Frederick Heath-Caldwell

Major General Frederick Crofton Heath-Caldwell, CB, JP ( Heath: 21 February 1858 – 18 September 1945) was a senior British Army officer, who also served in the early Royal Air Force.

Frederick Heath-Caldwell
Born(1858-02-21)21 February 1858
Died18 September 1945(1945-09-18) (aged 87)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Royal Air Force
Years of service1877–1919
RankMajor General
CommandsSouth-Eastern Area (1918–19)
No. 1 Area RAF (1918)
Portsmouth Garrison (1916–18)
Battles / warsAnglo-Egyptian War
Mahdist War
Second Boer War
First World War
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
RelationsVice Admiral Sir Leopold Heath (father)

Military career

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Joining the Royal Engineers in 1877, he was promoted to captain on 25 January 1888, and to major on the following day.[1] He served during the Anglo-Egyptian War, the Mahdist War, and the Second Boer War, during which he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 29 November 1900. After returning from South Africa, he was in early 1903 appointed Commanding Royal Engineer of the Southern sub-district at Gibraltar.[2] During the First World War, he was posted to the War Office as Director of Military Training (1914–1916), served as General Officer Commanding (GOC) of Portsmouth (1916–1918), and, in what was to be his final military appointment, served as GOC South-Eastern Area in the newly created Royal Air Force (1918–1919). In retirement, he was a magistrate in Chester.[3][4][5][6]

Personal and family life

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Heath-Caldwell was the second son of Vice Admiral Sir Leopold Heath.[3] He took the name Heath-Caldwell after inheriting the Linley Wood estate in Talke, Staffordshire, in 1913 from a great aunt.[4][5] In 1889, he married Constance Mary Helsham-Jones, daughter of Colonel Henry Helsham-Jones.[4] They had two sons: Cuthbert Helsham Heath-Caldwell (1889–1979), a decorated Royal Navy officer, and Martin Frederick Heath-Caldwell (1893–1915), who was killed in action during the First World War.[5][7]

A keen sportsman, Heath-Caldwell played in the 1878 FA Cup Final as part of the Royal Engineers A.F.C.[8][9]

References

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  1. ^ Hart′s Army list, 1904
  2. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36983. London. 21 January 1903. p. 8.
  3. ^ a b Heath-Caldwell, Maj.-Gen. Frederick Crofton. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U226649. ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1. Retrieved 5 April 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  4. ^ a b c "Obituary: Major-General F. C. Heath-Caldwell". The Times. No. 50252. 20 September 1945. p. 7.
  5. ^ a b c "Maj Gen Frederick Crofton Heath-Caldwell (1859–1945) of Linley Wood, Talke, Staffordshire, England". www.jjhc.info. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  6. ^ "Major-General F C Heath-Caldwell". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  7. ^ "Second Lieutenant Martin Frederick Heath-Caldwell". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  8. ^ Warsop, Keith (2004). The Early FA Cup Finals and the Southern Amateurs. SoccerData. p. 48. ISBN 1-899468-78-1.
  9. ^ "FA Cup Final: 1878 - Wanderers 3 Royal Engineers 1". www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2019.