Page:Dictionary of National Biography, Second Supplement, volume 1.djvu/404

 been begun at Wellington, Kirki and Jabalpur; a scheme for decentralisation had been drawn up and a remount commission established. Fresh drafts of officers were added to the native army and staff corps, and the supply and transport corps thoroughly reorganised. The record showed that 'Collen had left an enduring mark on the personnel, the organisation and the equipment of the Indian army' (Speeches of Lord Curzon, 1902, ii. 265). The reforms inaugurated by Collen were subsequently completed by Lord Kitchener, commander-in-chief in India (1902-9).

Collen was raised to the rank of major-general on 18 Jan. 1900 and of lieutenant-general on 3 April 1905. He was made C.I.E. in 1889, C.B. in 1897, and K.C.I.E. in 1893; he was nominated G.C.I.E. on his retirement in April 1901. In the following May he represented India at the opening of the first parliament of the Australian commonwealth by the duke of Cornwall, now King George V. On his return to England he served as member of the war office regulations committee (1901-4) and as chairman of the Staff College committee of 1904. When the controversy between Lord Curzon and Lord Kitchener on questions of army administration broke out in 1905, Collen actively supported the views of the viceroy as to the wisdom of keeping a military member on the council. A zealous member of the National Service League and of the Essex Territorial Association, he was a frequent speaker and contributor to the press on military subjects. He died on 10 July 1911 at his residence, the Cedars, Kelvedon, Essex.

He married in 1873 Blanche Marie, daughter of Charles Rigby, J.P., of Soldier's Point, Anglesey. She survived him with three sons and a daughter.

In addition to many articles in periodicals Collen published:
 * 1) 'The British Army and its Reserves,' 1870.
 * 2) 'The Indian Army: a Sketch of its History and Organisation,' published separately and in ' The Imperial Gazetteer: the Indian Empire,' vol. iv. chap, ix., Oxford, 1907.



COLLETT, HENRY (1836–1901) colonel Indian staff corps, born on 6 March 1836 at Thetford, Norfolk, was fourth son of the Rev. W. Collett, incumbent of St Mary's, Thetford, Norfolk, by his second wife. Ellen Clarke, daughter of Leonard Shelford Bidwell of Thetford. Educated at Tonbridge school and at Addiscombe, he entered the Bengal army on 8 June 1855, and joined the 51st Bengal native infantry on 6 Aug. 1855 at Peshawar. He served with the expeditions under Sir [q. v.] on the Eusofzai frontier in 1858, being present at the affairs of Chingli and Sittana and receiving the medal with clasp. He next saw service in Oude during the campaign of the Indian Mutiny there, 1858-9, and was at the storm and capture of the fort of Rampur Russia by Sir [q. v.] on 3 Nov. 1858, for which he received the medal. During the rebellion of 1862-3 in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, Assam, he was present at the storm and capture of Oomkoi, Nungarai and at Oomkrong, where he was severely wounded in the ankle. He was mentioned in despatches. Promoted captain in 1867, he served in the Abyssinian campaign of 1868, was again mentioned in despatches (Lond. Gaz. 30 June and 10 July 1868), and received the medal. He became major in 1875 and lieutenant-colonel in 1879. In the Afghan war of 1878-80 he acted as quartermaster-general on the staff of Sir Frederick (afterwards Lord) Roberts, and was present at the capture of the Peiwar Kotal, in the operations in Khost Valley and round Kabul in Dec. 1879. Subsequently he accompanied General Roberts on the march from Kabul to Kandahar (Aug. 1880) and commanded the 23rd pioneers at the battle of Kandahar on 1 Sept. 1880. In the course of these operations he was further mentioned in despatches and was made C.B. on 22 Feb. 1881 and received the medal with three clasps and the bronze decoration (Lond. Gaz. 4 Feb. 1879, 4 May, 30 July, and 3 Dec. 1880). He was promoted colonel in 1884. During 1886-8 he was in command of the 3rd brigade in the expedition to Burma. He took part in the Karenni expedition in 1888 and commanded the eastern frontier district during the Chin Lushai expedition in 1889-90, receiving for his services the thanks of the government of India (Lond. Gaz. 2 Sept. 1887, 15 Nov. 1889, 12 Sept. 1890).

In 1891 he played a prominent part in the expedition to Manipur [see ], and was left in command when the rebellion of the Manipuris was suppressed, acting there temporarily as chief commissioner of Assam and showing much resolution. He received the thanks