Robert Adams (Indian Army officer)

He rode into fierce fire to save a wounded officer in India.

Robert Bellew Adams was born at Murree, Punjab, on 26 July 1856. His father, a frontier officer, was killed in 1865. Adams entered the Army in 1876 and transferred to Indian service, becoming closely associated with the Corps of Guides. He served in Afghanistan and the Chitral relief expedition.

On 17 August 1897, at Nawa Kili in Upper Swat, Adams joined fellow officers and Guides in attempting to rescue Lieutenant Greaves, who lay wounded and surrounded. The party advanced under close fire. Greaves was killed, Lieutenant Hector MacLean received mortal wounds, and Adams's horse was shot. Adams, MacLean and Viscount Fincastle received Victoria Crosses for the rescue attempt.

Adams subsequently commanded the Guides, served with the Buner Field Force and became a major general. Ill health following an accident led to retirement in 1911. He became a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1912 and retired to Scotland. He died at Inverness on 13 February 1928.