WinchesterCathedral Lords Wavell 1950 and 1953

Major Archibald John Arthur Wavell, 2nd Earl Wavell, MC (11 May 1916 – 24 December 1953) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer and peer. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

and succeeded his father as

Earl Wavell Earl Wavell was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1947 for Field Marshal Archibald Wavell, 1st Viscount Wavell, Viceroy of India from 1943 to 1947. He had already been created Viscount Wavell, of Cyrenaica and of ...

and Viscount Keren of Eritrea in 1950. Wavell was killed in the Mau Mau Uprising, and the titles became extinct on his death.

Military career

Commissioned a second lieutenant in the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regime ...

on 30 January 1936, Wavell's first posting was in the British Mandate for Palestine from 1936 to 1939. Promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 30 January 1939, he then fought in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He lost his left hand fighting the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

in June 1944 in Operation Thursday where he fought with the

Chindits The Chindits, officially as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. The British Army Brigadier Orde Wingate form ...

. Evacuated to India he served on his father's staff, his father Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell being the then

Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

. Wavell was promoted to captain on 28 January 1944, and awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

(MC) on 23 January 1947. Wavell was promoted to major on 30 January 1949, and succeeded to the Wavell earldom on the death of his father on 24 May 1950.

Death

On 23 December 1953, Major Wavell led a patrol of the Black Watch and Kenyan police in pursuit of a sixty-strong Mau Mau gang that had beheaded a loyal

Kikuyu Kikuyu or Gikuyu (Gĩkũyũ) mostly refers to an ethnic group in Kenya or its associated language. It may also refer to: * Kikuyu people, a majority ethnic group in Kenya *Kikuyu language, the language of Kikuyu people *Kikuyu, Kenya, a town in Cent ...

tribesman and then fled. Twenty of them were surrounded in a copse at

Thika Thika Thika (pronounced �θika is an industrial town and a major commerce hub in Kiambu County, Kenya, lying on the A2 road 42 kilometres (26 mi) Northeast of Nairobi, near the confluence of the Thika and Chania Rivers. Although Thika town is ...

, 25 miles north of

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

. Wavell was shot and killed in the first contact of a 10-hour battle. Earl Wavell is buried in the City Park Cemetery, Nairobi, Block 12, grave 10. His headstone is inscribed with the epitaph: "He found the poetry of Man's endeavour". He is also commemorated by an inscription in the War Cloister at

, next to the School Cadet Corps Armoury. The 2nd Earl Wavell died unmarried and without issue. The

earldom Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant " chieftain", particula ...

and the

viscounty A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

therefore became extinct on his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wavell, Archibald Wavell, 2nd Earl 1916 births 1953 deaths Burials in Kenya Black Watch officers British military personnel killed in action British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine British military personnel of the Mau Mau Uprising British Army personnel of World War II Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom People educated at Winchester College Recipients of the Military Cross English amputees