Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Charles Howard Foulkes, CB, CMG, DSO (1 February 1875 – 6 May 1969) was a Royal Engineers officer in the

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 ...

and also a British international

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

player who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in the bronze medal-winning team. He saw service in

World War I 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 ...

and, following the first German use of gas on 22 April 1915 at the

Second Battle of Ypres During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pr ...

, became Britain's chief advisor on

gas warfare Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare, biological warfare and radiological warfare, which together make up CBRN, the military acronym ...

. He also advised on the use of gas to suppress the uprisings in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

(1919) and

Waziristan Waziristan (Pashto and ur, , "land of the Wazir") is a mountainous region covering the former FATA agencies of North Waziristan and South Waziristan which are now districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Waziristan covers some . ...

(1920), but gas was never actually deployed in these conflicts.

Military career

Foulkes was educated at

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in The Harpur Trust, born from the endowments left by Sir William Harpur in the six ...

, and was commissioned into the Royal Engineers as a second lieutenant on 27 February 1894, followed by promotion to

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 27 February 1897.Hart′s Army list, 1903 He served in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

1898–99 (later known as the Hut Tax War of 1898, Hut Tax War), for which he received the East and West Africa Medal. After the outbreak of 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 ...

in October 1899, he was appointed on the Staff of the army in South Africa, and took part in a number of engagements and operations. He became Assistant Commissioner for the Anglo-French Boundary Commission in the East of

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagescaptain. After taking part in the

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria * Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...

Sokoto Sokoto is a major city located in extreme northwestern Nigeria, near the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006 it has a population of over 427,760. Sokoto is the modern-day capital of Sokoto State and was previously the ...

expedition which brought the Emirs in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

under British control in 1903, he became Commander of the

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

in 1904. He was a member of the bronze medal-winning team for the

in the 1908 Summer Olympics. He went on to be Commander of 31st (Fortress) Company in Ceylon in 1909 and Commander of 'L' Company at the Royal Engineers Depot in Chatham in 1913. Foulkes served in

as Commander of 11th (Field) Company, taking part in the

First Battle of Ypres The First Battle of Ypres (french: Première Bataille des Flandres; german: Erste Flandernschlacht – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. The battle was part of the Firs ...

in 1914 before becoming Britain's chief advisor on

in 1915 and General Officer Commanding the Special Brigade responsible for Chemical Warfare and Director of Gas Services in 1917. He advised on the use of gas to suppress the uprisings in

in 1919 and

in 1920, although gas was never actually deployed in these conflicts, before becoming Commander Royal Engineers in

Fermoy Fermoy () is a town on the River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2016 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,500 people. It is located in the barony of Condons and Clangibbon, and is in the Dá ...

and Director of Irish Propaganda in 1921. He went on to be Commander, Royal Engineers in

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

in 1922, Deputy Chief Engineer at Southern Command in 1924 and Chief Engineer at Aldershot Command in 1926 before retiring in 1930.

Publications

* *Foulkes, C.H., ''Commonsense and ARP, a practical guide for householders and business managers'' (C Arthur Pearson, London, 1939)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foulkes, Charles 1875 births 1969 deaths British Army major generals Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Afghan War British military personnel of the Irish War of Independence British male field hockey players Scottish male field hockey players Olympic field hockey players of Great Britain Field hockey players at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain British military personnel of the Waziristan Campaign British military personnel of the Kano-Sokoto Expedition Olympic medalists in field hockey People educated at Bedford Modern School Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Scottish Olympic medallists