Lambert, James Drummond (1835 - 3/3/1905)

Born in 1835 he qualified MRCVS (Edinburgh) in 1855 and as Veterinary Officer to the 17th Lancers regiment came to Natal in 1879. He was wounded at the battle of Ulundi that same year. He also completed a second tour of duty in Natal with the Army Veterinary Department in Natal from March 1881 to 1882. For a period of 10 months during his first period of duty he served as Principal Veterinary Surgeon (P.V.S.) to the A.V.D. in succession to S. Longhurst. During 1880 the A.V.D./A.V.C. had no representatives in South Africa, but by the time his second tour of duty commenced in Natal in 1881 he had 7 veterinarians serving under him viz. F. Duck, J. Reilly, G. Durrant, W.D. Sartin, W. Pallin, C. Rutherford and T. Caldecott.

On 22 July 1881 (GN 315 of 1881) he published a paper on Glanders and Farcy for general information. On 1 November 1881 (GN 448 of 1881) he published a further paper on "Horsesickness or Anthrax" in South Africa. In this article he stated that "Horsesickness is Anthrax". Like Duncan Hutcheon, S. Wiltshire and other he considered the two conditions to be one single disease. He returned to England in 1882 and was succeeded by F. Duck and P.V.S. of the A.V.D. in South Africa. On 28 June 1890, he was appointed P.V.S. of the A.V.C. in England in succession to Flemming, although he should have retired the day before Flemming. However, some scandal caused Flemming's retirement instead.

J.D. Lambert continued to served as Director-General, A.V.C. until June 1897 when he retired and was succeeded by F. Duck who had also succeeded him as P.V.S. (Natal) in 1882. (The title of the post was changed in 1981 from P.V.S. to Director-General). He died on 3 March 1905. Lambert took part not only in the Zulu War of 1879, but also in the Transvaal Campaign of 1881/82. He was appointed Companion of the Bath in 1891.

He served with the Regiment throughout its operations in the Campaign. He was also present at the Battle of Ulundi on 4th July 1879.

He was Veterinary-Surgeon of the 17th Lancers from 1864 to 1880.
Source ‘The History of the 17th Lancers’

Date of Birth:- 27th June 1835
Veterinary Surgeon - 12th October 1857
Veterinary Surgeon (1st Class) - 2nd September 1868
Inspecting Veterinary Surgeon (Woolwich District) - 12th March 1881
South African War - 1879 - Zulu Campaign. Battle of Ulundi. Mentioned in Despatches. Medal with Clasp. Transvaal Campaign - Principal Veterinary Surgeon.

Posted on behalf of forum member Laragh N

" James Lambert is my great-great-granduncle I have a Zulu shield that James brought back from the battle of Ulundi.  I notice in your photo that you are holding what looks like a spear.  I also have several spears that I inherited from my maternal uncle Eric T D Lambert.  I always assumed that these spears were collected by Eric in Assam during WW2 but maybe they are Zulu spears collected by James....  I am away from home at the moment but will try to photograph them for identification purposes.

Also the family story is that James rode with the search party that found the body of the Crown Prince Imperial of France.  Would anyone be able to confirm this or deny it?  

James' first posting was Portobello in Dublin Ireland.  As a result his brother followed him to Ireland and set up a private veterinary practice there.  In total there were 7 veterinarians in this Lambert family."

Something of a strange request does anyone have an example of James Lambert’s handwriting?  I picked up something recently that I suspect was written by him, and I would like to make a comparison.

Thanks in advance.

JY

Hi All,
Lambert dies 3 March 1905 at Hopedene Old Trafford Manchester, aged 69.
Rai Keynshamlighthorse.

Natal Witness Tuesday 12th April 1881
"Veterinary Surgeon Lambert, late 17th Lancers has assumed the duties of Principal Veterinary Surgeon at this station, vice Veterinary Surgeon Duck who proceeds to Newcastle"