Frederic Cecil Currer Briggs

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Frederic Cecil Currer Briggs (26 November 1889 – 22 November 1919) was a British army officer in the King's Regiment (Liverpool) who served in India, Mesopotamia, and the North-West Frontier. He is linked to the events at Jallianwalla Bagh in 1919 because he accompanied Reginald Dyer to Amritsar and escorted him to the massacre site.

Early life and career
Briggs was born in Pipestone, Minnesota, the son of William Currer Briggs. He studied at Bedford Grammar School and trained at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 3 November 1909 and went to India in January 1910 aboard the HMHS Rewa, later being promoted to lieutenant.

World War I and later service
During World War I, Briggs reached the rank of captain by December 1914. In May 1917 he went to Mesopotamia as acting major and second-in-command of a battalion in the King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster). For his service there, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in August 1917. On 11 April 1919 he accompanied Reginald Dyer to Amritsar and on 13 April escorted him to Jallianwalla Bagh. He later gave a witness statement about the massacre to the Hunter Inquiry. Briggs also participated in the Third Anglo-Afghan War and the Waziristan campaign.

Death and legacy
Briggs died on 22 November 1919 in Bannu after surgery for appendicitis; he died the following day from peritonitis. At the time of his death, he held Reginald Dyer’s notes on the massacre. His name is commemorated on the Delhi Memorial (India Gate) and on a plaque at his school.