Godfrey Douglas Giles (9 November 1857

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

– 1 February 1941) was a painter of horses, military scenes and battles, many experienced firsthand while on service with the British Army in India,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and South Africa. He produced numerous caricatures for the magazine '' Vanity Fair''.

Biography

Giles was the son of Captain Edward Giles of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

who was stationed at Karachi. Godfrey Douglas Giles was a boarding boy at

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

. He was sent to the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

, to launch his military career, and his first posting was in India in 1875. He saw action in the

Second 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 ...

with the 1st Sind Horse and the 19th Native Infantry, chiefly on the Khleat and

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

fronts, and according to one obituary notice, had been present at

Maiwand Maiwand is a village in Afghanistan within the Maywand District of Kandahar Province. It is located 50 miles northwest of Kandahar, on the main Kandahar–Lashkargah road. The area is irrigated by the Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority. ...

. He certainly was present at the battle of Khuski-Nakhud in February 1879 and later painted the ''Charge of the Scinde Horse at Khuski-Nakhud''. He also painted a scene of E/B Battery

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. Although the cavalry link rem ...

which was exhibited in 1893. It was drawn from details supplied by RSM Paton and Sergeant Mullane, VC who had been with the battery. He accompanied the Gordon Relief Expedition to Sudan and commanded Turkish cavalry at El Teb. Giles also provided a sketch of the battle which was the basis for a large fold-out panorama of the battle published in ''

The Graphic ''The Graphic'' was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company, Illustrated Newspapers Ltd with Thomas's brother, Lewis Samuel Thomas, as a co-founder. The Graphic was set up as ...

'' on 1 March 1884, and began painting a scene of the battle when he returned to Cairo shortly after the event. He was also present at the

battle of Tamai The Battle of Tamai (or Tamanieh) took place on 13 March 1884 between a British force under Sir Gerald Graham and a Mahdist Sudanese army led by Osman Digna. Despite his earlier victory at El Teb, Graham realised that Osman Digna's force was ...

, and later received a commission from Lieut. P.S. Marling of the 60th Rifles depicting the latter saving Private Morley of the 35th Regiment for which Marling received 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 ...

. Subsequently, Giles served as captain in the

Loyal Suffolk Hussars The Duke of York's Own Loyal Suffolk Hussars was a Yeomanry regiment of the British Army. Originally formed as a volunteer cavalry force in 1793, it fought in the Second Boer War as part of the Imperial Yeomanry. In World War I the regiment fough ...

and the Artists' Rifle Corps. Having attained the rank of Major, Godfrey Douglas Giles retired from the army in 1884 and went to Paris in 1885 where he studied under

Carolus-Duran Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran (4 July 1837 – 17 February 1917), was a French painter and art instructor. He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of Upper class, high society in French Third Republic, Third Rep ...

. He successfully exhibited paintings such as ''The

Battle of Tamai The Battle of Tamai (or Tamanieh) took place on 13 March 1884 between a British force under Sir Gerald Graham and a Mahdist Sudanese army led by Osman Digna. Despite his earlier victory at El Teb, Graham realised that Osman Digna's force was ...

'' and '' El Teb'' at the

Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

and the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

after which he settled in Newmarket where he was able to depict horses and horse-racing scenes. His illustrations also appeared in the weekly ''

Black & White Budget ''Black & White: A Weekly Illustrated Record and Review'' was a British Victorian-era illustrated weekly periodical founded in 1891 by Charles Norris Williamson. In 1912, it was incorporated with '' The Sphere''. History and contributors ''Bl ...

'' in 1891. After the outbreak of the

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 an ...

in South Africa in 1899, Giles was sent there as war correspondent and artist by ''

'' and the ''

Daily Graphic ''The Daily Graphic: An Illustrated Evening Newspaper'' was the first American newspaper with daily illustrations. It was founded in New York City in 1873 by Canadian engravers George-Édouard Desbarats and William Leggo, and began publicati ...

'', and was attached to

French's French's is an American brand of prepared Mustard (condiment), mustards, condiments, fried onions, and other food items, best known for their popular yellow mustard. Created by Robert Timothy French, French's "Cream Salad Brand" mustard debuted ...

1st Cavalry Brigade. He witnessed the surrender of General

Piet Cronjé Pieter Arnoldus "Piet" Cronjé (4 October 1836 – 4 February 1911) was a South African Boer general during the Anglo-Boer Wars of 1880–1881 and 1899–1902. Biography Born in the Cape Colony but raised in the South African Republic, Cronj ...

after the

Battle of Paardeberg The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg ("Horse Mountain", 18–27 February 1900) was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near ''Paardeberg Ford (crossing), Drift'' on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free St ...

, and was present at the subsequent

relief of Kimberley The siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Cape Colony (present-day South Africa), when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the diamond mining town. The Boers moved quickly to try t ...

. Later he wrote a piece for

titled ''"With French to Kimberley and Roberts to Bloemfontein"'' which appeared in ''The Graphic History of the South African War''. Giles contributed greatly to the pictorial record of the Boer War with works on display in museums in both South Africa and England. He was awarded the

Queen's South Africa Medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

on 12 February 1903. Giles died at the age of 83 in Edinburgh on 1 February 1941.

Paintings

* ''Norman Ramsay's Guns at Fuentes De Onoro, 5 May 1811'' (1897 -

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

Institution) * ''Charge of the Heavy Brigade'' (Private Collection) * ''The Battle of Tamai, Soudan Campaign, 1884'' (1885 -

National Army Museum The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the " Chelsea Pensioners". The museum is a non-departmental public bod ...

) * ''An Incident at the Battle of Tamai, Eastern Soudan, March 13, 1884'' (Private Collection) * ''The Battle of Tamaii'' (1885 -

York and Lancaster Regiment The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of ...

Trust, on loan

) * ''Charge of the 10th Hussars at El Teb'' (1884 - HorsePower: The Museum of the King's Royal Hussars) * ''After the Battle of Atbara. The Emir Mamoud brought prisoner to Sir H. Kitchener'' (1899 -

) * ''Cronje's Laager, Paardeberg, 18 February 1900'' (1900 -

) * ''Advance on Kimberley'' (1901 -

Queen's Royal Lancers The Queen's Royal Lancers (QRL) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1993 and amalgamated with the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) on 2 May 2015 to form the Royal Lancers. History The regiment was formed i ...

) * ''To the Relief of Kimberley'' (1901 -

) * ''A Troop of the 10th Hussars racing the Boers for a kopje above the Modder River'' (1902 -

King's Royal Hussars The King's Royal Hussars (KRH) is an armoured regiment of the British Army formed in 1992. Based at Tidworth it serves as one of the armoured regiments of the 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team (ABCT). History The regiment was formed on 4 Decem ...

)

References

*Harrington, Peter. ''British Artists and War: The Face of Battle in Paintings and Prints, 1700-1914'', London, Greenhill, 1993.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giles, Godfrey Douglas 1857 births 1941 deaths British war correspondents British caricaturists 19th-century English painters English male painters English illustrators Artists' Rifles officers Vanity Fair (British magazine) artists Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People educated at Cheltenham College 19th-century British war artists Suffolk Yeomanry officers 20th-century English painters British people in colonial India