Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

Philip Walhouse Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode, (21 September 1869 – 6 July 1950), 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 An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

. He saw action 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 ...

, during which he was present at the

Siege of Ladysmith The siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 2 November 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal. Boer invasion of Natal Outbreak of war The Second Boer War began on 11 October 1899 wh ...

in December 1899. He saw action again during

World War I 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, taking part in the

First Battle of Ypres The First Battle of Ypres (, , – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. The battle was part of the First Battle of Flanders, in which German A ...

, and then in the

Sinai and Palestine campaign The Sinai and Palestine campaign was part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, taking place between January 1915 and October 1918. The British Empire, the French Third Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy fought alongside the Arab Revol ...

during which he led his corps at the

First Battle of Gaza The First Battle of Gaza was fought on 26 March 1917 during the first attempt by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF), which was a British Empire military formation, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from th ...

in March 1917, at the Battle of Beersheba in October 1917 and 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 ...

in November 1917. After the War he held a series of senior military appointments including

Adjutant-General to the Forces The Adjutant-General to the Forces, commonly just referred to as the Adjutant-General (AG), was for just over 250 years one of the most senior officers in the British Army. The AG was latterly responsible for developing the Army's personnel polic ...

and then Commander in Chief Aldershot Command. He went on to be Chief of the General Staff in India in 1928 and Commander in Chief in India in 1930 and was much concerned with the modernisation and "Indianisation" of the army in India.

Early life and education

Born the son of Sir George Chetwode, 6th Baronet, and Alice Jane Bass (daughter of Michael Thomas Bass the brewer), Chetwode was educated at Eton, where he was an athlete of some distinction, and entered the

through the

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 ...

with his first commission being as a second lieutenant in the 3rd (Militia) Battalion of the Oxfordshire Light Infantry (later the

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

) on 11 April 1888. He then received a commission in the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

, still holding a second lieutenant's rank, with the 19th Hussars on 20 November 1889.

Military career

Chetwode Chauvel Royston in Egypt 1917 AWM A00049

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 6 August 1890, Chetwode first saw active service in the Chin Hills expedition in Burma from 1892 to 1893 and was promoted 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 7 February 1897. He served in the

where he took part in the actions at Reitfontein in October 1899, Ladysmith in December 1899, Laing's Nek in June 1900 and Belfast in August 1900: he was twice

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 ...

and was awarded 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 ...

. Promoted 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 21 December 1901, he stayed 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 ...

until the end of hostilities. The war ended in late May 1902, and the following month Chetwode returned home in the ''SS Tagus'', arriving 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, ...

in July. He succeeded as 7th Baronet in 1905. In 1906, Chetwode became assistant military secretary to Lieutenant General Sir John French and on 3 January 1908 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on appointment as

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

(CO) of the 19th Hussars. He commanded the regiment for the next four years, during which time he was promoted to

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 ...

, backdated to 4 October 1911, and was placed on the

half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the E ...

list from 3 January 1912. On 1 April he reverted to normal pay and succeeded Colonel Thomas Calley as commander of the London Mounted Brigade, a

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 ...

(TF) formation. During the

Curragh incident The Curragh incident of 20 March 1914, sometimes known as the Curragh mutiny, occurred in the Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. The Curragh Camp was then the main base for the British Army in Ireland, which at the time still formed part of the ...

in March 1914 Chetwode was offered command of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade when Brigadier General

Hubert Gough General (United Kingdom), General Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough ( ; 12 August 1870 – 18 March 1963) was a senior officer in the British Army in the First World War. A controversial figure, he was a favourite of the Commander-in-chief, Commande ...

threatened to resign. He knew that he would be "looked upon by all his brother officers as a scab” but thought it "his duty as a soldier to do as he was ordered & not to meddle in politics". In the event Gough kept his command and Chetwode remained with the London Mounted Brigade, but his willingness to replace Gough caused some ill feeling. Promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general on 15 May, he was given command of the 5th Cavalry Brigade in August 1914, the same month of the British entry into World War I. British generals Jerusalem 1918 AWM A02746A

British generals Jerusalem 1918 AWM A02746A

During the war, Chetwode served on the Western Front: his 5th Cavalry Brigade helped cover the retreat from the frontier, and checked the pursuing Germans at Cerizy on 29 August 1914. After taking part in the

in October 1914, 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 ...

(GOC) 2nd Cavalry Division, and along with it came a temporary promotion to major general on 15 July 1915 and to substantive major general on 1 January 1916. With the war on the Western Front bogged down in

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from a ...

, Chetwode was transferred to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

where he was given command of the

Desert Column The Desert Column was a First World War British Empire army corps which operated in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign from 22 December 1916.There is no war diary for Desert Column for December. See The Column was commanded by Lieutenant General Ph ...

and promoted to temporary

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 ...

with effect from 22 November 1916. He led the corps at Rafa in January 1917 and at the

in March 1917. When General Sir Edmund Allenby, a fellow cavalryman, took command of the Allied forces in Palestine in June 1917, Chetwode was promoted to command of XX Corps. He led his corps to military success at the Battle of Beersheba in October 1917 and at the

in November 1917. During the

he was mentioned in despatches eight times.

Service in India and after

After the war, and following promotion to the permanent rank of lieutenant-general on 1 January 1919, Chetwode was appointed to a number of senior military appointments serving as military secretary from 1919, Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff from October 1920,

from September 1922 and Commander in Chief Aldershot Command from March 1923. He was promoted to full

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 1 June 1926. Chetwode became Chief of the General Staff in India in 1928 and

Commander-in-Chief, India During the period of the Company and Crown rule in India, the Commander-in-Chief, India (often "Commander-in-Chief ''in'' or ''of'' India") was the supreme commander of the Indian Army from 1833 to 1947. The Commander-in-Chief and most of his ...

, in November 1930. He was promoted to

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

on 13 February 1933. In his tenure as Commander-in-Chief, India, Chetwode was an opponent of replacing horses with tanks; he "made the surprising pronouncement that the Army in India would be unlikely to adopt tanks for a very long time, and then only to keep up the momentum of horsed cavalry." He was much concerned with the modernisation and "Indianisation" of the army in India. The main building and its central hall at the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

is named after him. The credo of the academy, engraved on the entrance to the central hall, is a passage from his address delivered at the formal inauguration of the academy in 1932: This is known as the "Chetwode Motto" and is the motto of the officers passing out from the academy. Chetwode returned from India in May 1934. He was

Constable of the Tower The Constable of the Tower is the most senior appointment at the Tower of London. In the Middle Ages a constable was the person in charge of a castle when the owner—the king or a nobleman—was not in residence. The Constable of the Tower had a ...

from 1943 to 1948 and also President of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

as well as the recipient of an Honorary DCL from

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. He had been appointed a deputy lieutenant of Buckinghamshire on 6 March 1919. He was created Baron Chetwode, of

Chetwode Chetwode () is a village and civil parish about southwest of Buckingham in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire. The parish is bounded to the southwest and southeast by a brook called The Birne, which here also forms part of the cou ...

in the County of Buckingham, on 10 July 1945 and died in London on 6 June 1950.

Family

Chetwode married Hester (Star) Alice Camilla Stapleton Cotton and had a son Roger and a daughter Penelope. * Roger Chetwode married Honourable Molly Berry, daughter of the 1st Viscount Camrose. He was killed on active service on 14 August 1940 at age 34, leaving two sons: Philip, the 2nd Baron Chetwode, and Christopher. * Honourable Penelope Chetwode married

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman, (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architect ...

the poet (later Poet Laureate) and had a son Paul and daughter Candida Lycett Green. Chetwode's sister Florence was married to General Noel Birch.

Honours and awards

British

*DSO : Companion of the Distinguished Service Order – ''20 November 1900'' – for services during the operations in South Africa (

) *KCMG : Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George – ''4 June 1917'' *GCB :

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior military officers or senior civil servants, and the monarch awards it on the advice of His ...

(GCB) – ''3 June 1929'' **KCB : Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath – ''11 January 1918'' **CB : Companion of the Order of the Bath – ''18 February 1915'' *KJStJ : Knight of Justice of the Venerable Order of St. John – ''23 December 1930'' *GCSI :

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

– ''4 June 1934'' *OM : Member of the Order of Merit – ''1 January 1936''

Foreign

Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (France) The '' 1914–1918'' () was a French military decoration, the first version of the . It was created to recognize French and allied soldiers who were cited for valorous service during World War I, similar to the British '' mentioned in dispatche ...

– ''21 May 1917'' *

Order of the Nile The Order of the Nile (''Kiladat El Nil'') was established in 1915 and was one of the Kingdom of Egypt's principal orders until the monarchy was abolished in 1953. It was then reconstituted as the Republic of Egypt's highest state honor. Sulta ...

, 2nd Class (Egypt) – ''9 November 1918''

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Generals of World War II
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