Major-General Sir Percival Spearman Wilkinson (5 July 1865 – 4 November 1953) 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 who served as colonel of the

Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution and ...

from 1915 to 1935.

Military career

Wilkinson was commissioned as a

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 ...

into the 3rd (

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

) Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers (later the

Royal Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution and ...

) on 10 November 1883. He was promoted to captain in January 1895. He was seconded for service with the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...

in October 1897 and to brevet major in July 1899. He was promoted to major, on augmentation, in July 1900, was made a brevet lieutenant colonel in January 1901, a brevet colonel in February 1904, and, upon being made a substantive colonel and temporary brigadier general in September 1909, became inspector general of the

Royal West African Frontier Force The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the British West Africa, West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast, Sierra Leone ...

at the same time. Promoted to major-general on 8 August 1912, he served as commander of the 1st Secunderabad Infantry Brigade, part of the

9th (Secunderabad) Division The 9th (Secunderabad) Division was an infantry division formation of the British Indian Army. It was part of the Southern Army and was formed in 1904 after Lord Kitchener was appointed Commander-in-Chief, India between 1902 and 1909. He ...

, on internal security duties in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, taking over from Major General

Francis George Bond Major-General Sir Francis George Bond, (10 August 1856 – 15 August 1930) was a British Army officer who served with the Royal Engineers in various campaigns in the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a keen amateur sportsman, who played foo ...

in November 1913. He was appointed 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 ...

in January 1914. He then served as

general officer commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

(GOC) of the

50th (Northumbrian) Division The Northumbrian Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army, formed in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force with units drawn from the north-east of England, notably Northumberland, County Durham, Durham and the ...

in place of Major General The Earl of Cavan on the Western Front from August 1915 until February 1918 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 ...

. He was appointed a Knight Commander 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 1917. After relinquishing command of the 50th, he was returned to Britain and made inspector of musketry. Upon relinquishing this assignment in June 1919, he returned to command 50th (Northumbrian) Division as a peacetime formation in the UK in July 1919 before he retired from the army on 4 July 1923. In retirement he was chief commissioner of the

St. John Ambulance St John Ambulance is an affiliated movement of charitable organisations in mostly Commonwealth countries which provide first aid education and consumables and emergency medical services. St John organisations are primarily staffed by volunte ...

. He ceased to belong to the reserve of officers in July 1932. He was colonel of the Northumberland Fusiliers from January 1915 to July 1935, when Major General William Norman Herbert succeeded him.

References

Sources

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Percival Spearman 1865 births 1953 deaths British Militia officers Military personnel from Durham, England British Army major generals British Army generals of World War I Royal Northumberland Fusiliers officers Royal West African Frontier Force officers Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath 19th-century British Army personnel