William Elles

Lieutenant-General Sir William Kidston Elles KCB (5 May 1837 – 5 August 1896) was a British Army officer.

Sir William Elles
Born	5 May 1837 Bournemouth, Hampshire
Died	5 August 1896 (aged 59) Nainital, India
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1854–1896
Rank	Lieutenant-General
Commands held	Bengal Command
Battles/wars	Crimean War Indian Mutiny Third Anglo-Burmese War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Early life and education

William Kidston Elles was the son of Malcolm J. Elles. He was educated at Sandhurst.[1]

Military career

Elles was commissioned as an ensign in the 38th Regiment of Foot in June 1854.[2] He served with the Regiment at the siege of Sebastopol in 1855 during the Crimean War and then during the Indian Mutiny in 1857.[2] He also served in the Hazara campaign of 1868 and then became Deputy Assistant Quarter Master General with the Intelligence Branch in 1877, Assistant Adjutant General at Horse Guards in 1881 and a brigade commander with the Madras Army in 1885.[2] After taking part in the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885, he became Adjutant-General, India in 1889 and then commanded the Hazara Expedition in 1891.[2] He also served as A.D.C. to Queen Victoria from 1881-90.[1] He went on to be Commander-in-Chief Bengal Command in April 1895 before dying in office from cholera in August 1896.[2]

There is a memorial to him at Christ Church in Shimla.[3]

References

1. "Dictionary of Indian Biography". Ardent Media. 1971. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
2. "Spink biography". Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
3. "Officers died". Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2013.