James Douglas McLachlan (14 February 1869 – 7 November 1937) was the first British wartime Military attaché to Washington, D.C.
Military career James Douglas McLachlan was born in Semarang, Java, on 14 February 1869. After graduating from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders in 1891.London Gazette, Appointments. 24 March 1891. Accessed 20 September 2017. He participated in the Nile Expedition in 1898 and, subsequently, at the famous Siege of Khartoum. He married Gwendolen Mab White,Daughter of Henry Charles White (1837–1905) and his second wife, Mary Helen MacMillan (1857–1931). An elder sister, Ivy Victoria, married George McLachlan in 1909. Daisy White. Daisy in Exile: The Diary of an Australian Schoolgirl in France, 1887–1889, National Library Australia, 2003 p. 188. of Havilah, New South Wales in 1903 at St Margaret's Church in London.Married 23 August 1903 at St. Margaret's Church, London. Queenslander Marriage notices. Accessed 20 September 2017.
As lieutenant colonel, McLachlan commanded the 1st Battalion of the Cameron Highlanders in March 1913 and led it to France in the early stages of the World War I until September 1914, when he was wounded. He then commanded 8th Infantry Brigade from October 1915 to March 1916. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (June 1916) and mentioned in dispatches twice (January 1916 and June 1916). He was promoted to temporary brigadier general on 26 June 1916 and commanded a brigade. He served on the staff as a brigadier general before being appointed as the first wartime military attaché to the United States;Nick Metcalfe. Mclachlan. 2015. Accessed 20 September 2017. he arrived in the United States with his wife and two school girl daughters on 11 September 1917.Year: 1911; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 1620; Line: 3; Page Number: 2.
In-post, he was promoted to Major General. He was raised to a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 3 June 1918Edinburgh Gazette, Order of the Bath, 11 June 1918, Accessed 20 September 2017. and a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in June 1919. Upon relinquishing his post as military attaché, McLachlan reverted to his substantive rank of Colonel. He was awarded the United States Distinguished Service Medal in July 1919. McLachlan was also an officer of the French Legion of Honour. He died on 7 November 1937 in London.Peter Hodgkinson, . 2016. Accessed 20 September 2017. Nick Metcalfe. Mclachlan. 2015. Accessed 20 September 2017. David R. Woodward, Trial by Friendship. University of Kentucky, 2015, p. 234.
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