Archibald Stirling (British Army officer)

Brigadier General Archibald Stirling, DL, of Keir and Cawdor (1867 – 18 February 1931) was an officer of the British Army who also served as a Member of Parliament. Stirling was born at Keir near Dunblane, the second son of Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, 9th Baronet of Keir and Pollok and his wife Lady Anna Maria, second daughter of the 10th Earl of Leven and Melville. Sir John Stirling-Maxwell, 10th Baronet was his elder brother and Stirling was heir-presumptive to the baronetcy. Stirling was married in 1910 to the Hon. Margaret Fraser, fourth daughter of the 13th Lord Lovat; they had four sons and two daughters. He was a member of the Guards' Club, the Carlton Club and the Turf Club. One of Stirling's sons is Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling of Keir. The current Laird of the Keir estate is the younger Stirling's nephew Archie Stirling, a millionaire businessman and former Scots Guards officer. Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, Stirling joined the Scots Guards in 1889. He was promoted from second lieutenant to lieutenant on 4 May 1892, and to captain on 24 June 1899. He served with the Egyptian Army from 1899 to 1900, and was awarded the Queen's Sudan Medal with clasp for Soudan. Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War, he joined the 2nd Battalion of his regiment and left Southampton for South Africa on the SS Britannic in March 1900. The battalion was attached to the 16th Infantry Brigade, and Stirling served throughout the war from 1900 to 1902. For his service he was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal with three clasps and the King's South Africa Medal with two clasps. He retired from the service on 17 June 1903, receiving a gratuity, and became a captain in the Reserve of Officers. On 23 January 1904 he joined the Imperial Yeomanry as a major in Lovat's Scouts, transferring to the Territorial Force on 1 April 1908. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 18 August 1909, and was commanding officer of the 2nd Lovat Scouts.