army
officer and colonial governor. He served in the Mahdist
War in the Sudan, the Boer War, and in the First World
War, but he is best known for his role in the brutal
suppression of the 1916 Easter Rising and subsequent
execution of rebellion leaders.
After the Rising started, on 24 April 1916, Martial Law was
declared for the city and county of Dublin by the Lord
Lieutenant, Lord Wimborne, to allow Court Martial trials of
persons breaching the Defence of the Realm Act (DORA),
passed 8 August 1914 and to deal with such occurrences as
the Rising.
Maxwell arrived in Ireland on Friday 28 April as “military
governor” with “plenary powers” under Martial law. He set
about dealing with the rebellion under his understanding
of Martial law. During the week 2 to 9 May, Maxwell was
in sole charge of trials and sentences by “field general
court martial”, which was trial without defence or jury and
in camera. He had 3,400 people arrested, 183 civilians tried,
90 of whom were sentenced to death. Fifteen were
executed by firing squad between 3 May and 12 May.
Prime Minister H.H. Asquith and his government became
concerned at the speed and secrecy of events before
intervening to stop more executions. In particular, there
was concern that Defence of the Realm (DORA) regulations
of general court martial were not applied, i.e. a full court
of thirteen members, a professional judge, legal advocate
and held in public, which could have prevented some
executions. Maxwell admitted in a report to Asquith in
June that the impression that the leaders were killed in
cold blood without trial had resulted in a ‘revulsion of
feeling‘ that had set in, in favour of the rebels, and was the
result of the confusion between applying DORA as opposed
to Martial law. Although Asquith promised to publish the
court martial proceedings, they were not published until
the 1990s.
Maxwell retired in 1922 and died, aged 69, in 1929.
€
10,000-
€
15,000 (£8,000-£12,000 approx)