Brigadier General Charles FitzClarence, VC (8 May 1865 – 12 November 1914) was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces.

Early life

Charles FitzClarence was born in

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

, the son of Captain the Hon. George FitzClarence (15 April 1836 – 24 March 1894) and Maria Henrietta Scott (1841 – 27 July 1912). He had a twin brother named Edward. His paternal grandfather was the 1st Earl of Munster, an illegitimate son of William, Duke of Clarence (later King William IV of the United Kingdom). He was commissioned as a subaltern, with the rank of

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 ...

, into the 3rd (

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

) Battalion of the

South Staffordshire Regiment The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot a ...

in February 1885. In November 1886 he transferred to the

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many war ...

, and the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

. His early career with his new regiment, however, was blighted by several bouts of illness and he spent much of his time in administrative and staff roles. He was promoted to captain, on augmentation, in April 1898. In 1899 he volunteered to serve as a special service officer at Mafeking, South Africa and was given the duty of training a squadron of the Protectorate Regiment.

VC action

FitzClarence was 34 years old, and a

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 ...

in the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment),

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 ...

, during 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 ...

when the following deeds took place for which he was awarded the

(VC): His ferocity in battle earned him the enduring nickname 'The Demon'. He was a brigade major with the Rhodesian Brigade from August 1900. He served in South Africa, being promoted from supernumerary captain to captain on augmentation in January 1901, until February 1901, at which point he transferred to the newly formed

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

. He passed out from the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...

, which he entered as a student in January 1902, in January 1903, He then served as a

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...

of the 5th Infantry Brigade from April 1903 until 1906. Having been promoted to major in May 1904, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and then succeeded George Colborne Nugent in command of the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards in July 1909. He had a reputation as a forward thinking soldier and took an innovative, albeit demanding, approach to training. It was noted he was "both loved and feared by his battalion". He was promoted to colonel, dated March 1913, and in July went on to command the Irish Guards and regimental district again taking over Nugent.

The Great War

Promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general in August 1914, on 27 September he replaced Brigadier-General

Ivor Maxse General (United Kingdom), General Sir Frederick Ivor Maxse, (22 December 1862 – 28 January 1958) was a senior British Army Officer (armed forces), officer who fought during the World War I, First World War, best known for his innovative and ef ...

as commander of 1st Guards' Brigade with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). He held this command until he was killed in action on 12 November 1914. On 4 October 1914, whilst 1st Guards' Brigade was holding trenches opposite the German line at the River Aisne, he ordered 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 ...

to carry out a night time raid against a German position known as 'Fish Hook Trench'. This was the first British trench raid of the First World War. The raid was led by Second Lieutenant Merton Beckwith-Smith and was a striking local success. In October, FitzClarence had played a significant part in the

First Battle of Ypres The First Battle of Ypres (, , – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. The battle was part of the First Battle of Flanders, in which German A ...

. Captain Valentine Williams, MC, writing in ''

Blackwood's Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by publisher William Blackwood and originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine'', but quickly relaunched as ''Blackwood's Edinb ...

'', described the action at Gheluvelt thus: "The Coldstream and Scots Guards' battalions of FitzClarence's brigade, in trenches north of Gheluvelt, suffered terribly in a German attack, delivered in a dense mist on the morning of the 27th along the Menin road. The odds against the British were crushing, for on that day some 24,000 Germans were arrayed against about 5,000 exhausted British troops. In two days the Scots Guards lost 10 officers and 370 men killed and wounded. But the result of the day's fighting was that the British line stood firm and unbroken, while the Germans had sustained enormous losses". Sir John French, in his Despatch published on 30 November 1914, described the fighting at this time as: "Perhaps the most important and decisive attack (except that of the Prussian Guard on the 10th November) made against the 1st Corps during the whole of its arduous experiences in the neighbourhood of Ypres." ''Blackwood's Magazine'' for August 1917 carries an article describing FitzClarence's part. It was he who gave the order for the vital counter-attack of 31 October 1914. He "rallied the troops and directed the successful onslaught". Lt Col. E. B. Hankey, involved in the attack, said of FitzClarence: " ... by shoving us in at the time and place he did, the General saved the day." On the morning of 11 November, the Prussian Guard attacked British troops along the Menin Road. Thirteen battalions of them came on, but only in three places did the Prussian Guard break through. On the following morning FitzClarence counter-attacked. The General himself decided to show his old regiment the way, and paid for the decision with his life. FitzClarence fell dead, and neither FitzClarence himself, nor Sir John French knew how well he had served his country at Gheluvelt. In his Despatch of 20 November 1914, Sir John French said: "Another officer whose name was particularly mentioned to me was Brigadier-General FitzClarence, VC, commanding the 1st Guards' Brigade. He was unfortunately killed in the night attack of the 11th November. His loss will be severely felt". His most recent biographer, Spencer Jones, describes FitzClarence as exemplifying "...the best aspects of the post-Boer War ritishofficer class" due to his "courage, professionalism, natural leadership, and willingness to act upon his own initiative." He was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

, aged 49, at Polygon Wood, Zonnebeke,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, on 12 November 1914 whilst commanding the 1st (Guards) Brigade. He is the highest-ranking officer inscribed on the

Menin Gate The Menin Gate (), officially the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, is a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium, dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves are unknown. The m ...

Memorial in

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

, commemorating those with no known grave.

The medal

His VC is in the Lord Ashcroft VC Gallery in the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

, London.

Family

On 20 April 1898, at the Citadel Church, Cairo, he married Violet Spencer-Churchill (13 June 1864 – 22 December 1941), daughter of Lord Alfred Spencer-Churchill and a granddaughter of the sixth Duke of Marlborough. The couple had two children: * Edward Charles FitzClarence, 6th Earl of Munster (3 October 1899 – 15 November 1983) * Joan Harriet FitzClarence (23 December 1901 – 6 January 1971)

Notes

References

Listed in order of publication year *

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the f ...

(1981, 1988 and 1997) * * List of Irish Victoria Cross recipients (Dept of Economic Development 1995) *

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a British historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took ...

(David Harvey, 1999) *

Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross List of Irish Victoria Cross recipients lists all recipients of the Victoria Cross (post-nominal letters "VC") born on the island of Ireland, together with the date and place of their VC action. The Victoria Cross is the highest war honour of ...

(Richard Doherty & David Truesdale, 2000) *"Elegant Extracts" – The Royal Fusiliers Recipients of the VC (J. P. Kelleher, 2001)
Royal Fusiliers Recipients of the Victoria CrossTurtle Bunbury
''The Glorious Madness, Tales of The Irish and The Great War'',
Charles FitzClarence—Kildare's Royal VC Winner, p. 37, Gill & Macmillan, Dublin 12 (2014) *Spencer Jones (ed.) ''Stemming the Tide: Officers and Leadership in the British Expeditionary Force 1914.'' Helion & Co. (2013)

External links

*
angloboerwar.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzclarence, Charles 1865 births 1914 deaths Military personnel from County Kildare British Army brigadiers Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley 19th-century Anglo-Irish people 20th-century Anglo-Irish people Charles FitzClarence Second Boer War recipients of the Victoria Cross British recipients of the Victoria Cross Irish recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army generals of World War I Royal Fusiliers officers Irish Guards officers Irish officers in the British Army British military personnel killed in World War I British Army personnel of the Second Boer War People educated at Eton College People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire British Army personnel of the Mahdist War Irish twins British twins British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross South Staffordshire Regiment officers Staffordshire Militia officers