Forbes, ARCHIBALD

Forbes, ARCHIBALD, special correspondent of the Daily News, is a native of Morayshire, and a 'son of the manse,' born in 1838. He was educated at Aberdeen University, and served for some years in the Royal Dragoons. But in 1870-71 he went through the Franco-German war as war-correspondent; and thenceforward, whether in Spain with the Carlists, in Cyprus, in the Russo-Turkish campaign, or in the Zulu war of 1879, he accustomed the British public to expect feats of unexampled audacity, swiftness, tact, and pluck in securing and transmitting his vivid first-hand notes of events at the front to his newspaper. A memorable exploit was his famous ride of 110 miles in 15 hours, in order to report at once the victory of Ulundi (1879). He has lectured in Great Britain, America, and Australia, and wrote a novel, Drawn from Life (1870), Glimpses through the Cannon Smoke (1880), Chinese Gordon (1884), and Memories of War and Peace (1895). He died 30th March 1900.