Charles Deedes
General Sir Charles Parker Deedes, KCB, CMG, DSO (9 August 1879 – 9 March 1969) was a senior British Army officer who went on to be Military Secretary.
General Sir Charles Deedes | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 August 1879 |
| Died | 9 March 1969 (aged 89) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | British Army |
| Years of service | 1899–1937 |
| Rank | General |
| Service number | 854[1] |
| Unit | King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry |
| Commands held | 3rd Infantry Brigade 53rd (Welsh) Division |
| Battles/wars | Second Boer War World War I World War II |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order |
Early life edit
Deedes was born at Nether Broughton, Leicestershire, the son of the Revd Philip Deedes and educated at Winchester College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.[2]
Military career edit
Deedes was commissioned into the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry as a second lieutenant in February 1899, and promoted to lieutenant on 9 October 1899.[3] He served in the 2nd battalion, which was transferred to South Africa following the outbreak of the Second Boer War that month.[4][5] For his service in the war, he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in the October 1902 South African honours list.[6] After the war ended in June 1902, he returned to regular service with his regiment,[7] and transferred with the battalion to Malta, for which he left Point Natal on the SS Staffordshire in October.[8]
He also served in World War I initially as a General Staff Officer at the General Headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force and then from 1916 with 14th Army Corps and from 1917 as a General Staff Officer with 2nd Division in France.[5]
After the War he was appointed Deputy Director of Staff Duties at the War Office.[5] In 1926 he became Commander of 3rd Infantry Brigade and in 1928 he was made General Officer Commanding 53rd (Welsh) Division.[5] He became Director of Personal Services at the War Office in 1930 and Military Secretary in 1934.[5]
He retired in 1937.[5] He was promoted to general and held the colonelcy of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry from 1927 to 1947.[9]
During World War II he was an Area Commander for the Home Guard.[5]
Family edit
He married Eve Mary Dean-Pitt and they went on to have a son (Major-General Charles Julius Deedes) and a daughter, Mary Josephine Deedes.[10]
References edit
- ^ "No. 37678". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 August 1946. p. 4013.
- ^ Creagh, Sir O'Moore (1923). "The VC and DSO". Naval and Military Press. p. 310. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ "No. 27160". The London Gazette. 2 February 1900. p. 694.
- ^ Hart′s Army list, 1903
- ^ a b c d e f g Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ^ "No. 27490". The London Gazette. 31 October 1902. p. 6903.
- ^ "No. 27494". The London Gazette. 11 November 1902. p. 7167.
- ^ "The Army in South Africa – Movements of Troops". The Times. No. 36896. London. 11 October 1902. p. 10.
- ^ . regiments.org. Archived from the original on 18 December 2007. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Sir Charles Parker Deedes". The Peerage.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.