Lieutenant-General William Forbes Gatacre was born at Herbertshire Castle, near Stirling, Scotland, on 3 December 1843.
He graduated from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, was posted to the 77th Foot in 1862, and sent to India.
At the outbreak of the South African War (1899-1902), Gatacre was placed at the head of the 3rd division at the Battle of Stormberg, during ‘Black Week’, in which 135 men were killed and 696 captured in an ambush.
His reputation, which was high on his arrival in South Africa, sank after Stormberg, and he was recalled to England.
