Major General Raymond Northland Revell Reade, ( – 18 October 1943) 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 ...

general and

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

of the

Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...

Background

Born in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...

, he was the son of John Page Reade and his wife Lady Mary Stuart Knox, daughter of

Thomas Knox, 2nd Earl of Ranfurly Thomas Knox, 2nd Earl of Ranfurly (19 April 1786 – 21 March 1858), styled Viscount Northland between 1831 and 1840, was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician. Early life Ranfurly was born on 19 April 1786. He was the eldest son of Thomas Knox, 1 ...

. He was 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 ...

and went to the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

Military career

Major General Raymond Northland Revell Reade

Reade was commissioned into the

85th Regiment of Foot The 85th (Bucks Volunteers) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot to form the King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1881. ...

on 14 January 1880. He was promoted to captain in October 1887. After serving as a temporary major in West Africa, he served as commandant of

from 1901 to 1905. His criticism of poor RMC examination marks in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

in 1901 and

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the land, terrestrial Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional or Three-dimensional space#In Euclidean geometry, three-dimensional positions of Point (geom ...

and

1904 led to reforms at the college: smaller classes for French, entrance tests in physics and chemistry, and separate instructors for physics and surveying. He also built up the RMC library and extended library privileges to Permanent Force Officers in the

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

, area. A 25-bed hospital was also constructed adjacent to the education block, and a large gymnasium was constructed south of the

Stone Frigate A stone frigate is a naval establishment on land. 'Stone frigate' is an informal term which has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy (RN), after its use of Diamond Rock, an island off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the First French ...

. He secured quarters for the staff-adjutant and his family in what was later called Panet House, after the first resident. He built an extension to the rear of the Stone Frigate for bathroom facilities. Reade, promoted to colonel in February 1907, became an assistant adjutant and quartermaster general in October, served in Malta and Scotland and, after being promoted to major general in July 1912, became

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 ...

the Troops in the Straits Settlements in 1914. Poor health prevented his active service in the First World War, but he commanded the

59th (2nd North Midland) Division The 59th (2nd North Midland) Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army during World War I. It was formed in late 1914/early 1915 as a 2nd Line Territorial Force formation raised as a duplicate of the 46th (North ...

from November 1915 to February 1916, and the

68th (2nd Welsh) Division The 2nd Welsh Division was a 2nd Line Territorial Force division of the British Army in the First World War. The division was formed as a duplicate of the 53rd (Welsh) Division in January 1915. As the name suggests, the division recruited in Wa ...

for most of 1916 while the formation was under training in the UK. He was the British representative on the Inter-Allied Military Mission to Greece in 1918, for which he was appointed a Commander of the Royal Order of George I and awarded the Medal of Military Merit, 1st Class from Greece. He retired from the army in March 1920. He was colonel of his old regiment, the KSLI, from January 1921 until February 1931, taking over from Lieutenant General Sir

Charles Edmond Knox Lieutenant General Sir Charles Edmond Knox, KCB (28 February 1846 – 1 November 1938) was an Ulster Scots soldier of the British Army. Early life Knox was the son of Robert Knox, DD, Archbishop of Armagh, and his wife Catherine Delia FitzGib ...

Family

Reade married Rose Frances Spencer, daughter of Colonel Almeric George Spencer and Alice Isabel Fraser, on 9 June 1894.

References

Sources

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Reade, Raymond 1860s births 1943 deaths British Army major generals British Army generals of World War I Commandants of the Royal Military College of Canada Commanders of the Order of George I Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath King's Shropshire Light Infantry officers Military personnel from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea People from Chelsea, London 19th-century British Army personnel