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 John Spencer Ewart (22 March 1861 – 19 September 1930) 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

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 ...

, but was forced to resign over 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 ...

Early life and education

Ewart was born in Tatenhill near

Burton-on-Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

into a distinguished Scottish family of military officers, the second son of General Sir John Alexander Ewart and Frances Stone. His father was aide-de-camp 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 ...

and a veteran of the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

and

Siege of Lucknow The siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defence of the British The Residency, Lucknow, Residency within the city of Lucknow from rebel sepoys (Indian soldiers in the British East India Company's Army) during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After ...

who lost his left arm at

Cawnpore Kanpur ( Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary financial and commercial centre of northern India. Founded ...

. His father was the son of Lieutenant-General John Frederick Ewart and grandson of diplomat Joseph Ewart and Sir Charles Brisbane. His uncles included Lieutenant-General Charles Brisbane Ewart and Vice-Admiral Charles Joseph Frederic Ewart, and his younger brother was Admiral Arthur Wartensleben Ewart. He was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

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 ...

Military career

Spencer Ewart was commissioned into the

Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders or 79th (The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. It amalgamated with the Seaforth Highlanders (the Duke of Albany's) to form ...

in October 1881.Sir John Spencer Ewart
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives He served with his regiment 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 fought at the

Battle of Tel el-Kebir The Battle of Tel El Kebir (often spelled Tel-El-Kebir) was fought on 13 September 1882 at Tell El Kebir in Egypt, 110 km north-north-east of Cairo. An entrenched Egyptian force under the command of Ahmed ʻUrabi was defeated by a British ...

in 1882.Scots at War
/ref> He was also involved in the Nile Expedition in 1884 and served with the Sudan Frontier Field Force from 1885 to 1886. He attended the

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 ...

from 1890–91 and later served as a

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, and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large milita ...

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 ...

in South Africa, and returned to the United Kingdom in July 1902, a few weeks after the end of the war in May. The commander-in-chief in South Africa, Major General Lord Kitchener, wrote in a despatch in June 1902 how Ewart was ''"a Staff officer of considerable ability. He has rendered good service in connection with the distribution and movements of troops."'' For his service he was created 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 ...

(CB) in the October 1902 South Africa Honours list. After his return from South Africa, he was appointed assistant military secretary and received the substantive rank of colonel on 15 October 1902. In 1904 he was appointed as military secretary and in October 1906, after being promoted to major general, moved on to be director of military operations (DMO) 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 ...

, taking over from Major General James Grierson.

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

, president of the board of trade, was willing to help him with economic intelligence on

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. However, in 1909 Ewart wrote in his private diary: He thought that they produced “Torrents of scurrilous and socialist oratory”. In August 1910, Ewart, who the month before was made

aide-de-camp general Aide-de-camp general is a senior honorary appointment for General (United Kingdom), generals in the British Army. The recipient is appointed as an aide-de-camp general to the head of state, currently King Charles III. They are entitled to the post- ...

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

, was appointed

, in succession to General Sir Ian Hamilton. In June 1911 he was promoted to lieutenant general. In March 1914, with the Ulster Protestants on the verge of armed rebellion against planned

Irish Home Rule The Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the end of ...

, he was one of those who drew up the proposals that officers with personal links to Ulster would be permitted to absent themselves from planned troop deployments into Ulster, but that other officers who refused to go would be dismissed. Although no direct orders had yet been issued, when told of the plans officers of

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 ...

's cavalry brigade stationed at the

Curragh Camp The Curragh Camp () is an army base and military college in The Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. It is the main training centre for the Irish Defence Forces and is home to 2,000 military personnel. History Longstanding military heritage Th ...

near

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 ...

threatened to resign their commissions or accept dismissal rather than obey (the

). Along with the

Secretary of State for War The secretary of state for war, commonly called the war secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The secretary of state for war headed the War Offic ...

J.E.B. Seely and the CIGS Sir John French (who had then promised Gough in writing that the Army would not be used against Ulster) Ewart was forced to resign, both for having helped to create the situation in which officers were allowed to discuss which hypothetical (but lawful) orders they would choose to obey, and for being involved with the subsequent promises made to Gough in London. Ewart was also an

Aide-de-Camp General Aide-de-camp general is a senior honorary appointment for General (United Kingdom), generals in the British Army. The recipient is appointed as an aide-de-camp general to the head of state, currently King Charles III. They are entitled to the post- ...

from 1910 to 1914. Ewart 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 ...

Scottish Command Scottish Command or Army Headquarters Scotland (from 1972) is a Command (military formation), command of the British Army. History Early history Great Britain was divided into military districts on the outbreak of Anglo-French War (1793–180 ...

in 1914, a post he held until 1918. During the summer of 1915 Ewart was considered for command of the planned Suvla Bay Landings, which aimed to break the deadlock at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

. The

Mediterranean Expeditionary Force The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF) was the part of the British Army during World War I that commanded all Allied forces at Gallipoli and Salonika. It was formed in March 1915, under the command of General Sir Ian Hamilton, at the begi ...

commander, General Sir Ian Hamilton, rejected him for being too “stout of girth” to negotiate the front-line trenches which Hamilton had recently inspected, and for having had no direct contact with troops for fifteen years, despite Hamilton having urged him “as a friend” to do so for the sake of his career. The only other available general of appropriate seniority was

Frederick Stopford Lieutenant General Sir Frederick William Stopford, (2 February 1854 – 4 May 1929) was a British Army officer, best remembered for commanding the landing at Suvla Bay in August 1915, during the Gallipoli Campaign, where he failed to orde ...

, who was to prove inadequate for the task.Lee 2001, p.190 Ewart retired from the army, after almost forty years of service, in 1920.

Personal life

In 1891, Ewart married Susan Frances Platt, the daughter of Major George William Platt, formerly of Dunallan House,

Bridge of Allan Bridge of Allan (, ), also known colloquially as ''Bofa'', is a former spa town in the Stirling (council area), Stirling council area in Scotland, just north of the city of Stirling. Overlooked by the National Wallace Monument, it lies on th ...

. They had one daughter, Marion Frances Ewart, who in 1919 married Captain Ian Munro of the Cameron Highlanders. He died at his seat, Craigeleuch, in

Langholm Langholm , also known colloquially as the "Muckle Toon", is a burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, southern Scotland. Langholm lies between four hills in the valley of the River Esk in the Southern Uplands. Location and geography Langholm sits n ...

, Dumfriesshire.

References

Books

* * * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ewart, Spencer 1861 births 1930 deaths People educated at Marlborough College British Army generals of World War I Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders officers Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War People from the Borough of East Staffordshire British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Military personnel from Staffordshire British Army lieutenant generals