James Bruce Jardine

James Bruce Jardine was born in Edinburgh in 1870, and named after the explorer James Bruce who was a maternal ancestor.^{[citation needed]} Jardine was educated at Charterhouse School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. In December 1908, he married Agnes Sara Hargreaves Brown,^[1] the daughter of Sir Alexander Brown, 1st Baronet.^[2]

Jardine was commissioned into the 1st King's Dragoon Guards in March 1890^[3] before transferring to the 5th Royal Irish Lancers.^{[citation needed]}

He saw active service in the Second Boer War, including the Siege of Ladysmith and the Gun Hill sortie on the night of 7/8 December 1899.^{[citation needed]} As Lieutenant Jardine, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 29 November 1900, for his actions in South Africa.^[4]

Jardine was subsequently promoted to captain and, in January 1904, he was one of a group of British military officers recently posted as military attachés to the British legation in Tokyo.^[2] His colleagues included Captain Alexander Bannerman, Captain Berkeley Vincent,^[2] and Captain Arthur Hart-Synnot.^[5] They had been sent to study the Japanese language but, on 2 January, Jardine stated: "After all, we have come out for this war only".^[2] He and his superiors had anticipated the onset of the Russo-Japanese War.^[6]

When the First World War began, Jardine held the rank of Major.^[1] He commanded the 97th Brigade of the 32nd Division during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.^{[citation needed]}

In later life, Jardine was named deputy lieutenant (DL) of Roxburghshire,^{[citation needed]} and from 1952 an ensign in the Royal Company of Archers.^{[citation needed]}