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 norma ...

Sir William Thomas Furse, (21 April 1865 – 31 May 1953) was a senior

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 ...

during 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 ...

Early life and family

Furse was born in Staines,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, the second son of the Ven. Charles Furse (born Johnson),

Archdeacon of Westminster The Archdeacon of Westminster is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Chapter of the Royal Peculiar of Westminster Abbey in London. The holder of the post oversees relationships with the twenty-four parishes of which the Dean and Chapter ...

, and Jane Diana Monsell, second daughter of

John Samuel Bewley Monsell John Samuel Bewley Monsell (2 March 1811 – 9 April 1875) was an Irish Anglican clergyman and poet. Life The son of Thomas Monsell, Thomas Bewley Monsell, Archdeacon of Derry, he was born in St Columb's, Derry, and educated at Trinity College, D ...

, vicar of Egham. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and 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 ...

. The artist,

Charles Wellington Furse Charles Wellington Furse (13 January 1868 – 16 October 1904) was an English painter. He was born at Staines, the son of Jane Diana (Monsell) and the Rev. C. W. Furse, archdeacon of Westminster, and rector of St John's, Smith Square and ...

, and the bishop, Rt. Rev. Michael Furse, were his younger brothers. Furse was the father of the artist and designer

Roger Furse Roger Kemble Furse (11 September 1903 – 19 August 1972) was an English painter who worked as a costume designer and production designer for both stage and film. Career Roger Furse was the son of Lieutenant General Sir William Furse and Jea ...

and the actress

Judith Furse Judith Furse (4 March 1912 – 29 August 1974) was an English actress. Career She was a member of the Furse family; her father was Lieutenant-General Sir William Furse and mother Jean Adelaide Furse. Her brother, Roger, became a stage desig ...

Military career

Furse was commissioned into 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 ...

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 5 July 1884.Sir William Thomas Furse
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives He was seconded on his appointment to the staff in March 1891 and appointed an aide-de-camp to Lord Roberts from March 1891 to 1893, 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 30 May 1893.Hart′s Army list, 1903 He was seconded from his regiment in order to attend 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 1896 to 1897.Anglo Boer War
/ref> Furse served during 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 ...

as a deputy assistant quartermaster general (DAQMG) at army headquarters, 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 15 March 1900. He was appointed a Companion of 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) in April 1901. Following the end of the war in June 1902, Furse was on 15 October appointed DAQMG to the 2nd Army Corps based at

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, but st ...

. In October 1905 he was appointed a DAQMG at army headquarters. While there he was promoted from supernumerary major to major in August 1907. In January 1908, while serving at the Staff College, Camberley, as a general staff officer, grade 2 (GSO2), he was promoted to brevet lieutenant colonel. Made a lieutenant colonel, dated 24 September 1910, in 1911 he was appointed commander of the 12th (Howitzer) Brigade Royal Field Artillery. In October 1913 he was promoted to colonel, and succeeded Colonel

George Milne Field Marshal George Francis Milne, 1st Baron Milne, (5 November 1866 – 23 March 1948) was a senior British Army officer who served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) from 1926 to 1933. He served in the Second Boer War and during ...

as general staff officer, grade 1 (GSO1), effectively

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

, of the 6th Division. Furse served in the

, still with the 6th Division as its GSO1, serving with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). He was made a temporary brigadier general in January 1915 and became brigadier general, general staff of

II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to: France * 2nd Army Corps (France) * II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...

of the BEF and in February he was appointed 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 served in this position until September when he was promoted to the temporary rank of major general, and became

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 ...

(GOC) of the

9th (Scottish) Division The 9th (Scottish) Division, was an infantry division of the British Army during the First World War, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener to serve on the Western Front during the First World War. A ...

Kitchener's Army The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, as Kitchener's Mob, was an (initially) all-volunteer portion of the British Army formed in the United Kingdom from 1914 onwards following the outbreak of hostilities in the F ...

on the Western Front. His rank of major general was made substantive in January 1916 and, after leading his division 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 ...

, he became

in December; in this capacity he opposed the introduction of the

Madsen machine gun The Madsen is a light machine gun that Julius A. Rasmussen and Theodor Schouboe designed and proposed for adoption by Colonel Herman Madsen, Vilhelm Herman Oluf Madsen, the Minister of War (Denmark), Danish Minister of War, and that the Royal Da ...

, preferring the Lewis gun. Furse was promoted in January 1919 to substantive lieutenant general in recognition of "valuable services rendered in connection with the War". He was made a

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 in October 1919, and retired from the army in January 1920.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Furse, William 1865 births 1953 deaths People educated at Eton College Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich British Army generals of World War I Royal Artillery officers People educated at Royal Grammar School, Guildford Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Military personnel from Surrey British Army lieutenant generals People from Staines-upon-Thames Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley