Charles W. H. Douglas

General Sir Charles Whittingham Horsley Douglas, GCB, ADC (17 July 1850 – 25 October 1914) was a British Army officer who served in the Second Anglo-Afghan War, the First Boer War, the Suakin Expedition, the Second Boer War and the First World War. He was Chief of the Imperial General Staff during the first three months of the First World War but died from strain and overwork without having any meaningful influence on the outcome of the war.

Sir Charles Douglas
General Sir Charles W. H. Douglas
Born(1850-07-17)17 July 1850
Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
Died25 October 1914(1914-10-25) (aged 64)
London, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1869–1914
RankGeneral
Unit92nd Highlanders
Commands heldChief of the Imperial General Staff
Southern Command
2nd Division
1st Infantry Brigade
9th Infantry Brigade
Battles/warsSecond Anglo-Afghan War
First Boer War
Suakin Expedition
Second Boer War
First World War
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Mentioned in Despatches

Military career

Douglas was born the son of William Douglas and Caroline Douglas (née Hare), at the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa.[1] He was educated privately,[1] and commissioned as an ensign in the 92nd Highlanders on 16 December 1869.[2] He was promoted to lieutenant on 28 October 1871[3] and became adjutant of the 92nd Highlanders on 31 December 1876.[4]

The Battle of Kandahar, in which Douglas took part, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War

Douglas served in the Second Anglo-Afghan War and, having been promoted to captain on 29 July 1880,[5] participated in the 320 mile march from Kabul to Kandahar in Afghanistan between 9–31 August 1880, under the command of General Frederick Roberts, earning the Kabul to Kandahar Star.[1] He also took part in the Battle of Kandahar on 1 October 1880 and was mentioned in despatches.[6]

He also served in the First Boer War between 1880 and 1881 and was again mentioned in despatches.[1] Promoted to brevet major on 1 March 1881,[7] he became adjutant of his Regiment again on 25 February 1882.[8]

He went on the Suakin Expedition to Sudan in 1884 and became Deputy Assistant-Adjutant and Quartermaster-General on the Staff in Egypt on 6 March 1885.[9]

He then returned to England to become adjutant of 7th Middlesex (London Scottish) Rifle Volunteers on 1 November 1886.[10] Promoted to the substantive rank of major on 28 November 1890,[11] he was appointed brigade major to the 1st Infantry Brigade in 1893.[1]

Promoted to lieutenant colonel on 29 May 1895,[12] he became Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General at Aldershot Command on 1 October 1895[13] and Assistant Adjutant-General at Aldershot Command with the rank of brevet colonel on 28 March 1898.[14] He was made Aide-de-Camp to the Queen on 11 May 1898[15] and given the substantive rank of colonel on 18 May 1898.[16]

Douglas served in the Second Boer War from 1899 until early 1901. He was initially Assistant Adjutant-General on the Headquarters staff in South Africa from 9 October 1899,[17] then served as ADC and Chief of Staff to Lord Methuen, the General Officer Commanding 1st Division.[1] It was in this role he took part in the Battle of Modder River (November 1899) and the Battle of Magersfontein (10-11 December 1899), in which the defending Boer force defeated the advancing British forces amongst heavy casualties for the latter. Douglas was mentioned in the despatch from Lord Methuen describing the battle.[18] He was promoted to the local rank of major general and made Commander of the 9th Infantry Brigade on 10 February 1900,[19][20] shortly before the Relief of Kimberley. Following the Siege of Mafeking, Douglas was appointed Commander of Mafeking and the adjacent district on 28 August 1900.[21] The rank of major-general was confirmed for "distinguished service in the field" in early 1901 (but dated to the initial appointment on 10 February 1900).[22]

Scene from the Siege of Mafeking, at which Douglas commanded the 9th Infantry Brigade, during the Second Boer War

After returning to England, he became Commander of 1st Infantry Brigade at Aldershot Garrison on 31 October 1901[23] and General Officer Commanding 2nd Division within First Army Corps on 1 April 1902.[24][25] He became Adjutant-General to the Forces on 12 February 1904.[26] 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:[27] Douglas strongly opposed this aspect of the proposals.[1]

Having been promoted to lieutenant general on 3 April 1905,[28] he became General Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Southern Command on 1 June 1909.[29]

He took part in the funeral procession following the death of King Edward VII in May 1910[30] and, having been promoted to general on 31 October 1910,[31] became Inspector-General of Home Forces on 5 March 1912.[32] He was also Colonel of the Gordon Highlanders from 25 June 1912.[33]

Douglas replaced Field Marshal Sir John French as Chief of the Imperial General Staff on 6 April 1914.[34] Douglas served in that role during the First World War, which started in August 1914, but did not have any major impact on its conduct during the first three months, leaving strategic control to Field Marshal Lord Kitchener as War Minister.[1] He became Aide-de-Camp General to the King on 30 June 1914.[35]

Douglas, who had not been in the best of health, died from strain and overwork at his home at Eaton Square in London on 25 October 1914 and was replaced by General Sir James Murray.[1] He was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery (Plot 188, Path Side, Grave 44434).[36]

Family

In 1887 he married Ida de Courcy (née Gordon); they had no children.[1]

References
  1. Spiers, Edward (2004). "Sir Charles Whittingham Horsley Douglas". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  2. "No. 23565". The London Gazette. 14 December 1869. p. 7072.
  3. "No. 23789". The London Gazette. 27 October 1871. p. 4387.
  4. "No. 24429". The London Gazette. 6 March 1877. p. 1901.
  5. "No. 24876". The London Gazette. 24 August 1880. p. 4626.
  6. "No. 24909". The London Gazette. 3 December 1880. p. 6535.
  7. "No. 24944". The London Gazette. 1 March 1881. p. 977.
  8. "No. 25075". The London Gazette. 24 February 1882. p. 771.
  9. "No. 25475". The London Gazette. 2 June 1885. p. 2532.
  10. "No. 25634". The London Gazette. 15 October 1886. p. 5010.
  11. "No. 26113". The London Gazette. 9 December 1890. p. 6922.
  12. "No. 26629". The London Gazette. 28 May 1895. p. 3084.
  13. "No. 26669". The London Gazette. 8 October 1895. p. 5523.
  14. "No. 26954". The London Gazette. 5 April 1898. p. 2212.
  15. "No. 26965". The London Gazette. 10 May 1898. p. 2893.
  16. "No. 26967". The London Gazette. 17 May 1898. p. 3049.
  17. "No. 27126". The London Gazette. 13 October 1899. p. 6178.
  18. "No. 27174". The London Gazette. 16 March 1900. pp. 1785–1787.
  19. "Latest intelligence - The War, Western frontier". The Times (36065). London. 14 February 1900. p. 5.
  20. "No. 27188". The London Gazette. 1 May 1900. p. 2760.
  21. "No. 27282". The London Gazette. 8 February 1901. p. 870.
  22. "No. 27306". The London Gazette. 19 April 1901. p. 2703.
  23. "No. 27377". The London Gazette. 15 November 1901. p. 7396.
  24. "No. 27434". The London Gazette. 16 May 1902. p. 3254.
  25. "No. 27442". The London Gazette. 13 June 1902. p. 3900.
  26. "No. 27646". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 February 1904. p. 1011.
  27. 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.
  28. "No. 27781". The London Gazette. 4 April 1905. p. 2548.
  29. "No. 28256". The London Gazette. 1 June 1909. p. 4160.
  30. "No. 28401". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 July 1910. p. 5481.
  31. "No. 28433". The London Gazette. 4 November 1910. p. 7908.
  32. "No. 28587". The London Gazette. 5 March 1912. p. 1663.
  33. "No. 28633". The London Gazette. 6 August 1912. p. 5854.
  34. "No. 28819". The London Gazette. 7 April 1914. p. 3002.
  35. "No. 28845". The London Gazette. 30 June 1914. p. 5070.
  36. "Casualty record, Charles Whittingham Horsley Douglas". CWGC Debt of Honour Register. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
Military offices
Preceded by
Francis Clery		 General Officer Commanding the 2nd Division
1902–1904		 Succeeded by
Bruce Hamilton
Preceded by
Sir Thomas Kelly-Kenny		 Adjutant-General to the Forces
1904–1909		 Succeeded by
Sir Ian Hamilton
Preceded by
Sir Ian Hamilton		 GOC-in-C Southern Command
1909–1912		 Succeeded by
Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien
Preceded by
Sir John French
(as Inspector-General of the Forces)		 Inspector General of the Home Forces
1912–1914		 Succeeded by
Sir Ian Hamilton
(as C-in-C Home Army)
Preceded by
Sir John French		 Chief of the Imperial General Staff
1914		 Succeeded by
Sir James Murray
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