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 ...

Charles William Melvill, (9 September 1878 – 15 September 1925) was a soldier who served with the

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 ...

for several years before joining the

New Zealand Military Forces , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

. He participated in 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 ...

with the

New Zealand Division The New Zealand Division was an infantry division of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force raised for service in the First World War. It was formed in Egypt in early 1916 when the New Zealand and Australian Division was renamed after the detachmen ...

and commanded infantry brigades on the Western Front. When he died, he was Commandant of the New Zealand Military Forces.

Early life

Charles William Melvill was born in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

, England, on 9 September 1878, the youngest son of

Teignmouth Melvill Teignmouth Melvill VC (8 September 1842 – 22 January 1879) was an officer in the British Army and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British ...

. His father was an officer in the

and served in the

24th Regiment of Foot Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

. He was posthumously awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

for his efforts to save his regiment's

colours Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

after the

Battle of Isandlwana The Battle of Isandlwana (alternative spelling: Isandhlwana) on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Eleven days after the British commenced their invasion of Zulul ...

, the first major engagement of the

Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Following the passing of the British North America Act of 1867 forming a federation in Canada, Lord Carnarvon thought that a similar political effort, coup ...

. Educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New Z ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, Melvill followed his father into the British Army, joining in 1897. He was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

with the

South Lancashire Regiment The South Lancashire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment, which recruited, as its title suggests, primarily from the South Lancashire area, was created as part of the Childers Ref ...

and later fought in 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 ...

. After the war, he served in India for several years and eventually left the service in 1906 with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

New Zealand

In 1907 Melvill emigrated to New Zealand to take up farming in the

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

region but this new lifestyle transpired to only be for a few years. In 1911 he joined the newly established

New Zealand Staff Corps The New Zealand Staff Corps was a corps of professional officers in the regular New Zealand Military Forces which, in peacetime, administered the Territorial Force. During the First and Second World Wars, many members of the corps commanded batta ...

, the professional cadre of the

New Zealand Military Forces , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

then being reorganised by its commandant, Major General

Alexander Godley General Sir Alexander John Godley, (4 February 1867 – 6 March 1957) was a senior British Army officer. He is best known for his role as commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and II Anzac Corps during the First World War. Born in ...

. For the next two years, he assisted in the administration and training of the newly established

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

(TF). He was also

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 direct ...

of the Auckland Infantry Brigade, a TF formation.

First World War

In England attending the

Staff College Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For ex ...

Camberley Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Cambe ...

when the First World War broke out, Melvill returned to his former unit, the South Lancashire Regiment. He embarked for the Western Front in August as part of the "Old Contemptibles" and was wounded the following month. After recovering from his wounds, he was posted to the School of Instruction, Westminster Command, as chief instructor. He then served as brigade major for the Tay Defences from May to September 1915 before transferring to the

New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

(NZEF), which at the time was engaged in the Gallipoli Campaign. Initially a staff officer, he served under

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

William Braithwaite as brigade major of the

New Zealand Rifle Brigade The New Zealand Rifle Brigade (Earl of Liverpool's Own), affectionately known as The Dinks, was formed on 1 May 1915 as the third brigade of the New Zealand Division, part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. During the First World War it foug ...

following the evacuation of the Allied forces from Gallipoli in December. BG CWMelvill

When the

was formed in early 1916, Melvill was promoted 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 colone ...

and given command of the 4th Battalion of the

, leading it through the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

, the first major engagement of the war for the division. He later commanded 2nd Infantry Brigade for a period of time before returning to his battalion. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

at the end of the year. In 1917, Melvill took over command of the 1st Infantry Brigade during the Battle of Messines when its previous commander, Brigadier General Charles Henry Brown, was killed during an artillery barrage. Promoted to temporary brigadier general, he was made a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

for his leadership of the brigade during the

Battle of Broodseinde The Battle of Broodseinde was fought on 4 October 1917 near Ypres in Belgium, at the east end of the Gheluvelt plateau, by the British Second and Fifth armies against the German 4th Army. The battle was the most successful Allied attack of th ...

on 4 October 1917. During the German spring offensive of 1918,

Operation Michael Operation Michael was a major German military offensive during the First World War that began the German Spring Offensive on 21 March 1918. It was launched from the Hindenburg Line, in the vicinity of Saint-Quentin, France. Its goal was to ...

, Melvill's brigade played key roles in holding and stabilising the lines in the New Zealand sector. Well regarded for his capable leadership, he also led the New Zealand Division from late-June to mid-July 1918 while its nominal commander, Major General Andrew Russell was on sick leave. In the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...

, his leadership of 1st Infantry Brigade saw it breach the

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (German: , Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. In 191 ...

and capture the town of Crevecoeur during the

Battle of the Canal du Nord The Battle of Canal du Nord was part of the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War by the Allies against German positions on the Western Front. The battle took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, along an incomplete portion of ...

on 28 September. For this, and his earlier exploits during the German offensive, he was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

in the 1919 King's Birthday Honours. By the end of the war, he had been

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

four times. Belgium also recognised his contributions to the war effort; he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the Crown as well as being awarded the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

Later life

After the end of the war, Melvill served as an administrative officer and oversaw the disbandment of the NZEF in 1919. He was discharged from active duty in October 1919. Now in the Reserve Forces, on his return to New Zealand he was made commander of the Wellington Military District which, during a reorganisation of the Territorial Force, became Central Command. In April 1924 he was promoted to major general and appointed Commandant of the New Zealand Military Forces. He had served in this capacity for nearly 18 months when he suddenly died in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

on 15 September 1925. His death was announced in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

the same day. Survived by his wife, Rita Burnett, whom he had married in 1911, he was buried with full military honours in the servicemen's section of Wellington's Karori Cemetery.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Melvill, Charles 1878 births 1925 deaths South Lancashire Regiment officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I Burials at Karori Cemetery New Zealand Companions of the Distinguished Service Order New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George New Zealand Companions of the Order of the Bath English emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand generals New Zealand military personnel of World War I Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Military personnel from Bournemouth Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Charles William Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley South Wales Borderers officers Military personnel from Hampshire