Brigadier-General Louis Murray Phillpotts, (3 June 1870 – 8 September 1916) was a senior

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 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 ...

Early life

Louis Murray Phillpotts was born on 3 June 1870 in Lamerton near Tavistock in Devon. His father, the Reverend Henry Phillpotts (1833-1919) (eldest son of Archdeacon

William Phillpotts William John Philpotts (26 May 1807 in Bishop Middleham – 10 July 1888 in St Gluvias) was Archdeacon of Cornwall from 1845 until his death. Life William John Phillpotts was the eldest son of Henry Phillpotts, Bishop of Exeter and Deborah Phil ...

and grandson of

Henry Phillpotts Henry Phillpotts (6 May 177818 September 1869), often called "Henry of Exeter", was the Anglican Bishop of Exeter from 1830 to 1869. He was one of England's longest serving bishops since the 14th century. Life Early life Henry Phillpotts ...

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Mike Harrison (bishop), Mike Harrison, since 2024. From the first bishop until the sixteent ...

) was at that time vicar of Lamerton. Louis was educated at

Bedford School Bedford School is a 7–18 Single-sex education, boys Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the county town of Bedford in England. Founded in 1552, it is the oldest of four independent schools in Bedford run by the Harpur Trust. Bed ...

(under the headmastership of his uncle

James Surtees Phillpotts James Surtees Phillpotts (18 July 1839 – 16 October 1930) was a reforming Headmaster of Bedford School and the author and editor of a number of educational books. Biography Born in Cornwall on 18 July 1839, James Surtees Phillpotts was a gra ...

) and at the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

British Army

Louis Phillpotts received his first commission as a second lieutenant in the

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 ...

on 14 February 1890, and was promoted to 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 ...

on 14 February 1893. He served 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 ...

, between 1899 and 1901, where he fought in the

Battle of Modder River The Battle of Modder River (, fought near the confluence of the Modder and Riet Rivers) was an engagement in the Boer War, fought at Modder River, on 28 November 1899. A British column under Lord Methuen, that was attempting to relieve the ...

(November 1899) and took part in the

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 ...

in February 1900. He was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

on 23 January 1900, and served as a divisional

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 ...

in South Africa in 1901. Promotion to the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

followed on 3 July 1907. He served during the

, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in October 1914, and to the rank of brigadier general in 1915. Phillpotts was invested as 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 ...

in September 1901, and as a Companion 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 June 1916.

Family life

Philpotts married Amy Anne Charlotte Duckett in 1909 and they had a son in Henry in 1910. Philpotts was killed in action in France on 8 September 1916, aged 46.Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 15 September 1916, p. 9

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillpotts, Louis Murray 1870 births 1916 deaths People from the Borough of West Devon People educated at Bedford School Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British Army brigadiers Royal Artillery officers British military personnel killed in World War I