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George Henry Fowke

Lieutenant General Sir George Henry Fowke KCB, KCMG (10 September 1864 – 8 February 1936) was a British Army officer who served on the staff of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War.

Sir George Henry Fowke
Born(1864-09-10)10 September 1864
Halstead, Essex[1]
Died8 February 1936(1936-02-08) (aged 71)
Dinard, France
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1884–1922
RankLieutenant General
UnitRoyal Engineers
Commands heldEngineer-in-Chief, BEF
Adjutant-General, BEF
Battles/warsSouth African War First World War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Mentioned in Despatches

Biography edit

 
From left to right: General Sir Douglas Haig, C-in-C of the BEF, Lieutenant General Sir George Fowke, Adjutant-General of the BEF, Lieutenant General Sir Ronald Maxwell, Quartermaster-General of the BEF, and Ben Tillett, trade union leader and Founding Member of the Labour Party, at Beauquesne, France, November 1916.

Fowke joined the Royal Engineers as a lieutenant on 15 February 1884,[2] and was promoted to captain on 19 July 1892.[3] He saw active service in South Africa during the Second Boer War, where he was present at the Defence of Ladysmith, for which he was mentioned in despatches.[4] During the war he received a brevet promotion to major on 29 November 1900, and was confirmed with the substantive rank of major on 22 February 1901.[5] The war ended in June 1902 with the Peace of Vereeniging, and for his service he received a brevet promotion as lieutenant-colonel on 22 August 1902.[6]

After the end of the war, he stayed in South Africa and was appointed as Director of Public Works in the Transvaal and was a member of the Transvaal Legislative Council from 1902 to 1904.[7] During the Russo-Japanese War he was an observer attached to the Japanese Army in Manchuria, and then lectured on fortifications at the School of Military Engineering.[7] He was appointed the Assistant Adjutant General for the Royal Engineers in 1910, and then the Inspector of the Royal Engineers in 1913.[7]

On the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, he was appointed to the post of Brigadier-General Royal Engineers in the BEF, the senior engineering advisor.[7] As the war settled into a stalemate it became apparent that the Royal Engineers would play a significant role in trench warfare, and the position was changed to Chief Engineer and then to Engineer-in-Chief in 1915. It was in this position, that he agreed the formation of the Royal Engineer tunnelling companies, after a proposal from John Norton-Griffiths.

In February 1916 he was promoted to hold the post of Adjutant-General of the Expeditionary Force.[7] He held this post until the end of the war, and retired from the Army in 1922.[7]

In addition to his many British decorations and awards, he was also awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal by the United States, with the citation for the medal reading:

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Lieutenant General George H. Fowke, Royal British Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service in a position of great responsibility to the Government of the United States, during World War I. While serving as Adjutant General, British Expeditionary Services, General Fowke rendered invaluable service to the American Expeditionary Forces and to the cause in which the United States has been engaged.[8]

References edit

  1. ^ IWM, Lives of the First World War
  2. ^ "No. 25322". The London Gazette. 26 February 1884. p. 967.
  3. ^ Hart′s Army list, 1903
  4. ^ . Archived from the original on 20 August 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
  5. ^ "No. 27501". The London Gazette. 5 December 1902. p. 8440.
  6. ^ "No. 27490". The London Gazette. 31 October 1902. p. 6900.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  8. ^ "Valor awards for George H. Fowke". Military Times.

george, henry, fowke, lieutenant, general, kcmg, september, 1864, february, 1936, british, army, officer, served, staff, british, expeditionary, force, during, first, world, born, 1864, september, 1864halstead, essex, died8, february, 1936, 1936, aged, dinard,. Lieutenant General Sir George Henry Fowke KCB KCMG 10 September 1864 8 February 1936 was a British Army officer who served on the staff of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War Sir George Henry FowkeBorn 1864 09 10 10 September 1864Halstead Essex 1 Died8 February 1936 1936 02 08 aged 71 Dinard FranceAllegiance United KingdomService wbr branch British ArmyYears of service1884 1922RankLieutenant GeneralUnitRoyal EngineersCommands heldEngineer in Chief BEF Adjutant General BEFBattles warsSouth African War Defence of Ladysmith First World WarAwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the BathKnight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St GeorgeMentioned in DespatchesBiography edit nbsp From left to right General Sir Douglas Haig C in C of the BEF Lieutenant General Sir George Fowke Adjutant General of the BEF Lieutenant General Sir Ronald Maxwell Quartermaster General of the BEF and Ben Tillett trade union leader and Founding Member of the Labour Party at Beauquesne France November 1916 Fowke joined the Royal Engineers as a lieutenant on 15 February 1884 2 and was promoted to captain on 19 July 1892 3 He saw active service in South Africa during the Second Boer War where he was present at the Defence of Ladysmith for which he was mentioned in despatches 4 During the war he received a brevet promotion to major on 29 November 1900 and was confirmed with the substantive rank of major on 22 February 1901 5 The war ended in June 1902 with the Peace of Vereeniging and for his service he received a brevet promotion as lieutenant colonel on 22 August 1902 6 After the end of the war he stayed in South Africa and was appointed as Director of Public Works in the Transvaal and was a member of the Transvaal Legislative Council from 1902 to 1904 7 During the Russo Japanese War he was an observer attached to the Japanese Army in Manchuria and then lectured on fortifications at the School of Military Engineering 7 He was appointed the Assistant Adjutant General for the Royal Engineers in 1910 and then the Inspector of the Royal Engineers in 1913 7 On the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 he was appointed to the post of Brigadier General Royal Engineers in the BEF the senior engineering advisor 7 As the war settled into a stalemate it became apparent that the Royal Engineers would play a significant role in trench warfare and the position was changed to Chief Engineer and then to Engineer in Chief in 1915 It was in this position that he agreed the formation of the Royal Engineer tunnelling companies after a proposal from John Norton Griffiths In February 1916 he was promoted to hold the post of Adjutant General of the Expeditionary Force 7 He held this post until the end of the war and retired from the Army in 1922 7 In addition to his many British decorations and awards he was also awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal by the United States with the citation for the medal reading The President of the United States of America authorized by Act of Congress July 9 1918 takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Lieutenant General George H Fowke Royal British Army for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service in a position of great responsibility to the Government of the United States during World War I While serving as Adjutant General British Expeditionary Services General Fowke rendered invaluable service to the American Expeditionary Forces and to the cause in which the United States has been engaged 8 References edit IWM Lives of the First World War No 25322 The London Gazette 26 February 1884 p 967 Hart s Army list 1903 Mentions in despatches Army Archived from the original on 20 August 2009 Retrieved 21 March 2008 No 27501 The London Gazette 5 December 1902 p 8440 No 27490 The London Gazette 31 October 1902 p 6900 a b c d e f Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives Valor awards for George H Fowke Military Times nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to George Henry Fowke Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George Henry Fowke amp oldid 1221804895, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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