George Roos-Keppel

George Olaf Roos-Keppel
George Olaf Roos-Keppel
Born	7 September 1866
Died	11 December 1921
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1886–1920
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Battles/wars	Third Anglo-Afghan War
Awards	Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (1917); Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India(1915)

Sir George Olaf Roos-Keppel, GCIE, KCSI (7 September 1866 – 11 December 1921) was a British military officer who served in the capacities of Political Agent to the Governor-General in Kurram and Khyber, and later as Chief Commissioner, North West Frontier Province from 1908 till 1919. He is also known for his role in 3rd Afghan War.[1]

Life

He was born in the Park Lane area of London, the son of Gustaf Ehrenreich Roos, a Swedish merchant in England, and his wife, Elizabeth Annie Roffey, daughter of George Roffey of Twickenham. He was educated at United Services College, Westward Ho!, abroad, and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.[2]

George Roos was commissioned a lieutenant in the Royal Scots Fusiliers on 25 August 1886, and was promoted to captain on 1 September 1895.[3] He changed his surname in 1890, to Roos-Keppel, at the request of his Dutch-Swedish grandmother.[2] He transferred to the Indian Staff Corps on 19 September 1897,[4] and was Political Officer in the Khyber when in 1900 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE). Promoted to the brevet rank of major in 1902, he received the substantive rank of major in 1904 and promotion to Brevet lieutenant-colonel in 1907. In 1908, he was knighted with the KCIE and was promoted to full Lieutenant-Colonel in 1912.

In 1913, Roos-Keppel, along with Nawab Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum established Islamia College (Peshawar), which was inaugurated by Haji Sahib Turangzai. Roos-Keppel was also president of Central Committee of Examiners in Pashto. He is credited with foreseeing the genius in the young Cambridge graduate Inayatullah Khan by appointing him, at the age of 24, the Vice Principal of Islamia College (Peshawar) in 1913, and then the Principal in 1917. He was appointed a KCSI in 1915 and a GCIE in 1917. He formally retired from the Indian Army in 1920 and died on 11 December of the following year, aged 55.

Academic contributions

Roos-Keppel was well versed in the Pashto language:

In 1901, he produced his own editions from T. B. Hughes' English translations of Ganj-e-Pashto and Tarikh-e-Sultan Mahmud-e-Ghaznavi. These editions replaced the older versions as textbooks for Military officers.
He also authored 'The Pashto Manual' as a guide book on colloquial Pashto in 1901, followed by a second impression in 1907 while serving as Captain in the Khyber

Notes

Sir Olaf Caroe, The Pathans, London: Macmillan, 1958
Moreman, T. R. "Keppel, Sir George Olof Roos- [formerly George Olof Roos]". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35823. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Hart's Army list, 1901
"No. 27168". The London Gazette. 23 February 1900. p. 1264.

Government offices
Preceded by Harold Deane	Chief Commissioner of the North-West Frontier Province 1908–1909	Succeeded by William Rudolph Henry Merck
Preceded by William Rudolph Henry Merck	2nd term 1910–1913	Succeeded by Sir John Stuart Donald
Preceded by Sir John Stuart Donald	3rd term 1915–1919	Succeeded by Sir Hamilton Grant

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[1] Sir Olaf Caroe, The Pathans, London: Macmillan, 1958

[ODNB-2] Moreman, T. R. "Keppel, Sir George Olof Roos- [formerly George Olof Roos]". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35823. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

[3] Hart's Army list, 1901

[4] "No. 27168". The London Gazette. 23 February 1900. p. 1264.