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 normall ...

Sir George Sidney Clive, (16 July 1874 – 7 October 1959) 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 subsequently became Military Secretary.

Background and education

Clive was the son 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 ...

Sir Edward Clive and Isabel Webb and he was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

and 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 ...

.Townend, Peter. Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 18th edition. 3 volumes. London, England: Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1965-1972.

Military career

Clive was commissioned into the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

in October 1893,Sir George Sidney Clive
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives and 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 26 October 1897. He took part in the military expedition to the Sudan in 1898, 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 28 January 1900, during a temporary appointment as

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

of the 3rd battalion (19 January – 24 March 1900). He fought 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 1900 and 1902; he was part of a detachment sent to South Africa on the SS "Umbria "in late March 1900 to reinforce the 3rd battalion. For his service in the war 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 attended

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...

in 1903 and became a

General Staff Officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

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 ...

in 1905. He served in 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 ...

as Head of the British Mission at the French Army headquarters from 1915 to the end of the War, for which he was promoted to temporary lieutenant colonel whilst employed in that role. He was also invested as a Companion 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 ...

. He was also appointed a

Companion 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 I ...

. Clive, who in January 1917 became a brevet colonel, also received several decorations from France, Belgium and Russia. After the War, in 1919, Clive was appointed Military Governor of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

and from 1919 to 1920, he was

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the 1st Infantry Brigade at

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

(as a temporary Brigadier). He was appointed British Military Representative to the Armaments Commission of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

in 1921 and became

Military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1924, rising to Major-General in the same year. He was appointed Director of Personal Services at the War Office in 1928 and Military Secretary in 1930. He was invested as a Knight Commander of the

(KCB) in 1933. Clive retired from the army in 1934, as a Lieutenant General, and served as Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps between 1934 and 1946 and as High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1939. He was invested as a Knight Grand Cross of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(GCVO) in 1937. Clive was a Justice of the Peace and the Deputy Lieutenant of

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

.Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. He died on 7 October 1959 in a disastrous fire at the family home, Perrystone Court, near

Ross-on-Wye Ross-on-Wye is a market town and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, near the border with Wales. It had a population estimated at 10,978 in 2021. It lies in the south-east of the county, on the River Wye and on the northern edge of the Fore ...

.When flames ravaged the Court
Hereford Times, 24 June 2006

Family

On 26 March 1901 Clive married Madeline Buxton and the couple had three sons (including Archer Clive, who fought with distinction in World War II) and two daughters.

Awards and decorations

His wards and decorations were as follows: * Knight Grand Cross of the

(1937) * Knight Commander,

(1933) * Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (1919) *

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

(France) * Grand Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(France) * Commander of the

Order of the Crown (Belgium) The Order of the Crown (, ) is a national Order (decoration), order of the Belgium, Kingdom of Belgium. The Order is one of Belgium's highest honors. History The Order was established on October 15, 1897, by Leopold II of Belgium, King Leopold ...

* Croix de Guerre (Belgium) * Order of St. Stanislaus with swords (

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clive, George 1874 births 1959 deaths People educated at Harrow School Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley British Army lieutenant generals Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) British recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Marshals of the Diplomatic Corps British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of the Mahdist War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War High sheriffs of Herefordshire Grenadier Guards officers Deputy lieutenants of Herefordshire English justices of the peace British military attachés Sidney