Major-General Sir Ronald Bertram Lane, (19 February 1847 – 7 March 1937) 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 became Military Secretary.

Early life

Lane was born at Kings Bromley Manor,

Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...

, Staffordshire, in 1847, the youngest son and 10th child of John Newton Lane and Hon. Agnes Bagot, second daughter of William Bagot, 2nd Baron Bagot.

Military career

Lane was commissioned into the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

in 1867. He was appointed Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster-General in

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

in 1891, Aide-de-Camp to the Duke of Connaught as Commander of the Guards' Brigade in Egypt in 1882 and Assistant Military Secretary in Canada in 1883.''The county families of the United Kingdom or, Royal manual of the titled and untitled aristocracy of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland'' (Volume ed.59, 1919) by Edward Walford, p. 210
/ref> He went on to be Assistant Military Secretary at Headquarters in 1892, Aide-de-camp to the Duke of Cambridge as Commander-in-Chief in 1889 and Commander of the Garrison at

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

in 1898. In December 1901 he was appointed Commander of the Infantry Brigade at

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, and he served as administrator of the government during the absence of the Governor, Sir Francis Grenfell, in July 1902. His last appointments were as Military Secretary at Headquarters in 1903 and Lieutenant-Governor and Secretary of the

Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is an Old soldiers' home, Old Soldiers' retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse — the ancient sense of the word "hospital" — by King Charles II of Eng ...

in 1905 before retiring in 1909. In retirement he became Chairman of the Southern Alberta Land Company in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. On 15 March 1920, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

Personal life

In 1893, he married Augusta Sarah Beaumont, daughter of John Augustus Beaumont, developer of

Wimbledon Park Wimbledon Park is the name of an urban park in Wimbledon and also of the suburb south and east of the park and the Wimbledon Park tube station. The park itself is in area. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is immediately to the west ...

. Their only child, Captain George Ronald Lane, was in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

and fell in action in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

in 1916. He died at the age of 90 at Carlton Hall,

Saxmundham Saxmundham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is set in the valley of the River Fromus about north-east of Ipswich and west of the coast at Sizewell. The town is bypassed ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Ronald 1847 births 1937 deaths British Army major generals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Rifle Brigade officers Deputy lieutenants of Suffolk People from Lichfield District British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War Military personnel from Staffordshire 20th-century British Army personnel