Colonel Sir Charles Sim Bremridge Parsons, (9 May 1855 – 25 June 1923) was an officer in the British Army, who spent most of his career in Africa. Commissioned into the Royal Artillery, he later specialised in logistics, particularly the use of railways, and became one of Lord Kitchener's trusted subordinates. In 1902, he was appointed Commander, British regular forces Canada, with the temporary rank of Major General; after he retired in 1906, these troops were withdrawn and Canada assumed full control of its own military.

Life

Charles Parsons was born 9 May 1855, the elder son of John Parsons of Ringmore, a village near Shaldon in South Devon. Educated at Rugby School, he then entered the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

, which trained officers for the Royal Artillery and

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

. He married Margaret Christian in 1898 and they had two daughters. After retiring in 1906, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath and later Commissioner of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea; he died on 25 June 1923.

Career

Parsons was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1876 and posted to South Africa, where he commanded mobile field batteries during the 1877-1879 Gaika War and 1879 Anglo-Zulu War, including the

Battle of Isandhlwana 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 Zulu ...

. His unit, N battery, 5 Brigade, was selected to go with

Lord Chelmsford Viscount Chelmsford, of Chelmsford in the County of Essex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1921 for Frederic Thesiger, 3rd Baron Chelmsford, the former Viceroy of India. The title of Baron Chelmsford, of Chelm ...

's detachment; the other was left behind and all its members killed. N battery was involved in the

Battle of Ulundi The Battle of Ulundi took place at the Zulu capital of Ulundi (Zulu:''oNdini'') on 4 July 1879 and was the last major battle of the Anglo-Zulu War. The British army broke the military power of the Zulu nation by defeating the main Zulu army ...

in July 1879. In the 1880-1881 First Boer War, he fought in the British defeats of Laing's Nek and Ingogo or Schuinshoogte, where he was badly wounded. He returned to Egypt for the 1882 Egyptian campaign; he was present at Mahsama, Kassassin and Tel-el-Kebir and awarded the Egypt Medal; this campaign saw some significant technical innovations, including the construction of a military railway and telegraph lines. Suakin,national bank

The Egyptian Army was then being reconstructed, with British officers filling key roles and Parsons took command of the artillery arm. Kitchener became Commander-in-Chief or

Sirdar The rank of Sirdar ( ar, سردار) – a variant of Sardar – was assigned to the British Commander-in-Chief of the British-controlled Egyptian Army in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Sirdar resided at the Sirdaria, a three-blo ...

of the Egyptian military in 1892 and appointed him Governor of the Red Sea Littoral during the 1896-1899 Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan; while this consisted of little more than the Port of Suakin, it was a key supply base and the hub of the railway built to supply the campaign. He later supervised the transfer of Kassala in

Italian Eritrea Italian Eritrea ( it, Colonia Eritrea, "Colony of Eritrea") was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy in the territory of present-day Eritrea. The first Italian establishment in the area was the purchase of Assab by the Rubattino Shipping Company in ...

to the Egyptian government, an adjustment made in return for British acceptance of Italian colonial claims in the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

. In September 1898, a British battalion commanded by Parsons took possession of the Sudanese town of

Gedaref El-Gadarif ( ar, القضارف '), also spelt ''Gedaref'' or ''Gedarif'', is the capital of the state of Al Qadarif (state), Al Qadarif in Sudan. It lies on the road that connects Khartoum with Gallabat on the Ethiopia–Sudan border, Ethiopian bo ...

, first defeating a Dervish army of 3,500 men. This resulted in the award of the Ottoman Empire's Order of the Medjidie, Second Class, then made KCMG in 1899. After leaving the Sudan, he was assistant adjutant-general at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, then Colonel of the Royal Artillery in Ireland before returning to South Africa during the 1900-1902 Second Boer War. He commanded a squadron of the Imperial Yeomanry in the November 1900 relief of Koffiefontein; this is referred to as "Parson's Pantomime" in "The Captive", Rudyard Kipling's 1902 short story on the Boer War. Shortly after, Parsons was appointed Deputy Military Governor of Northern Cape Colony, Commandant of the West Kimberley District and Assistant Inspector-general, Southern lines of Communication. This was a significant role, where his previous experience was particularly relevant since the Boer War saw the first widespread use of railways for logistical support, rather than horses. After a brief period in England as assistant adjutant-general at Woolwich, he ended his military career as staff Colonel, British forces in Canada, with the temporary rank of Major General. He was the last holder of this position; after 1906, the

Dominions The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, Dominion of New Zealand, New Zealand, Dominion of Newfoundland, Newfoundland, Un ...

of Australia and Canada were given control over their own militaries and British forces withdrawn.

References

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External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons, Charles Sim Bremridge 1855 births 1923 deaths People from Teignbridge (district) People educated at Rugby School Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Royal Artillery officers British Army generals British Army personnel of the Anglo-Zulu War British military personnel of the First Boer War British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War British Army personnel of the Mahdist War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 2nd class