Major General Sir Stanley Brenton von Donop, (22 February 1860 – 17 October 1941), 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 served as

master-general of the Ordnance The Master-General of the Ordnance (MGO) was a very senior British military position from 1415 to 2013 (except 1855–1895 and 1939–1958) with some changes to the name, usually held by a serving general. The Master-General of the Ordnance was ...

from 1913 to 1916.

Early life and education

Donop was born in

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

, the youngest of four sons of Vice Admiral Edward von Donop and his wife, Louisa Mary Diana Brenton. His eldest brother was P. G. von Donop, and his grandfather was the German official and historian Georg von Donop, an illegitimate grandson of Charlotte Sophie of Aldenburg. He was educated at

Wimbledon College Wimbledon College is a government-maintained, voluntary-aided, Jesuit Catholic secondary school and sixth form for boys aged 11 to 19 in Wimbledon, London. The college was founded in 1892 "for improvement in living and learning for the greate ...

and at the Royal Somersetshire College at Bath before attending 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 ...

Military career

Donop was commissioned into the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Artillery, Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse ...

as 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 ...

on 18 January 1880, 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 1 April 1888, and was promoted to

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 ...

on 9 October 1897. He served 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 ...

and in November 1900 was appointed commanding officer of Lord Methuen's Composite Regiment of Australian Bushmen, with the local rank (in South Africa) of lieutenant colonel. He led an important action at Kleinfontein the following year. For his service in the war, 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 ...

(dated 8 April 1902) and received a brevet promotion to lieutenant colonel in the South Africa honours list published on 26 June 1902. In April 1904 he was appointed secretary of the Ordnance Committee and in January 1907 was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In 1908, Donop was appointed chief instructor at the School of Gunnery, and in February 1911, he was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general and appointed director of artillery 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 the place of W. E. Blewitt. Donop had a key role 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 ...

, having been appointed

in 1913. He was promoted to major general in October 1914. He ordered 6-inch

howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

s, which were the main instrument for the bombardments on the Western Front. He was also

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 ...

of 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 ...

Personality

Donop is described by a modern writer as being competent and hardworking, but as having a cold manner and showing a "barely concealed contempt for politicians". During the First World War, these characteristics made him disliked by civilian colleagues who did not share his technical expertise, especially Prime Minister

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donop, Stanley von 1941 deaths 1860 births Military personnel from Bath, Somerset British people of German descent British Army generals of World War I Royal Artillery officers Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Wimbledon College British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army major generals