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Beauvoir De Lisle

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General Sir Henry de Beauvoir De Lisle, KCB, KCMG, DSO (27 July 1864 – 16 July 1955), known as Beauvoir De Lisle, was a British Army officer and sportsman. He served in both the Second Boer War and the First World War.

Sir Beauvoir De Lisle
Born(1864-07-27)27 July 1864
Guernsey
Died16 July 1955(1955-07-16) (aged 90)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1883–1926
RankGeneral
UnitDurham Light Infantry
CommandsWestern Command (1919–23)
XV Corps (1918)
XIII Corps (1918)
29th Division (1915–18)
1st Cavalry Division (1914–15)
2nd Cavalry Brigade (1911, 1914)
1st (Royal) Dragoons (1906–10)
Battles / warsSecond Boer War
First World War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Distinguished Service Order
Mentioned in Despatches

Military career

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Born in Guernsey and educated in Jersey,[1] De Lisle was, after graduating from the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, commissioned into the 2nd Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) in March 1883.[2][3] He saw service with the mounted infantry in Egypt between 1885 and 1886,[2] being awarded his Distinguished Service Order (DSO) there,[4] and was later promoted to the rank of lieutenant in March 1887[5] and captain on 1 October 1891.[1][6]

De Lisle studied at the Staff College, Camberley in 1899. After the outbreak of the Second Boer War in late 1899, he was appointed in command of the Australian Brigade, with the local rank of lieutenant colonel from 30 January 1900.[7] The brigade was a mobile column comprising the 6th Battalion, Mounted Infantry, the West Australian Mounted Infantry, the South Australian Imperial Bushmen and the New South Wales Mounted Rifles. He was severely wounded and three times mentioned in dispatches.[8][9] Promotion to major came on 1 January 1902,[10] and to the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel on the following day.[11] During the early months of 1902 his brigade was stationed in Natal, but in April he left the command of this brigade and transferred to Transvaal where there was more intense fighting.[12] He left Cape Town for the United Kingdom in late May 1902.[13][14] In a despatch dated 23 June 1902, Lord Kitchener, who had been commander-in-chief (C-in-C) during the latter part of the war, described De Lisle as "an officer of remarkable force of character. He has soldierly qualities and is a fine leader."[15] For his service he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) on 21 August 1902,[16] and received the actual decoration from King King Edward VII at Buckingham Palace on 24 October 1902.[17]

After his return he formally transferred to the cavalry when he was commissioned as a major in the 5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards on 22 October 1902.[18] Later the same year he was appointed in command of the 2nd Provisional Regiment of Hussars at Hounslow.[19][20] De Lisle was appointed second-in-command of the 1st (Royal) Dragoons in 1903 and then became commanding officer (CO) of the regiment in 1906,[2] after being promoted to lieutenant colonel in February.[21] He was promoted to brevet colonel in August.[22]

After serving on half-pay from February 1910,[23] he was promoted to colonel,[24] and succeeded Colonel Alexander Godley as general staff officer, grade 1 (GSO1)[25] of the 2nd Division at Aldershot from March 1910. Upon relinquishing this assignment, in August 1911 he was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general[26] and was appointed commander of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade.[2]

 
Major-General Beauvoir De Lisle, GOC of the 29th Division, in conversation with another senior officer, Mailly-Maillet, 29 June 1916.

He served in the First World War, initially as commander of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade, which he led overseas on the Western Front. Then, after being promoted to temporary major general in October 1914,[27] he was general officer commanding (GOC) of the 1st Cavalry Division, his former brigade's parent formation, taking over from Edmund Allenby.[2][28] De Lisle, his rank of major general having been made substantive in February 1915,[29] remained in command of the division until he became GOC 29th Division, leading the division at the Third Battle of Krithia during the Gallipoli campaign of April 1915 to January 1916.[2] He briefly and temporarily led IX Corps during the campaign.[30]

After the evacuation of Allied forces from Gallipoli in early 1916, Dr Lisle returned to the Western Front at the head of his division later in the year and fought with the 29th at the Battle of the Somme and in the battles of 1917. After being appointed a Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in January 1917,[31] he was promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant general in March 1918[32] became GOC XIII Corps before being reassigned to command XV Corps in April, leading it in the final months of the war.[2]

After the war he was promoted to the permanent rank of lieutenant-general, in January 1919,[33] and in October was appointed to succeed Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Snow as general officer commanding-in-chief (GOC-in-C) of Western Command.[34] He held this post until 1923 and then retired from the army in October 1926.[2][35]

Retirement

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De Lisle was known for his polo skills and spent much of the years 1929 to 1930 training polo teams for the Maharaja of Kashmir in India.[1]

Family

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De Lisle married on 16 July 1902, at Stoke Poges church, Leila Annette Bryant, daughter of Wilberforce Bryant, of Stoke Park, Buckinghamshire (the proprietor of Bryant and May, matchmakers).[36][37]

Bibliography

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Badsey, Stephen. "Lisle, Sir (Henry de) Beauvoir De". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/63736. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Beauvoir De Lisle". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 31 July 2007. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  3. ^ "No. 25210". The London Gazette. 9 March 1883. p. 1325.
  4. ^ "No. 25650". The London Gazette. 26 November 1886. p. 5976.
  5. ^ "No. 25680". The London Gazette. 8 March 1887. p. 1230.
  6. ^ "No. 26226". The London Gazette. 24 November 1891. p. 6231.
  7. ^ "No. 27179". The London Gazette. 3 April 1900. p. 2199.
  8. ^ Vane, W.L. (2012). Durham Light Infantry: The United Red and White Rose. Andrews UK. p. 149. ISBN 9781781515419. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  9. ^ Travers, Tim (2009). The Killing Ground. Barnsley, South Yorks.: Pen and Sword. p. 284. ISBN 9781844158898. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  10. ^ "No. 27456". The London Gazette. 22 July 1902. p. 4673.
  11. ^ "No. 27456". The London Gazette. 22 July 1902. p. 4674.
  12. ^ "No. 27455". The London Gazette. 18 July 1902. p. 4591.
  13. ^ "The War – officers returning home". The Times. No. 36778. London. 27 May 1902. p. 10.
  14. ^ Bufton, John (1905). Tasmanians in the Transvaal War. Newtown, Hobart: S.G. Loone. p. 400.
  15. ^ "No. 27459". The London Gazette. 29 July 1902. pp. 4835–4837.
  16. ^ "No. 27467". The London Gazette. 22 August 1902. p. 5462.
  17. ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36908. London. 25 October 1902. p. 8.
  18. ^ "No. 27486". The London Gazette. 21 October 1902. p. 6650.
  19. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36933. London. 24 November 1902. p. 7.
  20. ^ "No. 27515". The London Gazette. 13 January 1903. p. 236.
  21. ^ "No. 27882". The London Gazette. 2 February 1906. p. 782.
  22. ^ "No. 27944". The London Gazette. 28 August 1906. p. 5870.
  23. ^ "No. 28335". The London Gazette. 1 February 1910. p. 782.
  24. ^ "No. 28335". The London Gazette. 1 February 1910. p. 783.
  25. ^ "No. 28346". The London Gazette. 8 March 1910. p. 1682.
  26. ^ "No. 28524". The London Gazette. 22 August 1911. p. 6224.
  27. ^ "No. 28976". The London Gazette. 13 November 1914. p. 9380.
  28. ^ "No. 28968". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 November 1914. p. 9108.
  29. ^ "No. 29074". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 February 1915. p. 1685.
  30. ^ Erickson, Edward J. (2008). Gallipoli & the Middle East 1914–1918: From the Dardanelles to Mesopotamia. Amber Books. p. 106. ISBN 978-1906626044.
  31. ^ "No. 29886". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1916. p. 2.
  32. ^ "No. 30647". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 April 1918. p. 4956.
  33. ^ "No. 31092". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1918. p. 13.
  34. ^ "No. 31588". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 October 1919. p. 12490.
  35. ^ "No. 33207". The London Gazette. 1 October 1926. p. 6295.
  36. ^ Arnold, A.J. (2004). "'Ex luce lucellum'? Innovation, class interests and economic returns in the nineteenth century match trade" (PDF). University of Exeter. p. 29. ISSN 1473-2904. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  37. ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36822. London. 17 July 1902. p. 8.
Military offices
Preceded by GOC 29th Division
1915–1918 		Succeeded by
Preceded by GOC XV Corps
April–November 1918 		Post disbanded
Preceded by GOC-in-C Western Command
1919–1923 		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Colonel of the Durham Light Infantry
1928–1934 		Succeeded by
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