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 ...

Sir Neville Gerald Lyttelton, (28 October 1845 – 6 July 1931) 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 from the

Lyttelton family The Lyttelton family (sometimes spelled Littleton) is a British nobility, British aristocratic family. Over time, several members of the Lyttelton family were made knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the Lyttelton family inclu ...

who served against the Fenian Raids, and in the

Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt, also known as the Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It ...

, the

Mahdist War The Mahdist War (; 1881–1899) was fought between the Mahdist Sudanese, led by Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam (the "Guided One"), and the forces of the Khedivate of Egypt, initially, and later th ...

and 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 ...

. He was

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...

at the time of the

Haldane Reforms The Haldane Reforms were a series of far-ranging reforms of the British Army made from 1906 to 1912, and named after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane. They were the first major reforms since the " Childers Reforms" of the e ...

and then became Commander-in-Chief, Ireland.

Military career

Born the son of 4th Baron Lyttelton and Mary Lyttelton (née Glynne) and educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, Lyttelton was commissioned into the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

in January 1865. As a junior officer he was sent to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, where he helped defeat the Fenian raids in 1866 and served as secretary to the Oregon Boundary Commission in 1867. He was 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 14 July 1869, to

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 13 October 1877 and to

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 ...

on 22 February 1882. In 1880 he was made private secretary to

Hugh Childers Hugh Culling Eardley Childers (25 June 1827 – 29 January 1896) was a British Liberal statesman of the nineteenth century. He is perhaps best known for his reform efforts at the Admiralty and the War Office. Later in his career, as Chancel ...

Secretary of State for War The secretary of state for war, commonly called the war secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The secretary of state for war headed the War Offic ...

. Lyttelton took part in the

in 1882 as an Aide-de-Camp to Sir John Adye, from 1 August 1882. He saw action at 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 ...

and was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

. He was promoted to brevet lieutenant colonel and awarded the

Order of Osmanieh The Order of Osmanieh (, Modern ) was a civil and military decoration of the Ottoman Empire. History The order was created in January 1862 by Sultan Abdülaziz. With the obsolescence of the Nişan-i Iftikhar, this became the second highest order ...

(4th Class) on 17 November 1882. Lyttelton became assistant military secretary to Lieutenant General Sir John Adye in his role as

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territories, British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of ...

on 1 January 1883 and military secretary to Lord Reay,

Governor of Bombay Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...

in 1885. In his young life he made friends, mixing in whiggish aristocratic circles with Edward Grey and Arthur Balfour, later the shapers of imperial foreign policy. He was promoted to brevet

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

on 18 November 1886 and became second-in-command of the 3rd Battalion of his regiment in 1890. Promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant colonel on 9 November 1892, he became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion of his regiment in 1893 and went on to be commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion of his regiment in Ireland. Omdurman2

He went on to be assistant adjutant-general at Headquarters in December 1894 and assistant military secretary there in October 1897 and took part in the state funeral of Former

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

William Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he was Prime Minister ...

in May 1898. Lyttelton was given command of 2nd Brigade with the temporary rank of brigadier general on 13 July 1898 and led his brigade at the

battle of Omdurman The Battle of Omdurman, also known as the Battle of Karary, was fought during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan between a British–Egyptian expeditionary force commanded by British Commander-in-Chief (sirdar) major general Horatio Herbert ...

in September 1898 during the

. Lyttelton returned to his role as assistant military secretary at headquarters on 21 October 1898 and then, having become a supernumerary major general for distinguished service in the field on 15 November 1898 and promoted to the substantive rank of major general on 10 February 1899, he briefly took back his old command at 2nd Brigade, now based at

Aldershot Command Aldershot Command was a Home Command of the British Army. History After the success of the Chobham Manoeuvres of 1853, reformers of the British Army decided to create a permanent training camp at Aldershot. To begin the preliminary work a smal ...

, on 1 September 1899. Lyttelton served in the

as commander of the 4th Brigade in South Africa from 9 October 1899. He temporarily became general officer commanding the 2nd Division in February 1900, then commanded the 4th Division, and was involved in the

Battle of Spion Kop The Battle of Spion Kop (; ) was a military engagement between British forces and two Boer Republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, during the campaign by the British to relieve the besieged city Ladysmith during the ...

in January 1900 and the Battle of Vaal Krantz in February 1900, leading to the

Relief of Ladysmith The Relief of Ladysmith consisted of multiple efforts to relieve the city of Ladysmith by General Sir Redvers Buller during the Second Boer War. Buller and the Natal Field Force attempted to relieve the city through multiple offensive actions ...

later that month. Promoted to

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 ...

for distinguished service in the field on 22 March 1900, Lord Roberts in his despatch referred to Lyttelton as an officer "with great coolness under fire, and considerable tactical knowledge and resource...an excellent commander in the field." He was in command of the troops in

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

until June 1902, when he became Commander-in-Chief of the whole of South Africa following the end of the Second Boer War the previous month. In this role Lyttelton and his wife sought to repair relations with the

Boer Boers ( ; ; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch ...

community. In the South Africa honours list published on 26 June 1902, Lyttelton was knighted as a Knight Commander 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 ...

(KCB).

The Relief of Ladysmith by John Henry Frederick Bacon

On 12 February 1904 Lyttelton was appointed

and a member of the newly formed Army Council. This new post was created following the abolition of the post of

Commander-in-Chief of the Forces Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, later Commander-in-Chief, British Army, or just Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C), was (intermittently) the title of the professional head of the English Army from 1660 to 1707 (the English Army, founded in 1645, wa ...

as recommended by Lord Esher in the Esher Report. Lyttelton was promoted to

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 ...

on 9 April 1906. This was the time of the

which sought to implement both a new expeditionary force and a new

territorial force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

, but according to Edward M Spiers, Lyttelton was not up to the task – he was "feckless, malleable, and failed to lead the Army Council". Lyttelton moved on to become Commander-in-Chief, Ireland on 10 May 1908. He took part both in the funeral procession following the death of

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

in May 1910 and the coronation procession for

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

in June 1911. He was appointed

Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the ...

on 12 July 1911 and retired on 10 August 1912. In retirement Lyttelton was a member of the Mesopotamia Commission which sat in 1916/17. The King insisted on his appointment as

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the

Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is an Old soldiers' home, Old Soldiers' retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse — the ancient sense of the word "hospital" — by King Charles II of Eng ...

from 10 August 1912 until his death there on 6 July 1931.

Family

In 1883 Lyttelton married Katharine Sarah Stuart-Wortley, the youngest of the nine children of the politician James Stuart-Wortley and Jane Lawley. They had three daughters: * Lucy Blanche Lyttelton (1884–1977), who married the politician

Charles Masterman Charles Frederick Gurney Masterman Privy Council of the United Kingdom, PC Member of parliament, MP (24 October 1873 – 17 November 1927) was a British radical Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician, intellectual and man of letters. He ...

and had three children, including

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

* Hilda Margaret Lyttelton (1886–1972), who married Arthur Morton Grenfell and had four children, including Mary (mother of William Waldegrave),

Frances Frances is an English given name or last name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'the French.' The male version of the name in English is Francis (given name), Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "F ...

and Laura (the wife of Lord Ballantrae) * Mary Hermione Lyttelton (1894–), who married the businessman Lionel Hichens and had six children, including Stella (wife of

Richard Hornby Richard Phipps Hornby (20 June 1922 – 22 September 2007) was a British Conservative politician and businessman. He was Member of Parliament for Tonbridge for over 17½ years, from June 1956 to February 1974, holding a junior ministerial posi ...

) and

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

References

Bibliography

* Gen Sir Neville Lyttelton, ''Eighty Years: Soldiering, Politics, Games'', London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1927. *

External links

Archives of General Sir Neville Lyttelton held by Queen Mary, University of London Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyttelton, Neville 1845 births 1931 deaths Commanders-in-Chief, Ireland Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath British Army personnel of the Mahdist War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army generals People educated at Eton College Rifle Brigade officers British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War Younger sons of barons People from Bromsgrove District People of the Fenian raids Chiefs of the General Staff (United Kingdom) Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Neville Lyttelton Military personnel from Worcestershire