William Douglas (British Army officer, born 1858)
Sir William Douglas | |
|---|---|
 Douglas in 1917 | |
| Born | 13 August 1858 |
| Died | 1920 (aged 61-62) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Army |
| Rank | Major-General |
| Unit | Royal Scots |
| Commands | 14th Infantry Brigade East Lancashire Division |
| Battles / wars | Bechuanaland Expedition Second Boer War First World War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order |
Major-General Sir William Douglas, KCMG, CB, DSO (13 August 1858 – 1920) was a British Army officer.
Military career
[edit]Douglas was commissioned into the Royal Scots on 30 January 1878.[1][2] He saw action in the Bechuanaland Expedition in 1884, and after attending the Staff College at Camberley in 1896,[3] saw action again in the Second Boer War for which he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).[4] He became a staff officer with Irish Command in March 1906[2] and was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in June 1908.[5]
He became commander of the 14th Infantry Brigade in November 1909 and, promoted to major general in August 1912,[6] was made general officer commanding (GOC) East Lancashire Division in May 1913.[7]
He deployed with his division to Egypt in September 1914, in the opening weeks of the First World War, and commanded it during the Gallipoli campaign in 1915 and for which he was later appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George.[8] He went on to command the division, numbered the 42nd in 1915, in the Middle Eastern theatre before returning to England in March 1917. He then commanded the Western Reserve Centre before retiring from the army in 1918.[2]
Family
[edit]Douglas married, in December 1885, Ellen Lytcott (a Lady of Grace of St John of Jerusalem), daughter of Samuel Taylor, Crown Solicitor, Barbados.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ "No. 24547". The London Gazette. 29 January 1878. p. 458.
- ^ a b c "Major-General Sir William Douglas". Douglas Archives. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ Gregory, Fontenot. "The Modern Major-General: Patterns in the Careers of British Army major-generals on active duty at the time of the Sarajevo Assassinations" (PDF). University of North Carolina. p. 84. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 March 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ "No. 11296". The Edinburgh Gazette. 23 April 1901. p. 466.
- ^ "No. 28151". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 June 1908. p. 4642.
- ^ "No. 28634". The London Gazette. 9 August 1912. p. 5921.
- ^ "Army Commands" (PDF). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ "No. 12871". The Edinburgh Gazette. 12 November 1915. p. 1710.
- ^ Walford, Edward (1860). The county families of the United Kingdom; or, Royal manual of the titled and untitled aristocracy of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. p. 394. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
Further reading
[edit]- Riley, Alec (2021). Gallipoli Diary 1915. Little Gully Publishing. ISBN 978-0645235913.
- 1858 births
- 1920 deaths
- People of the Gallipoli campaign
- Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
- Companions of the Order of the Bath
- Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
- British Army major generals
- Royal Scots officers
- Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley
- British Army generals of World War I
- British military personnel of the Bechuanaland Expedition
- British Army personnel of the Second Boer War
- Military personnel from Dorset