Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Beauchamp John Colclough Doran, CB (24 September 1860 – 23 November 1943) 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 who commanded the 25th Division during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Commissioned in 1880, Doran saw service on the staff and with the Royal Irish Regiment through a number of colonial campaigns in the late nineteenth century, culminating in command of a mobile column in the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

, where he was seriously wounded. He then commanded a battalion of his regiment, followed by a brigade in the British Expeditionary Force. His brigade was mobilised in 1914, and he saw service during the first months of the First World War before being dismissed in October. He was later reinstated as commander of a brigade in the

New Armies The New Armies (Traditional Chinese: 新軍, Simplified Chinese: 新军; Pinyin: Xīnjūn, Manchu: ''Ice cooha''), more fully called the Newly Created Army ( ''Xinjian Lujun''Also translated as "Newly Established Army" ()), was the modernised a ...

, and promoted to the 25th Division before it was sent to France in 1915; he led it on the Western Front until June 1916, when he was relieved and sent home. From 1916 to 1918 he commanded the Army forces in southern Ireland, and then held an administrative post in France before retiring in 1920.

Early career

The eldest son of General Sir John Doran and Georgina Magrath, Beauchamp Doran joined the 16th Regiment of Foot in January 1880, transferring to the 18th Foot (shortly to become the Royal Irish Regiment) in February. He served with the 1st Battalion in the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...

that same year, and was 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 sub ...

on 1 July 1881.Obituary in ''The Times'' He later participated in the 1884-85 Nile Expedition, where he was mentioned in despatches and given a

brevet promotion In many of the world's military establishments, a brevet ( or ) was a warrant giving a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward for gallantry or meritorious conduct but may not confer the authority, precedence, or pay of real rank. ...

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

, in the

Hazara Expedition The Hazara Expedition of 1888, also known as the Black Mountain Expedition or the First Hazara Expedition, was a military campaign by the British against the tribes of Kala Dhaka (then known as the Black Mountains of Hazara) in the Hazara regio ...

of 1888, and in the Miranzai Expedition of 1891, where he acted as

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section dire ...

.''Who Was Who'' In November 1891 he was appointed to a staff position overseeing musketry standards in the Bengal Army, transferring to the Punjab to take up the same post in 1895. In 1897, he was mentioned in despatches for his service in staff duties with the Kohat-Kurram expedition, and again in 1898 for his work as deputy assistant

adjutant-general An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

in the Tirah Expedition, both on the North-West Frontier of India. The following year he was back in

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

, where he was in charge of the 9th Sudanese Battalion during operations leading to the defeat of the

Khalifa Khalifa or Khalifah (Arabic: خليفة) is a name or title which means "successor", "ruler" or "leader". It most commonly refers to the leader of a Caliphate, but is also used as a title among various Islamic religious groups and others. Khalif ...

in the

Battle of Umm Diwaykarat The Battle of Umm Diwaykarat on 25 November 1899 marked the final defeat of the Mahdist State in Sudan, when Anglo-Egyptian forces under the command of Lord Kitchener defeated what was left of the Mahdist armies under the command of the Abd ...

in November 1899 (mentioned in despatches 25 November 1899). During the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

he was first posted on staff duties, as a press censor, and then made a brigade major. He commanded the garrison at

Rustenburg Rustenburg (; , Afrikaans and Dutch: ''City of Rest'') is a city at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range. Rustenburg is the most populous city in North West province, South Africa (549,575 in 2011 and 626,522 in the 2016 census). In 20 ...

in early 1900, and later oversaw the

remount Remount referred to the provision of fresh horses, particularly for military purposes. The word encompasses both the animals themselves and the means by which they were provided. In many cases, remounts were horses provided to replace those killed ...

depot at

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. He first saw field service in May 1901, when he was given command of a mounted column; that November, he was severely wounded and had a horse killed under him, but continued with the column until the end of the war. For his services during the war, he received a brevet promotion to

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

on 29 November 1900, was twice mentioned in despatches, and 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 George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(CB). Following the end of the war in June 1902, he returned to the United Kingdom in the ''SS Dunottar Castle'', which arrived at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in July 1902.

Senior command

On his return, he married Mary MacGeough Bond, a widow; the couple would be married for thirty years before Mary's death, but with no children. In 1904, he was posted to command his battalion, the 1st Royal Irish Regiment, with a brevet promotion to colonel in 1905. He moved to staff duties in 1908, as assistant adjutant-general of Southern Command and then assistant quartermaster-general of

Irish Command Commander-in-Chief, Ireland, was title of the commander of the British forces in Ireland before 1922. Until the Act of Union in 1800, the position involved command of the distinct Irish Army of the Kingdom of Ireland. History Marshal of Ireland ...

, but returned to a field position in 1912, when he was appointed to command 8th Infantry Brigade, a regular unit on home service. Doran was in command of the 8th Brigade when the

broke out in August 1914, and the British Expeditionary Force was mobilised for service. His younger brother,

Walter Robert Butler Doran Brigadier General Walter Robert Butler Doran, (15 December 1861 – 6 February 1945) was a highly decorated senior British Army officer who served with distinction in the Second Boer War, commanding an infantry battalion. He was a brigade comman ...

, also commanded a brigade of the Expeditionary Force; 17th Infantry Brigade in the 6th Division. He took the brigade to France and commanded it through the

Retreat from Mons The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western F ...

, the Battle of the Marne and the

First Battle of the Aisne The First Battle of the Aisne (french: 1re Bataille de l'Aisne) was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army (led by Alexander von Kluck) and the Second Army (led by Karl von Bülow) as they retreated a ...

. On 20 October, one of his battalions – the 2nd Royal Irish Regiment – was surrounded during the

Battle of La Bassée The Battle of La Bassée was fought by German and Franco-British forces in northern France in October 1914, during reciprocal attempts by the contending armies to envelop the northern flank of their opponent, which has been called the Race to th ...

and effectively destroyed for lack of support; on 23 October, he was relieved of command of 8th Brigade and sent home. The following month, Doran was assigned to command the 68th Brigade, a group of volunteer

New Army The New Armies ( Traditional Chinese: 新軍, Simplified Chinese: 新军; Pinyin: Xīnjūn, Manchu: ''Ice cooha''), more fully called the Newly Created Army ( ''Xinjian Lujun''Also translated as "Newly Established Army" ()), was the modernised ...

battalions in 23rd Division. He was promoted to major-general in February 1915, and in May was given command of the 25th Division, another New Army formation completing its training in England. He took it to France that September, where it moved into a quiet sector of the line in late 1915. It remained in quiet sectors until May 1916, when it was moved south to

Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

, and was involved in defending against a German attack.Summary of
Doran was relieved of command the following month, and transferred to home service as the commander of the Southern District in Ireland. In 1919 he was appointed to command No. 5 Area in France as part of the demobilisation of the Army, and retired in 1920. Through the War, he had been mentioned in despatches four times.

Retirement

In retirement, Doran was appointed the High Sheriff for the county of

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

, serving from 1920 to 1921, and as a Deputy Lieutenant for the same county. He lived in Wexford through his retirement, at Ely House; during the unrest leading up to the outbreak of the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

, in May 1922, he was arrested and beaten by men rumoured to represent the

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

.Discussion in ''Hansard''
30 May 1922 vol 154 cc1888-90
/ref> After Mary's death in 1932, he remarried an American, Florence Fairchild. He died in 1943, aged 83.

Notes

References

*"DORAN, Major-General Beauchamp John Colclough". (2007). In ''Who Was Who''
Online edition
* Obituary in ''The Times'', 26 November 1943, p. 7 * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doran, Beauchamp 1860 births 1943 deaths British Army major generals British Army generals of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath Royal Irish Regiment (1684–1922) officers British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War British Army personnel of the Mahdist War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Deputy Lieutenants of Wexford British military personnel of the Hazara Expedition of 1888 High Sheriffs of Wexford