His tenure as Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff , subordinate to Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson , encompassed the Irish War of Independence and civil unrest in India , punctuated by the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of Indian demonstrators at Amritsar by troops under the command of Brigadier General Reginald Dyer . Supporters of Dyer , mostly imperialist conservative " diehards " , army officers and Ulster Unionists , opposed any form of disciplinary action being taken against the brigadier , whom they considered a defender of the British Empire . Dyer continued to receive support from the highest echelons of the Army , most prominently Wilson , Harington and the Army Council . According to Nigel Collet , in his book '' Butcher of Amritsar '' , Harington 's schedule afforded him limited opportunity to comprehensively study Dyer 's statement detailing his account while he did not " appear to have read any other document on the case " . Harington 's own judgement conflicted with that of the government and corresponded more closely with that of Dyer . Under pressure from the Secretary of State for War Winston Churchill , the Army Council recommended that Dyer not receive further employment or promotion but elected not to publicly endorse compulsory retirement
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
Charles Harington Harington