James Lorne Govan, born c1860, joined the 9th East Norfolk Regiment as a 2nd Lieutenant on 30 Jan 1878 and went to Afghanistan to serve in the war of 1878-80. He was with General Charles Gough’s force on its march to Kabul in December 1879 which included the relief of Sherpore. He was at the battle at Shekabad for which he was mentioned in despatches. He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 1 May 1898 and took over command of the 1st Battalion which was serving in India. In March 1899 the battalion went to Colaba, one of the peninsulas of Bombay. Lieutenant-Colonel Govan died there on 11 March 1900. The photo is of James Govan wearing a blue patrol jacket, the normal everyday undress uniform for officers. There is a medal ribbon for the Afghanistan medal 1878-80 which had a green ribbon with crimson edges. His medal had a clasp for KABUL. The two star rank badges on his shoulder straps denote captain, thus dating the photo 1884-1894.
1878 2nd Lieutenant 30 Jan
1880 Lieutenant 25 Aug
1884 Captain 26 Mar
1894 Major 20 Aug
1898 Lieutenant-Colonel 1 May
1900 died at Colaba 11 March
Regimental Details | Commanding Officers
