Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

Sir Alfred Edward Codrington, (4 May 1854 – 12 September 1945), was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer who served in colonial wars in Africa during the late nineteenth century, and later commanded a reserve army during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Military career

Born in 1854, the second son of General Sir William Codrington, he was educated at Harrow and entered the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 1 February 1873. He first saw active service during the

Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt, also known as the Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It ...

of 1882, where he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 18 April 1885, to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on 4 December 1889, and to lieutenant-colonel on 29 September 1898. He commanded the 1st Battalion

in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

between 1899 and 1902, where he was wounded twice. He took part in the

Battle of Magersfontein The Battle of MagersfonteinSpelt incorrectly in various English texts as "Majersfontein", "Maaghersfontein" and "Maagersfontein". ( ) was fought on 11 December 1899, at Magersfontein, near Kimberley, Northern Cape, Kimberley, South Africa, on t ...

on 11 December 1899, in which the defending Boer force defeated the advancing British forces amongst heavy casualties for the latter. Codrington was mentioned in the despatch from Lord Methuen describing the battle and how he "though wounded, insisted on remaining in command of his battalion till nightfall". In March 1900 he was stationed at the British camp at Modder River, when he was reported to be with a small party of officers foraging at farms north of

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

. They were caught by Boer troops, and he was wounded in the leg. He was mentioned in despatches later in the war, and given a brevet promotion as

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

dated 29 November 1900. For his service, he received the Queen's medal with three clasps, and the King's medal with two clasps.''Who Was Who''. After his return to the United Kingdom, he was placed on

half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the E ...

as he resigned his command of a battalion on 28 October 1902. In early 1903 he was appointed assistant adjutant-general in the 3rd Army Corps, stationed in Ireland. He did not stay there long, however, as on 21 August 1903 he was appointed in command of the Coldstream Guards. He was promoted to major general in February 1907. He commanded the 1st London Division of the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

from March 1908 to 1909, when he was appointed Major-General commanding the Brigade of Guards and

general officer commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

(GOC) London District, retiring from this post in 1913. He returned to duty after the outbreak of the

, serving as the Military Secretary to Lord Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War, from August until October 1914. He was then appointed to command Third Army in the Home Forces; this was based around Luton, and contained four Territorial divisions and two Territorial cavalry brigades. He relinquished command in 1916. He was appointed to sit on a Pensions Appeal Tribunal in the summer of 1917, which dealt with appeals against governmental decisions on military pensions, and later published a book on ''War Pensions: Past and Present'', co-authored with Edward Abbott Parry, another member of the Tribunal. His final military position was the ceremonial colonelcy of the Coldstream Guards, to which he was appointed in 1918. Unusually, this had been a position previously occupied by his father.William Codrington at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> He was appointed chairman of the Society of Miniature Rifle Clubs in 1917, and President of the Association in 1932. He also served as the

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

for London Boy Scouts from 1917 to 1923.

Family

He married Adela Harriet Portal, the niece of the

Earl of Minto Earl of Minto, in the County of Roxburgh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1813 for Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Baron Minto. The current earl is Gilbert Timothy George Lariston Elliot-Murray-Kynynm ...

, in 1885; she died in 1935. The couple had three sons, Geoffrey,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, and

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, and one daughter, Mary. Colonel Sir Geoffrey Codrington became the

High Sheriff of Wiltshire This is a list of the sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) high sheriffs of Wiltshire. Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held ''ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Go ...

and was an usher to both

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

and

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, while William was the Chief Security Officer to the War Cabinet during the Second World War and later High Sheriff of Rutland.

Notes

References

*"CODRINGTON, Lieut-Gen. Sir Alfred Edward ". (2008). In ''Who Was Who 1897–2007''
Online edition
* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Codrington, Alfred 1854 births 1945 deaths British Army lieutenant generals Coldstream Guards officers People educated at Harrow School British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army generals of World War I Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath