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 Percy Pollexfen de Blaquiere Radcliffe, (9 February 1874 – 9 February 1934) 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 reached high office in the 1930s.
Early life
Radcliffe was born on 9 February 1874. His parents were W. Pollexfen Radcliffe and Isabel de Blaquiere. He was educated at
Winchester College
Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...
and the
Royal Military Academy.
Military career
Radcliffe was commissioned into 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 ...
in 1893.
He saw service with 'G' 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 ...
in 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 1900,
[ was ]mentioned in dispatches
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 ...
, and was promoted to captain in 1900 and then, in January 1906, succeeded Neill Malcolm as a staff captain at the War Office
The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...
.
Promoted to major in October 1910, in October 1911 he was made a general staff officer, grade 2, taking over from Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Bruce Williams
Major General Sir Hugh Bruce Williams, (1865–1942) was a British Army officer.
Military career
Hugh Bruce Williams was born in 1865, the son of a general in the British Army. He was educated at Winchester College, followed by the Royal Milita ...
.
He saw active service 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 ...
on the Western Front, and was appointed a general staff officer, grade 1 in July 1915. He was made a brevet lieutenant colonel in June 1915, lieutenant colonel in 1916 and a brevet colonel the following year. He was mentioned in dispatches six times during the war. When William Robertson was replaced as Chief of the Imperial General Staff
Chief of the General Staff (CGS) has been the title of the professional head of the British Army since 1964. The CGS is a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Army Board; he is also the Chair of the Executive Committee of the A ...
in early 1918 by Sir Henry Wilson
Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Sir Henry Hughes Wilson, 1st Baronet, (5 May 1864 – 22 June 1922) was one of the most senior British Army staff officers of the First World War and was briefly an Unionism in Ireland, Irish unio ...
, Radcliffe, promoted in June 1918 to substantive major general, was appointed director of military operations at the War Office
The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...
. He replaced Major General Frederick Maurice.
Radcliffe continued in the role until 1922.[ He was appointed ]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 ...
48th (South Midland) Division
The 48th (South Midland) Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army. Part of the Territorial Force (TF) and raised in 1908, the division was originally called the South Midland Division, and was redesignated as th ...
in 1923, General Officer Commanding 4th Division In military terms, 4th Division may refer to:
Infantry divisions
*4th (Quetta) Division, British Indian Army
* 4th Alpine Division Cuneense, Italy
* 4th Blackshirt Division (3 January), Italy
*4th Canadian Division
*4th Division (Australia)
* 4th ...
in 1926 and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Scottish Command
Scottish Command or Army Headquarters Scotland (from 1972) is a Command (military formation), command of the British Army.
History Early history
Great Britain was divided into military districts on the outbreak of Anglo-French War (1793–180 ...
in 1930. His final appointment was as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Southern Command from 1933 until his death, when he fell from a horse and had a heart attack, on his sixtieth birthday, in 1934.
Radcliffe was Aide-de-Camp General to 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 Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936.
George w ...
from 1 October 1933 until his death.
Personal life
Radcliffe married twice – first to Rahmeh Theodora Swinburne in 1918 and then to Florence Alice Coromandel Tagg in 1932. From 1905 to 1934 Radcliffe owned a house in Menton
Menton (; in classical norm or in Mistralian norm, , ; ; or depending on the orthography) is a Commune in France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italia ...
in the south of France. The garden, which he landscaped and curated, is now Menton's botanical garden. It is named the ''Jardin botanique Val Rahmeh'' after his first wife.
Works
* ''Tactical Employment of Field Artillery'' (which he translated from the French).
* ''Report on the Franco-British Mission to Poland, July, August 1920''.
References
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Radcliffe, Percy
1874 births
1934 deaths
Royal Artillery officers
British Army personnel of the Second Boer War
British Army generals of World War I
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
British Army generals