Major-General Guy Payan Dawnay, (23 March 1878 – 19 January 1952) 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 and merchant banker. He was the nephew of Guy Dawnay, a politician.

Career

Dawnay was commissioned a second lieutenant in 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 ...

on 20 May 1899, and promoted to

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 ...

on 10 July 1900. He served in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

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 ...

, where he was a staff officer as aide-de-camp to Major-General Bruce Hamilton, in command in

Eastern Transvaal Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...

. Following the end of hostilities, he left

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

with Hamilton on board the in late June 1902, and arrived at

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

the following month. For his service in the war, he was appointed a Companion of the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

(DSO) in the October 1902 South African honours list. He served as an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

at the Guards Depot in November 1904 and was raised to the rank of captain in February 1909. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Dawnay was assigned to the General Staff of the

Mediterranean Expeditionary Force The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF) was the part of the British Army during World War I that commanded all Allied forces at Gallipoli and Salonika. It was formed in March 1915, under the command of General Sir Ian Hamilton, at the begi ...

and fought at the Gallipoli campaign during the

. Following the withdrawal from Gallipoli he was shifted to the headquarters of the newly formed

Egyptian Expeditionary Force The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a military formation of the British Empire, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–1915), at the ...

. When the corps-sized Eastern Force was created under Lieutenant-General Charles Dobell in September 1916 to command operations in the Sinai, Dawnay was assigned as Chief of Staff (Brigadier General, General Staff). He continued as Chief of Staff to Dobell's successor Philip Chetwode until August 1917 when he became Deputy Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, still with the rank of the Brigadier-General. Following the

Battle of Jerusalem The Battle of Jerusalem also known as the Fall of Jerusalem occurred during the British Empire's "Jerusalem Operations" against the Ottoman Empire, in World War I, when fighting for the city developed from 17 November, continuing after the s ...

Dawnay was transferred to the General Headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force in France with a promotion to temporary major general in February 1918. As head of the Staff Duties Section of the General Staff he was responsible for training, organization, anti-aircraft defence, and censorship and publicity. In May 1919, and with the war now over, he relinquished his temporary rank of major general. He was, however, promoted to honorary major general the next month and retired from the army. In 1909 whilst a student at 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 ...

, he co-founded the Chatham Dining Club with Rupert Ommanney. In 1928 he founded

Dawnay Day Dawnay Day is a privately owned financial services group. Founded in 1928, the London-based group, employs more than 1,000 employees and claims to own gross assets of more than $4-billion. It has offices in Europe, the Middle East, India, the US, ...

, an investment company together with Julian Day.

References

External links

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(requires login, English only) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawnay, Guy 1878 births 1952 deaths British Army generals of World War I British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British financial businesspeople Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath Coldstream Guards officers British recipients of the Legion of Honour Members of the Royal Victorian Order Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Recipients of the Order of St. Anna Guy British Army major generals Foreign recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States)