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 norma ...

Sir Frederick William Stopford, (2 February 1854 – 4 May 1929) 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, best remembered for commanding the

landing at Suvla Bay The landing at Suvla Bay was an amphibious warfare, amphibious landing made at Suvla on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of the Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire as part of the Battle of Sari Bair, August Offensive, the final United Kingdo ...

in August 1915, during the Gallipoli Campaign, where he failed to order an aggressive exploitation of the initially successful landings.

Early life

Stopford was a younger son of

James Stopford, 4th Earl of Courtown James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

, and his second wife Dora Pennefather, daughter of Edward Pennefather,

Lord Chief Justice of Ireland The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge ...

Military career

Stopford was commissioned into the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

on 28 October 1871. He was appointed aide-de-camp to Sir John Adye, chief of staff for the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, and took part in the

Battle of Tel el-Kebir The Battle of Tel El Kebir (often spelled Tel-El-Kebir) was fought on 13 September 1882 at Tell El Kebir in Egypt, 110 km north-north-east of Cairo. An entrenched Egyptian force under the command of Ahmed ʻUrabi was defeated by a British ...

in 1882. He went on to be aide-de-camp to Major General

Arthur Fremantle General Sir Arthur James Lyon Fremantle (11 November 1835 – 25 September 1901) was a British Army officer best known for his travels through the United States during the American Civil War. Whilst holding the rank of "Captain and Lieutenant C ...

, commander of the

Suakin expedition The Suakin Expedition was either of two British-Indian military expeditions, led by Major-General Sir Gerald Graham, to Suakin in Sudan, with the intention of destroying the power of the Sudanese military commander Osman Digna and his troops dur ...

in 1885. He was then made brigade major for the Brigade of Guards, which had been posted to Egypt. Stopford returned to England to be brigade major of the 2nd Infantry Brigade at

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

in 1886. He became deputy assistant adjutant general at Horseguards in 1892, and deputy assistant adjutant general at Aldershot in 1894. He took part in the

Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War The Anglo-Ashanti wars were a series of five conflicts that took place between 1824 and 1900 between the Ashanti Empire—in the Akan interior of the Gold Coast—and the British Empire and its African allies. Despite initial Ashanti victorie ...

in 1895, and became assistant adjutant general at Horseguards in 1897. Stopford took part 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 ...

as military secretary to General

Sir Redvers Buller General Sir Redvers Henry Buller, (7 December 1839 – 2 June 1908) was a British Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He served as Commander-in-Chief o ...

and later military secretary to the general officer commanding Natal, for which he was knighted as a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

in November 1900. After his return to Britain, he was appointed deputy adjutant general at Aldershot in 1901, and chief staff officer for I Corps with the temporary rank of brigadier general, on 1 April 1902. Two years later, he was appointed director of military training at Horseguards in 1904. Promoted to major general in February 1904, he was 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) of the

London District London District (LONDIST) is the name given by the British Army to the area of operations encompassing the Greater London area. It was established in 1870 as ''Home District''. History In January 1876 a ‘Mobilization Scheme for the forces i ...

from 1906. He was awarded a KCVO in June 1909 and promoted to lieutenant general in September. In October 1912 he was made

lieutenant of the Tower of London The Lieutenant of the Tower of London serves directly under the Constable of the Tower. The office has been appointed at least since the 13th century. There were formerly many privileges, immunities and perquisites attached to the office. Like t ...

, taking over the post from General Sir Henry Grant. On 5 August 1914, a day after the

British entry into World War I The United Kingdom entered World War I on 4 August 1914, when King George V declared war after the expiry of an ultimatum to the German Empire. The official explanation focused on protecting Belgium as a neutral country; the main reason, ho ...

, he was appointed GOC First Army, part of Home Forces, a position he held until he took command of

IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to: France * 9th Army Corps (France) * IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German ...

the following year. As GOC of IX Corps, Stopford was blamed for the failure to attack following the

in August 1915, during the Gallipoli campaign. Stopford had chosen to command the landing from , anchored offshore, but slept as the landing was in progress. He was quickly replaced on 15 August by Major-General Sir Julian Byng. After almost 50 years of military service, Stopford retired from the army in 1920.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stopford, Frederick 1854 births 1929 deaths People of the Gallipoli campaign British Army lieutenant generals British Army generals of World War I British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War British Army personnel of the Mahdist War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British military personnel of the Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War Grenadier Guards officers Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Lieutenants of the Tower of London Military personnel from Dublin (city)

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

Younger sons of earls