George Henry Fowke
Sir George Henry Fowke | |
---|---|
Born | Halstead, Essex[1] | 10 September 1864
Died | 8 February 1936 Dinard, France | (aged 71)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service | 1884–1922 |
Rank | Lieutenant General |
Commands held | Engineer-in-Chief, BEF Adjutant-General, BEF |
Battles/wars | South African War First World War |
Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Mentioned in Despatches |
Lieutenant General Sir George Henry Fowke KCB, KCMG (10 September 1864 – 8 February 1936) was a British Army general, who served on the staff of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War.
Biography
Fowke joined the Royal Engineers as a lieutenant on 15 February 1884, and was promoted to captain on 19 July 1892.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[6] He was appointed the Assistant Adjutant General for the Royal Engineers in 1910, and then the Inspector of the Royal Engineers in 1913.[6]
On the outbreak of the First World War, he was appointed to the post of Brigadier-General Royal Engineers in the BEF, the senior engineering advisor.[6] 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.[6] He held this post until the end of the war, and retired from the Army in 1922.[6]
References
- ^ IWM, Lives of the First World War
- ^ 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