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James Wolfe Murray

January 08, 2023

Lieutenant-General Sir James Wolfe Murray KCB (13 March 1853 – 17 October 1919) was a British Army officer who served in the Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War, Second Boer War and First World War. He became Chief of the Imperial General Staff three months after the start of the First World War, but was ineffectual and was replaced in September 1915 following the failure of the Dardanelles campaign.

Sir James Murray
General Sir James Murray as caricatured by Spy (Leslie Ward) in Vanity Fair, May 1905
Born(1853-03-13)13 March 1853
Ireland
Died17 October 1919(1919-10-17) (aged 66)
Cringletie, Peebleshire, Scotland
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1872–1917
RankLieutenant-General
Commands heldEastern Command
Chief of the Imperial General Staff
Scottish Command
9th (Secunderabad) Division
Battles/warsFourth Anglo-Ashanti War
Second Boer War
First World War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Order of Saint Anna, 1st Class (Russia)
Order of the White Eagle (Russia)
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure (Japan)

Military career

Murray was born the son of Brigadier General James Wolfe Murray (1814–1890) and Elizabeth Charlotte Murray (née Whyte-Melville).[1]

He was educated at Trinity College, Glenalmond, Harrow School and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich,[1] Murray was commissioned into the Royal Artillery on 12 September 1872.[2] He was promoted to captain on 1 November 1881.[3] After attending Staff College, Camberley he became Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster-General in Northern England January 1884.[1]

 
Negotiations following the end of the Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War, in which Murray took part

He went on to be Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster-General in the Intelligence Branch at Headquarters of the Army on 1 June 1884,[4] Deputy Assistant-Quartermaster General in the Intelligence Branch on 31 August 1884[5] and Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General (with responsibility for intelligence on Russia, Central and South Asia and the Far East) on 1 June 1887.[6] Promoted to major in January 1889[1] he was appointed a special service officer at Headquarters in April 1892 and then Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General for Instruction at Aldershot on 10 January 1894.[7]

He saw action in the Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War in West Africa between November 1895 and February 1896 and was then transferred to India where he became Assistant Adjutant-General on 25 January 1898,[8] receiving promotion to lieutenant colonel on 31 March 1898.[9] He was appointed Assistant Quartermaster General (in charge of intelligence) at Indian Headquarters on 25 March 1899.[10]

 
Cringletie House, Murray's home in Peeblesshire

He served in the Second Boer War on the staff of the Commander, Lines of Communication in Natal with the local rank of colonel from 21 September 1899,[11] of brigadier general from 9 October 1899[12] and of major general on 1 May 1900.[13] He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 19 April 1901 in recognition of his services during the war.[14]

In May 1901 he returned to India to command a brigade, and received the temporary rank of brigadier general whilst so employed.[15] Promoted to the substantive rank of major-general on 1 January 1903,[1] he was made Quartermaster-General in India on 2 May 1903[16] and Master-General of the Ordnance at Army Headquarters in London on 12 February 1904.[17] At this time the Esher Committee chaired by Lord Esher was proposing far reaching changes to the structure of the British Army including the creation of a "blue ribbon" elite drawn strictly from the General Staff to the exclusion of Administrative Staff:[18] Murray strongly opposed this aspect of the proposals.[1]

Appointed a deputy lieutenant of the County of Peebles on 25 February 1907,[19] he became General Officer Commanding, 9th (Secunderabad) Division in India on 1 March 1907[20] and was promoted to lieutenant general on 1 April 1909.[21]

After serving as an army representative on a British delegation to Russia set up by Parliament in 1912,[22] he was appointed Commander-in-Chief at Scottish Command on 9 December 1913[23] and Commander-in-Chief in South Africa on 18 May 1914.[24]

First World War

Following the sudden death of General Sir Charles Douglas in October 1914, Murray was appointed his replacement as Chief of the Imperial General Staff on 30 October 1914.[1] However Murray attended meetings of the War Council (a gathering of politicians and soldiers which discussed strategy in 1914–15) without making any real contribution, leaving strategy entirely to Field Marshal Lord Kitchener as Secretary of State for War.[1] For this lack of any personal conviction Winston Churchill gave Murray the nickname of "Sheep".[1] General Sir Archibald Murray, Deputy CIGS from March 1915, later wrote that "Wolfe-Murray, an able soldier and a courteous gentleman, knew little of general staff work, and Kitchener daily bewitched him with his fantastic schemes and kaleidoscopic ill-judged orders".[25] Following the failure of the Dardanelles campaign, Murray was replaced by Sir Archibald Murray on 26 September 1915.[26]

After undertaking a special mission to Russia in Spring 1916, he was made General Officer Commanding of Eastern Command on 5 May 1916[1] and awarded the Russian Order of St. Anna (1st Class, with Swords) on 16 May 1916.[27] He was awarded the Russian Order of the White Eagle on 14 January 1918[28] and the Grand Cordon of the Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure on 9 November 1918.[29]

He was also colonel-commandant of the Royal Artillery from 9 April 1917[1] and wrote two handbooks on the Russian Army.[1] He died from a heart attack at his home at Cringletie in Peeblesshire on 17 October 1919.[1]

Family

In 1875, he married Arabella Bray; they had two sons and three daughters.[1] Following the death of his first wife he married Fanny Macfarlane (née Robson) in 1913.[1]

His niece was the journalist Stella Wolfe Murray.[30]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Sir James Wolfe Murray". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 2004. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  2. ^ "No. 24062". The London Gazette. 3 February 1874. p. 491.
  3. ^ "No. 25042". The London Gazette. 29 November 1881. p. 6212.
  4. ^ "No. 25361". The London Gazette. 3 June 1884. p. 2439.
  5. ^ "No. 25387". The London Gazette. 15 August 1884. p. 3680.
  6. ^ "No. 25727". The London Gazette. 5 August 1887. p. 4242.
  7. ^ "No. 26478". The London Gazette. 23 January 1894. p. 440.
  8. ^ "No. 26961". The London Gazette. 26 April 1898. p. 2594.
  9. ^ "No. 26956". The London Gazette. 12 April 1898. p. 2350.
  10. ^ "No. 27085". The London Gazette. 2 June 1899. p. 3521.
  11. ^ "No. 27122". The London Gazette. 3 October 1899. p. 6008.
  12. ^ "No. 27538". The London Gazette. 27 March 1903. p. 2062.
  13. ^ "No. 27285". The London Gazette. 15 February 1901. p. 1155.
  14. ^ "No. 27306". The London Gazette. 19 April 1901. p. 2696.
  15. ^ "No. 27351". The London Gazette. 3 September 1901. p. 5812.
  16. ^ "No. 27632". The London Gazette. 1 January 1904. p. 28.
  17. ^ "No. 27646". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 February 1904. p. 1011.
  18. ^ Samuels, Martin (1995). Command or Control – Command, Training and Tactics in the British and German Armies 1888–1918" p. 40. ISBN 9780714645704. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  19. ^ "No. 28001". The London Gazette. 5 March 1907. p. 1579.
  20. ^ "No. 28028". The London Gazette. 7 June 1907. p. 3937.
  21. ^ "No. 28238". The London Gazette. 2 April 1909. p. 2591.
  22. ^ "Sir James Wolfe Murray". School of Slavonic and East European Studies Library, Imperial College, London. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  23. ^ "No. 28782". The London Gazette. 16 December 1913. p. 9254.
  24. ^ "No. 28826". The London Gazette. 1 May 1914. p. 3553.
  25. ^ Bonham-Carter 1963, pp131-3
  26. ^ "No. 29353". The London Gazette. 5 November 1915. p. 10912.
  27. ^ "No. 29584". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 May 1916. p. 4935.
  28. ^ "No. 30476". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 January 1918. p. 828.
  29. ^ "No. 31002". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 November 1918. p. 13276.
  30. ^ "Family tree of Stella Clair Wolfe Murray". Geneanet. Retrieved 18 June 2022.

Books

  • Victor Bonham-Carter (1963). Soldier True:the Life and Times of Field-Marshal Sir William Robertson. London: Frederick Muller Limited.

External links

    Military offices
    Preceded by
    Vacant
    		 Master-General of the Ordnance
    1904–1907     		Succeeded by
    Preceded by GOC-in-C Scottish Command
    1913–1914     		Succeeded by
    Preceded by Chief of the Imperial General Staff
    1914–1915     		Succeeded by
    Preceded by GOC-in-C Eastern Command
    1916–1917     		Succeeded by

    January 08, 2023
    james, wolfe, murray, lieutenant, general, march, 1853, october, 1919, british, army, officer, served, fourth, anglo, ashanti, second, boer, first, world, became, chief, imperial, general, staff, three, months, after, start, first, world, ineffectual, replaced. Lieutenant General Sir James Wolfe Murray KCB 13 March 1853 17 October 1919 was a British Army officer who served in the Fourth Anglo Ashanti War Second Boer War and First World War He became Chief of the Imperial General Staff three months after the start of the First World War but was ineffectual and was replaced in September 1915 following the failure of the Dardanelles campaign Sir James MurrayGeneral Sir James Murray as caricatured by Spy Leslie Ward in Vanity Fair May 1905Born 1853 03 13 13 March 1853IrelandDied17 October 1919 1919 10 17 aged 66 Cringletie Peebleshire ScotlandAllegianceUnited KingdomService wbr branchBritish ArmyYears of service1872 1917RankLieutenant GeneralCommands heldEastern CommandChief of the Imperial General StaffScottish Command9th Secunderabad DivisionBattles warsFourth Anglo Ashanti WarSecond Boer WarFirst World WarAwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the BathOrder of Saint Anna 1st Class Russia Order of the White Eagle Russia Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure Japan Contents 1 Military career 2 First World War 3 Family 4 References 5 Books 6 External linksMilitary career EditMurray was born the son of Brigadier General James Wolfe Murray 1814 1890 and Elizabeth Charlotte Murray nee Whyte Melville 1 He was educated at Trinity College Glenalmond Harrow School and the Royal Military Academy Woolwich 1 Murray was commissioned into the Royal Artillery on 12 September 1872 2 He was promoted to captain on 1 November 1881 3 After attending Staff College Camberley he became Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General in Northern England January 1884 1 Negotiations following the end of the Fourth Anglo Ashanti War in which Murray took part He went on to be Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General in the Intelligence Branch at Headquarters of the Army on 1 June 1884 4 Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General in the Intelligence Branch on 31 August 1884 5 and Deputy Assistant Adjutant General with responsibility for intelligence on Russia Central and South Asia and the Far East on 1 June 1887 6 Promoted to major in January 1889 1 he was appointed a special service officer at Headquarters in April 1892 and then Deputy Assistant Adjutant General for Instruction at Aldershot on 10 January 1894 7 He saw action in the Fourth Anglo Ashanti War in West Africa between November 1895 and February 1896 and was then transferred to India where he became Assistant Adjutant General on 25 January 1898 8 receiving promotion to lieutenant colonel on 31 March 1898 9 He was appointed Assistant Quartermaster General in charge of intelligence at Indian Headquarters on 25 March 1899 10 Cringletie House Murray s home in Peeblesshire He served in the Second Boer War on the staff of the Commander Lines of Communication in Natal with the local rank of colonel from 21 September 1899 11 of brigadier general from 9 October 1899 12 and of major general on 1 May 1900 13 He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 19 April 1901 in recognition of his services during the war 14 In May 1901 he returned to India to command a brigade and received the temporary rank of brigadier general whilst so employed 15 Promoted to the substantive rank of major general on 1 January 1903 1 he was made Quartermaster General in India on 2 May 1903 16 and Master General of the Ordnance at Army Headquarters in London on 12 February 1904 17 At this time the Esher Committee chaired by Lord Esher was proposing far reaching changes to the structure of the British Army including the creation of a blue ribbon elite drawn strictly from the General Staff to the exclusion of Administrative Staff 18 Murray strongly opposed this aspect of the proposals 1 Appointed a deputy lieutenant of the County of Peebles on 25 February 1907 19 he became General Officer Commanding 9th Secunderabad Division in India on 1 March 1907 20 and was promoted to lieutenant general on 1 April 1909 21 After serving as an army representative on a British delegation to Russia set up by Parliament in 1912 22 he was appointed Commander in Chief at Scottish Command on 9 December 1913 23 and Commander in Chief in South Africa on 18 May 1914 24 First World War EditFollowing the sudden death of General Sir Charles Douglas in October 1914 Murray was appointed his replacement as Chief of the Imperial General Staff on 30 October 1914 1 However Murray attended meetings of the War Council a gathering of politicians and soldiers which discussed strategy in 1914 15 without making any real contribution leaving strategy entirely to Field Marshal Lord Kitchener as Secretary of State for War 1 For this lack of any personal conviction Winston Churchill gave Murray the nickname of Sheep 1 General Sir Archibald Murray Deputy CIGS from March 1915 later wrote that Wolfe Murray an able soldier and a courteous gentleman knew little of general staff work and Kitchener daily bewitched him with his fantastic schemes and kaleidoscopic ill judged orders 25 Following the failure of the Dardanelles campaign Murray was replaced by Sir Archibald Murray on 26 September 1915 26 After undertaking a special mission to Russia in Spring 1916 he was made General Officer Commanding of Eastern Command on 5 May 1916 1 and awarded the Russian Order of St Anna 1st Class with Swords on 16 May 1916 27 He was awarded the Russian Order of the White Eagle on 14 January 1918 28 and the Grand Cordon of the Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure on 9 November 1918 29 He was also colonel commandant of the Royal Artillery from 9 April 1917 1 and wrote two handbooks on the Russian Army 1 He died from a heart attack at his home at Cringletie in Peeblesshire on 17 October 1919 1 Family EditIn 1875 he married Arabella Bray they had two sons and three daughters 1 Following the death of his first wife he married Fanny Macfarlane nee Robson in 1913 1 His niece was the journalist Stella Wolfe Murray 30 References Edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Sir James Wolfe Murray Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004 Retrieved 29 January 2012 No 24062 The London Gazette 3 February 1874 p 491 No 25042 The London Gazette 29 November 1881 p 6212 No 25361 The London Gazette 3 June 1884 p 2439 No 25387 The London Gazette 15 August 1884 p 3680 No 25727 The London Gazette 5 August 1887 p 4242 No 26478 The London Gazette 23 January 1894 p 440 No 26961 The London Gazette 26 April 1898 p 2594 No 26956 The London Gazette 12 April 1898 p 2350 No 27085 The London Gazette 2 June 1899 p 3521 No 27122 The London Gazette 3 October 1899 p 6008 No 27538 The London Gazette 27 March 1903 p 2062 No 27285 The London Gazette 15 February 1901 p 1155 No 27306 The London Gazette 19 April 1901 p 2696 No 27351 The London Gazette 3 September 1901 p 5812 No 27632 The London Gazette 1 January 1904 p 28 No 27646 The London Gazette Supplement 12 February 1904 p 1011 Samuels Martin 1995 Command or Control Command Training and Tactics in the British and German Armies 1888 1918 p 40 ISBN 9780714645704 Retrieved 4 February 2012 No 28001 The London Gazette 5 March 1907 p 1579 No 28028 The London Gazette 7 June 1907 p 3937 No 28238 The London Gazette 2 April 1909 p 2591 Sir James Wolfe Murray School of Slavonic and East European Studies Library Imperial College London Retrieved 29 January 2012 No 28782 The London Gazette 16 December 1913 p 9254 No 28826 The London Gazette 1 May 1914 p 3553 Bonham Carter 1963 pp131 3 No 29353 The London Gazette 5 November 1915 p 10912 No 29584 The London Gazette Supplement 16 May 1916 p 4935 No 30476 The London Gazette Supplement 11 January 1918 p 828 No 31002 The London Gazette Supplement 8 November 1918 p 13276 Family tree of Stella Clair Wolfe Murray Geneanet Retrieved 18 June 2022 Books EditVictor Bonham Carter 1963 Soldier True the Life and Times of Field Marshal Sir William Robertson London Frederick Muller Limited External links EditThe British Army in Great WarMilitary officesPreceded byVacant Master General of the Ordnance1904 1907 Succeeded bySir Charles HaddenPreceded bySir Bruce Hamilton GOC in C Scottish Command1913 1914 Succeeded bySir Spencer EwartPreceded bySir Charles Douglas Chief of the Imperial General Staff1914 1915 Succeeded bySir Archibald MurrayPreceded bySir Leslie Rundle GOC in C Eastern Command1916 1917 Succeeded bySir Henry Wilson Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title James Wolfe Murray amp oldid 1096956219, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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