General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Sir Charles Bonham-Carter, (25 February 1876 – 21 October 1955) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer and later

Governor of Malta A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Early life

Bonham-Carter was born on 25 February 1876 in Kensington,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the ninth of eleven children of Henry and Sibella Charlotte Bonham-Carter. His father was a director of an insurance company. He was educated at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , hea ...

near

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and then the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

Military career

Bonham-Carter was commissioned into the

as a second lieutenant in the

Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen' ...

on 29 February 1896, and was promoted to a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 16 July 1898. Serving in the 2nd Battalion of his regiment, he was in early 1900 posted to South Africa for active service in the

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

. Together with 1030 officers and men of the battalion, he left Southampton on the ''SS Bavarian'' in March 1900, and on arriving in South Africa was part of the 17th Brigade,

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. The battalion stayed there until after the end of the war in 1902, and then was posted to Ceylon. He went to the British Army Staff College in Camberley and joined the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to France as a regimental officer. He held a number of staff posts in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and between 1917 and 1918 he was Brigadier General Staff (Training) at the General Headquarters, despite opposition he started programmes to train the men in general and vocational subjects. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

and the American Distinguished Service Medal for his work and was mentioned in dispatches five times. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Bonham-Carter served in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and in 1927 became Director of Staff Duties. In 1931 he moved to become General Officer Commanding the 4th Division in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

. In 1933 he was promoted to Lieutenant-General and became Director-General of the Territorial Army until 1936.

Malta

In 1936 Bonham-Carter was appointed Governor and Commander in Chief of Malta following the death of General Sir David Campbell. It was a time of political unrest on the island and a constitutional body was formed to find a more representative form of self-government, the earlier constitution having been suspended. The subsequent changes overseen by Bonham-Carter was to create something more representative and acceptable to the population. Although a strong supporter of the need to defend the islands after war was declared in 1939, by October 1940 he had become ill and had to resign his post, effective 11 October 1940. He was appointed Colonel of The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment in 1936, a post he held until 1946.

Retirement

Bonham-Carter took a number of posts in retirement including chairman of the Royal School, Bath, chairman of the Royal School for Soldier's Daughters in Hampstead. He was also a governor of his old school

. He died at home in

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth a ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, on 21 October 1955.

Family

Bonham-Carter married first, at Drogheda on 22 February 1902, Gladys Beryl Coddington, daughter of Colonel Arthur Blayney Coddington, and they had two sons. Following a divorce in 1909 he married Gabrielle Madge Jeanette Fisher in 1911 and they had a son, Victor Bonham-Carter. His brothers included Sir Edgar Bonham Carter and Sir Maurice Bonham Carter, the latter of whom is the grandfather of actress

Helena Bonham Carter Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. Known for her roles in blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received various awards and nominations, including a British Academy Film Award a ...

Honours

*1917 –

*14 July 1917 – Brevet Colonel Charles Bonham-Carter, DSO, Royal West Kent Regiment given permission to wear the Croix d'Officer of Légion d'honneur awarded by the President of the French Republic for distinguished service rendered during the course of the campaign. *1919 –

Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

*12 July 1919 – Brevet Colonel (temporary Brigadier-General) Charles Bonham-Carter, CMG, DSO, Royal West Kent Regiment is given permission to wear the American Distinguished Service Medal awarded by the President of the United States for distinguished service rendered during the course of the campaign. * 1941 – Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Memorial

There is a memorial to him in St Mary's Church, Buriton.Geograph
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References

External links

The Papers of General Sir Charles Bonham-Carter
held at

Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers of ...

Generals of World War II
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonham-Carter, Charles 1876 births 1955 deaths Charles British Army generals of World War II British Army generals of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Foreign recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States) Governors and Governors-General of Malta Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Officiers of the Légion d'honneur People educated at Clifton College People from Kensington Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment officers People from Buriton Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Military personnel from London