Alexander Cobbe

Born in Nainital in the Bengal Presidency on 5 June 1870, Alexander Stanhope Cobbe was raised in an established military family as the son of Lieutenant General Sir Alexander Hugh Cobbe and Emily Barbara Cobbe. He attended Eagle House School and Wellington College before entering the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, following his elder brother, Henry Hercules Cobbe. Passing out in September 1889, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the South Wales Borderers at the age of nineteen. Three years later, he transferred to the Indian Staff Corps and joined the 32nd Punjab Pioneers.

Active military operations began along the Northwest Frontier during the 1895 Chitral Expedition, where he served in campaign duties aimed at restoring stability across the region. Participation in the Relief of Chitral earned him the India Medal with its corresponding clasp. In October 1899, he was seconded to East Africa, taking up duties as second-in-command of the 1st Battalion, Central African Rifles, with the local rank of captain.

Colonial service soon took him to West Africa during the outbreak of the War of the Golden Stool in 1900. Holding the local rank of major while commanding the Central Africa Regiment, he led a column of 300 men tasked with clearing terrain surrounding the besieged fort at Kumasi. Encountering stockades in dense bush on 6 August 1900, he manoeuvred his force to outflank the defensive positions and clear the obstacle. Severe wounds sustained during the combat temporarily forced him from the field, but he returned by late September to direct the left flank of a major assault alongside Major Charles John Melliss. Official recognition followed in military despatches, which noted: "Captain (local Major) A. S. Cobbe, Indian Staff Corps. – Severely wounded 6 August. He is an Officer to be thoroughly trusted, and commanded in several fights, where he invariably did well. I hope he will be rewarded." His actions brought promotion to substantive captain in the Indian Staff Corps, appointment to the Distinguished Service Order, and the Ashanti Medal with the Kumassi clasp.

The Somaliland Campaign against the forces of Mohammed Abdullah Hassan brought further operational responsibility. Serving as Commandant of the 1st Battalion, King's African Rifles, he was present at the Battle of Erigo on 6 October 1902 when an ambush thrown by Dervish forces created confusion among the forward companies. As units retired, he remained isolated ahead of the main line with an exposed Maxim gun. The official citation for the Victoria Cross, published in the London Gazette on 20 January 1903, described the engagement: "During the action at Erego, on 6 October 1902, when some of the Companies had retired, Lieutenant-Colonel Cobbe was left by himself in front of the line, with a Maxim gun. Without assistance, he brought in the Maxim, and worked it at a most critical time. He then went out under an extremely hot fire from the enemy about 20 yards in front of him, and from his own men (who had retired) about the same distance behind, and succeeded in carrying in a wounded Orderly." Major General W. Manning presented the decoration at Obbia, Somaliland, on 22 February 1903.

Subsequent operations in East Africa included establishing a fortified camp near Gumburu and taking part in the combat at Jidballi in January 1904. Promoted to major and brevet lieutenant colonel in December 1907, he moved into administrative and staff roles, serving at Army Headquarters in India as Staff Captain and later Staff Officer Grade 1. On 1 October 1910, he married Winifred Ada Bowen, daughter of Sir Albert Bowen, 1st Baronet. Appointment as Aide-de-Camp to King George V and promotion to colonel followed in June 1912.

The outbreak of the First World War led to his deployment to the Western Front in September 1914. Attached initially to an Indian Sikh regiment, he served as Deputy Adjutant and Quartermaster General before becoming Brigadier General, General Staff of I Corps under Hubert Gough in July 1915. Mentioned in despatches multiple times, he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1915 and promoted to major general for field service in June 1916.

Transferred to the Mesopotamia Campaign in late 1916, he assumed command of the III Indian Corps. Under his command, the corps conducted operations along the Tigris River, contributing to the recapture of Kut-al-Amara in February 1917 and the capture of Baghdad the following month. Further operations at Samarrah and Ramadi expanded territorial control. In late October 1918, his command advanced 120 kilometres in two days to reach the Little Zab River, defeating Turkish forces at Sharqat in the final major combat engagement of the Mesopotamian front prior to the occupation of Mosul.

Post-war duties saw him serve two tenures as Military Secretary to the India Office and take command as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command in India from 1926 to 1930. Promoted to full General in March 1926, his honours included Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, and foreign appointments to the French Legion of Honour and Italian Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus. Colonel of the South Wales Borderers and the Sikh Pioneers, General Sir Alexander Stanhope Cobbe died on 29 June 1931 and was buried at Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire.