Sirdar

This article is about historical use of the title in Egypt. For places in Iran, see Sirdar (disambiguation). For the submarine, see HMS Sirdar (P226). For uses in other times and places, see Sardar.

Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Egyptian Army
Sirdar
Longest serving Sir Reginald Wingate 1899 – 1916
Residence	Sirdaria
Formation	21 December 1882
First holder	Sir Evelyn Wood
Final holder	Sir Charlton Spinks
Abolished	12 January 1937
Superseded by	Chief of the General Staff

The rank of Sirdar (Arabic: سردار) – a variant of Sardar – was assigned to the British Commander-in-Chief of the British-controlled Egyptian Army in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.^[1] The Sirdar resided at the Sirdaria, a three-block-long property in Zamalek which was also the home of British military intelligence in Egypt.^[2]

List of officeholders

No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Term of office			Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Wood, EvelynSir Evelyn Wood (1838–1919)	21 December 1882	31 March 1885	2 years, 100 days	[3]
2		Grenfell, FrancisLord Grenfell (1841–1925)	19 April 1886	12 April 1892	5 years, 359 days	[4][5]
3		Kitchener, HerbertLord Kitchener (1850–1916)	13 April 1892	1899	6–7 years	[6]
4		Wingate, ReginaldSir Reginald Wingate (1861–1953)	1899	1916	16–17 years	–
5		Stack, LeeSir Lee Stack (1868–1924)	1916	20 November 1924 †	7–8 years	–
6		Spinks, CharltonSir Charlton Spinks (1877–1959)	November 1924	12 January 1937	12 years, 2 months	–

References

1. "Sirdar". Merriam Webster. Retrieved 2012-07-02.
2. Raafat, Samir (2001-02-15). "The Sirdaria". Cairo Times. Retrieved 2012-07-02.
3. Wood, Evelyn (1907). From Midshipman to Field Marshal (5th ed.). London: Methuen. pp. xii, 500. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
4. Lord Grenfell, Memoirs of Field-Marshal Lord Grenfell PC, GCB, GCMG p.90.
5. "Mirador Viewer".
6. "Mirador Viewer".