Brigadier-General Walter Long, CMG, DSO (26 July 1879 – 28 January 1917) was a British soldier.

Background

The eldest son of the 1st Viscount Long and his wife Lady Dorothy (Doreen) Boyle, he was baptized 11 September 1879 at St John's Church, West Ashton,

Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England; situated on the River Biss in the west of the county, close to the border with Somerset. The town lies south-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, south-west of Swindon and south-east of Brist ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

Military career

Educated at Harrow, he joined the

Royal Scots Greys The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the Army of Scotland that became a regiment of the British Army in 1707 upon the Union of Scotland and England, continuing until 1971 when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of ...

as a second lieutenant on 20 May 1899. In November of that year he went with his regiment 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 ...

to serve 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 ...

, where he took part in the ride under Sir John French to the relief of

Kimberley, Northern Cape Kimberley is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is located approximately 110 km east of the confluence of the Vaal River, Vaal and Orange Rivers. The city has considerable historica ...

, and was badly wounded at Dronfield. On return to duty he was appointed ADC to General Sir Bruce Hamilton, and promoted

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 10 July 1900. He served throughout the campaign, 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 23 April 1902. The war formally ended in early June 1902, but Long stayed in South Africa until late November, when he left on the ''SS Carisbrook Castle''. He was

mentioned in dispatches 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 ...

several times while in South Africa (including the Final Despatch by Lord Kitchener dated 23 June 1902), and for his service there gained 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), the

Queen's South Africa Medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

and the

King's South Africa Medal The King's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to all British and Colonial military personnel who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa, and who were in the theatre on or after 1 January 1902 and who had completed 18 m ...

, each with two clasps. When he returned to England, he was made ADC to Sir Harry Scobell commanding the First Cavalry 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 ...

. Long resigned this appointment in order to return to his regiment. After serving with his regiment for some years, he went to India as additional ADC to General Sir Garrett O'Moore Creagh, and afterwards he went to Canada to serve as ADC to the

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was al ...

. Long spent the early part of

World War I 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 ...

in France, and took part in the

Battle of Mons The Battle of Mons was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force (World War I), British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in the First World War. It was a subsidiary action of the Battle of the Frontiers, in which the Allies of World W ...

, after which he was made a Brigadier General. After fighting at the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), ...

in July 1916 he was highly commended by the commander of his division, General Bridges, who wrote of him that his services were invaluable, and his 'cheery laugh was worth a battalion'. He was mentioned in dispatches several times by Lord French and also Sir Douglas Haig, and was given a CMG. Shortly before his death he was given a brevet lieutenant-colonelcy. Long was a champion light-weight boxer while at Harrow, and for two years middle-weight champion in the

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 ...

Family

He married on 17 December 1910 in London, Sibell Vanden Bempde-Johnstone

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, granddaughter of

Baron Derwent Baron Derwent, of Hackness in the North Riding of the County of York, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 10 October 1881 for the former Liberal Member of Parliament for Scarborough, Sir Harcourt Vanden-Bempde-J ...

. There was one son from this marriage,

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

, who succeeded his grandfather as 2nd Viscount Long.

Death

Brigadier General Long was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

at Hébuterne,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

on 28 January 1917, aged 37.

King George King George may refer to: People Monarchs ;Bohemia *George of Bohemia (1420-1471, r. 1458-1471), king of Bohemia ;Duala people of Cameroon * George (Duala king) (late 18th century), king of the Duala people ;Georgia *George I of Georgia (998 or ...

sent a telegram to his father expressing his heartfelt sympathy, regretting that his army had lost one of its promising young generals. He is buried at the Couin British Cemetery, France. His widow remarried on 25 April 1921 to

Ralph Glyn, 1st Baron Glyn Major Ralph George Campbell Glyn, 1st Baron Glyn, Bt, MC, DL (3 March 1884 – 1 May 1960), known as Sir Ralph Glyn, 1st Baronet, from 1934 to 1953, was a soldier and Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was a Member of ...

. She died in 1958.

Sources

*Obituary

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

30 January 1917; Issue 41389 *

External links

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Searchable Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Walter 1879 births 1917 deaths Military personnel from Wiltshire British Army cavalry generals of World War I People educated at Harrow School British military personnel killed in World War I