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 Francis Reginald Wingate, 1st Baronet (25 June 1861 – 29 January 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 and colonial administrator in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and the

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. He served as

Governor-General of the Sudan The governors of pre-independence Sudan were the colonial administrators responsible for the territory of Turco-Egyptian Sudan and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, an area equivalent to modern-day Sudan and South Sudan. List (Dates in italics indicat ...

(1899–1916) and High Commissioner in Egypt (1917–1919). His central role in the administration of the

earned him the nickname “Wingate of the Sudan.”

Early life

Wingate was born at

Port Glasgow Port Glasgow (, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recent census in 2011 s ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

(now

Inverclyde Inverclyde (, , , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the historic county of Renfrewshire, which ...

), the seventh son of Andrew Wingate, a

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

merchant of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, and Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Turner who was a wealthy Irish iron founder and manufacturer of glasshouses, born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. Wingate’s father died when he was a year old, and the family, in straitened circumstances, moved to

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

, where he was educated at St James's Collegiate School.Biography, ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

Military career

He entered the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

, and was commissioned 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 ...

in 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 ...

on 27 July 1880. He served 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 ...

and

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

from March 1881 to 1883, when he joined the 4th

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

of the

Egyptian Army The Egyptian Army (), officially the Egyptian Ground Forces (), is the land warfare branch (and largest service branch) of the Egyptian Armed Forces. Until the declaration of the Republic and the abolishment of the monarchy on 18 June 1953, it w ...

on its reorganisation by Sir Evelyn Wood with the brevet rank of

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 ...

. In the Gordon Relief Expedition of 1884–1885, he was ADC and military secretary to Wood. After holding an appointment in England for a brief period as ADC to Wood, who was now

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 ...

Eastern District, he rejoined the Egyptian Army in 1886 as assistant military secretary to Sir Francis Grenfell. He took part in the operations on the

frontier in 1889, including the engagement at Toski and in the further operations in 1891, being present at the capture of Tokar. His principal work was in the intelligence branch, of which he became assistant adjutant-general in 1888 and director in 1892. A master of

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, his knowledge of the country, the examination of prisoners, refugees and others from the Sudan, and the study of documents captured from the

Dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...

es enabled him to publish in 1891 ''Mahdiism and the Egyptian Sudan'', an authoritative account of the rise of

Muhammad Ahmad Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah bin Fahal (; 12 August 1843 – 21 June 1885) was a Sudanese religious and political leader. In 1881, he claimed to be the Mahdi and led a war against Egyptian rule in Sudan, which culminated in a remarkable vi ...

and of subsequent events in the Sudan up to that date. In 1894 he was governor of Suakin. He was promoted to brevet lieutenant-colonel on 18 November 1896. Largely through his assistance, Fathers Ohrwalder and Rossignoli, and two nuns escaped from Omdurman in 1891. Wingate also made the arrangements which led to the escape of Slatin Pasha in 1895. He translated into English Father Ohrwalder's narrative (''Ten Years in the Mahdi's Camp'', 1892) and Slatin's book (''Fire and Sword in the Sudan''; 1896). As director of military intelligence he served in the campaigns of 1896–1898 which resulted in the reconquest of the Sudan, including the engagement at Firket, the battles of the Atbara and

Omdurman Omdurman () is a major city in Sudan. It is the second most populous city in the country, located in the State of Khartoum. Omdurman lies on the west bank of the River Nile, opposite and northwest of the capital city of Khartoum. The city acts ...

and the expedition to Fashoda. He was again

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 ...

for this work. He briefly (March–June 1897) went to Abyssinia as second in command of the Rennell Rodd mission. For his services he was promoted 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 ...

and made an extra ADC to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

on 17 December 1897. On 8 September 1898, he was promoted to the regimental rank of

. Wingate was in command of an expeditionary force which in November 1899 defeated the remnant of the

host at the Umm Diwaykarat,

Kordofan Kordofan ( ') is a former province of central Sudan. In 1994 it was divided into three new federal states: North Kordofan, South Kordofan and West Kordofan. In August 2005, West Kordofan State was abolished and its territory divided between N ...

, the ''

khalifa ''Khalifa'' or ''Khalifah'' (; commonly "caliph" in English) is a name or title which means "successor", "ruler" or "leader". It most commonly refers to the leader of a Caliphate, but is also used as a title among various Islamic religious groups ...

'' being among the slain. His daughter who was named Victoria Alexandrina Catherine Wingate was born the day after the victory against the Khalifa. Her baptism took place in January 1900 at All Saints' Church,

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. As a measure of the esteem in which Wingate was held,

was the child's principal Godmother.

Administrative career

Reginald Wingate Vanity Fair 9 September 1897

In December 1899, following Lord Kitchener being summoned to

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 ...

, Sir Reginald Wingate succeeded him as

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

of the Sudan and '' Sirdar'' of the

, being promoted to local major general on 22 December 1899. His administration of the

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ( ') was a condominium (international law), condominium of the United Kingdom and Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day South Sudan and Sudan. Legally, sovereig ...

, between 1899 and 1916, achieved the colonial goals of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

, with the colony regaining a degree of prosperity and its infrastructure being rebuilt and expanded. In 1909, at the request of the British government, Wingate undertook a special mission to

Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...

to report on the military situation in connection with the proposed evacuation of the interior of the protectorate. He was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

in November 1913. From 1916 to 1919 he was also commander of military operations in the

Hejaz Hejaz is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al Bahah, Al-B ...

In 1917, Wingate succeeded Sir Henry McMahon as High Commissioner in Egypt, a post he held until 1919. He was not a successful administrator in the very different political climate in that country, and was made a scapegoat for the riots incited by Saad Zaghlul and his party that spread across Egypt. Angry at his treatment, Wingate refused to actually resign, even after he was officially replaced by Lord Allenby, and threatened to embarrass the

British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

. He was refused a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

or another appointment, although he was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in the 1920 King's Birthday Honours, gazetted as a Baronet, of Dunbar, in the County of Haddington, and of Port Sudan. He never held another public or military office, retiring from the Army on 1 February 1922, but became a director of a number of companies. He continued to hold honorary positions in the army: as

Colonel Commandant Colonel commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive military rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels. Today, the holder often has an honor ...

, Royal Artillery and Honorary Colonel of the 7th Battalion Manchester Regiment (appointed 1914), of the 57th (Lowland) Medium Brigade, Royal Artillery (appointed in 1922), and of the 65th Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery (6th/7th Battalion Manchester Regiment) (appointed in 1941, which he retained until 27 September 1949.)

Family

Wingate married Catherine Leslie Rundle (later Dame Catherine Leslie Wingate) on 18 June 1888. He was the first cousin once removed to

Orde Wingate Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Orde Charles Wingate, (26 February 1903 – 24 March 1944) was a senior British Army officer known for his creation of the Chindits, Chindit deep-penetration missions in Japanese-held territory duri ...

, who led British commando units in

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 ...

and

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

before and during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. They had five children together: Sir Ronald Evelyn Leslie Wingate, 2nd Baronet (30 September 1889 – 31 August 1978), Graham Andrew Leslie Wingate (27 August 1892 – 11 September 1892), Malcolm Roy Wingate (28 August 1893 – 21 March 1918), Lucy Elizabeth Leslie Wingate (1896-1978) Victoria Alexandrina Catherine Wingate (1899 – 1989). Wingate was succeeded in his

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

by his son Ronald Wingate.

Legacy

Wingate is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of lizard, '' Trachylepis wingati'', which is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Ethiopia and Sudan.

Works

''Mahdiism and the Egyptian Sudan: Being an Account of the Rise and Progress of Mahdiism and of Subsequent events in the Sudan Up to the Present Time'' by Francis Reginald Wingate''Ten Years' Captivity in the Mahdi's Camp, 1882–1892'' by Fr. Ohrwalder, translated by Wingate''Ten Years' Captivity in the Mahdi's Camp, 1882–1892'' by Fr. Ohrwalder, translated by Wingate (1892)
(Project Gutenberg HTML and other full-text versions)
''Fire and Sword in the Sudan'' by Slatin, translated by Wingate

Honours and decorations

In 1887 he received the Order of the Medjidieh 4th Class. In 1883 he received the Order of Osmanieh 4th Class from the

Khedive Khedive ( ; ; ) was an honorific title of Classical Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the Khedive of Egypt, viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"Khedive" ''Encyclopaedi ...

. In June 1885, he 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 ...

for service in operations in the Suakin and Upper Nile regions. In 1891 he was promoted to the 3rd Class of the Order of the Medjidieh. He was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

(CB) in the Queen's 1895 Birthday Honours. He 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 ...

(DSO) He was awarded the Star of Ethiopia 2nd Class. He was promoted to

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) on 13 March 1900, He was awarded the Order of Osmanieh 2nd Class. 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 ...

(KCMG) on 11 November 1898. In 1901 he was promoted to the

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie (, August 29, 1852 – 1922) was a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the order was awarded in five classes, with the Firs ...

1st Class, and in 1905 to the Order of the Osmanieh 1st Class. In 1905 received the

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; ) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher doctorate usually awarded on the basis of except ...

from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, 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 List of oldest un ...

. He was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) on 17 January 1912,

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) in the 1914 King's Birthday Honours, and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in the 1918 New Year Honours. He was made Honorary Colonel of the 7th Battalion, Manchester Regiment on 16 December 1914, and a

of the Royal Artillery on 17 May 1917. In 1915 he was awarded the Grand Cordon of the

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 ...

, and in 1917 the Grand Cordon of the Order of Mohammed Ali. He was made a Knight of the Venerable Order of St John in 1919. He was awarded the

Efficiency Decoration The Efficiency Decoration, post-nominal letters TD for recipients serving in the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army of the United Kingdom or ED for those serving in the British Colonial Auxiliary Forces, Auxiliary Military Forces, ...

in 1935. He was also appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for the County of East Lothian.

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wingate, Reginald 1861 births 1953 deaths Military personnel from Inverclyde Honours recipients from Jersey Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich British Army generals British Army personnel of the Mahdist War High commissioners of the United Kingdom to Egypt Governors-general of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Deputy lieutenants of East Lothian People from Port Glasgow Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 1st class British expatriates in Egypt Royal Artillery officers British Army generals of World War I