General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
George Nicolas Channer (7 January 1842 – 13 December 1905) was a 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 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.
Life

George Channer was born at
Allahabad
Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...
, India, on 7 January 1842, the eldest surviving son of eight children of George Girdwood Channer,
colonel, Bengal artillery (1811–1895) and Susan (d. 1895), daughter of Nicholas Kendall JP, vicar of Talland and Lanlivery, Cornwall. He was educated at
Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a Church of England foundation and is known for its outstanding linguis ...
.
Joining the army in September 1859, he served in India with the
89th and
95th regiments, seeing active service in the
Ambela campaign
The Ambela campaign (also called Umbeyla, Umbeylah, and Ambeyla) of 1863 was one of many expeditions in the border area between the Emirate of Afghanistan and the North-West Frontier of British India against the 'fanatics' at Malka, a colony of ...
of 1863–4. In August 1866 he entered the
Bengal Staff Corps
Bengal ( ) is a historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Bengal proper is divided between the modern-d ...
, serving with the
Indian Army
The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
for the remainder of his career.
He was 32 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 Bengal Staff Corps, Indian Army, and
1st Gurkha Rifles
1st Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment), often referred to as the 1st Gorkha Rifles, or 1 GR in abbreviation, is the most senior Gorkha Infantry regiment of the Indian Army, comprising Gurkha soldiers of Indian Gorkha or Nepalese nationality, pa ...
during the
Battle of Bukit Putus
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...
when, on 20 December 1875 in
Negri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan''), historically spelled as Negri Sembilan, is a state in Malaysia which lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in ...
,
Malaya
Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia:
Political entities
* British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
, Captain Channer performed the deed for which he was awarded the VC. Channer had been despatched with a small party to obtain intelligence of the position and strength of the enemy's stockade. Having located it, he jumped in, taking the enemy by surprise. After shooting one man dead with his revolver, the rest of Channer's party entered the stockade, which they captured. The stockade was formidable and it would have been impossible to bring guns to bear on it because of the steepness of the hill and the density of the jungle. If Captain Channer and his party had not been able to take the stockade in this manner it would have been necessary to resort to the bayonet, with consequent great loss of life. In addition to the VC, in April 1876 Channer was mentioned in dispatches and promoted to
brevet major.
Channer served with the
Jowaki Expedition
The Jowaki Expedition was a British punitive expedition in India, occurring between 1877 and 1878. It started when the British government in India proposed to reduce the payment of the Jowaki Afridi tribe in the Northwest Frontier. The Jowaki wer ...
in 1877 and the
Second Anglo-Afghan War
The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dy ...
(1978–80). Here he was with the
29th Punjabi infantry in the
Kurram Valley Field Force
__NOTOC__
The Kurram Valley Field ForceOften referred to at the time as the ''Kuram Field Force''. e.g.: was a British military formation during the first phase of the Second Afghan War, 1878–79.
It was one of three military columns created b ...
, commanding the regiment at the
Battle of Peiwar Kotal
The Battle of Peiwar Kotal was fought on 2 December 1878 between British forces under Major General Frederick Roberts and Afghan forces under Karim Khan, during the opening stages of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The British were victorious, and s ...
in December 1878. He was made a brevet lieutenant-colonel in November 1879 and a colonel in the army in November 1883, at the early age of forty-one. He commanded a brigade in the
Hazara Expedition of 1888
Hazara may refer to:
Places and ethnic groups
Afghanistan
* Hazaras, an ethnic group and a principal component of the population of Afghanistan
** Hazarajat, or Hazaristan, a historic region of Afghanistan
** List of Hazara tribes
Pakistan
* H ...
,
after which he was made a companion of the
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
(CB). He attained the rank of major-general in April 1893, lieutenant-general on 9 November 1896 and
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
in January 1899. He retired in November 1901.
He died at the age of 63 on 13 December 1905 at
Westward Ho!
Westward Ho! is a seaside village near Bideford in Devon, England. The A39 road provides access from the towns of Barnstaple, Bideford, and Bude. It lies at the south end of Northam Burrows and faces westward into Bideford Bay, opposite Sau ...
,
Devon
Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
.
He was buried in
East-the-Water Cemetery, Bideford, in a grave adjacent to that of
Gerald Graham
Lieutenant General Sir Gerald Graham, (27 June 1831 – 17 December 1899) was a senior British Army commander in the late 19th century and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that ...
VC.
His Victoria Cross medal group is in the
Lord Ashcroft Gallery
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was p ...
at 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 ...
.
Family
He married in June 1872, Annie Isabella, daughter of John William Watson. They had four surviving sons (two served in the army) and four daughters, one of which is Mary Eva Channer who married Ronald AA Kinloch. Mary Eva and Ronald had two Sons, Ian Kinloch and Bruce Kinloch who also joined the army and was commissioned into the 3rd Queen Alexandra's own Gurkha Rifles, winning the Military Cross for his part in the battle of Sitang River Bridge in 1942. At the age of 25 he commanded the battalion.
See also
*
List of Brigade of Gurkhas recipients of the Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is a military decoration bestowed on members of the United Kingdom, British or Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth armed forces for acts of Courage, valour or Courage, gallantry performed in the face of the enemy. In th ...
Notes
External links
Location of grave and VC medal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Channer, George Nicolas
1842 births
1905 deaths
British recipients of the Victoria Cross
British Indian Army generals
People educated at Cheltenham College
Companions of the Order of the Bath
Military personnel from Prayagraj
Bengal Staff Corps officers
British military personnel of the Perak War
British military personnel of the Umbeyla Campaign
British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War
Burials in Devon
20th-century British military personnel