Lieutenant general Sir Charles Tucker, (6 December 1838 – 22 December 1935) was a British Army officer during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Early life and family

Tucker was born at The Hall,

Ashburton, Devon Ashburton is a town on the south-southeastern edge of Dartmoor in Devon, England, adjacent to the A38. The town is 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Plymouth and 17 miles (27 km) southwest of Exeter. It was formerly important as a stanna ...

, son of Robert Tucker, and was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

. He married first, in 1865, Matilda Frederica Hayter (died 1897), daughter of

John Hayter John Hayter (21 October 1800 – 3 June 1895) was an English portrait painter who was Painter-in-Ordinary to Queen Victoria, whom he first painted when she was 12 years old. Biography He was the second son of the miniaturist Charles Hayter an ...

, Painter-in-Ordinary to Queen Victoria, and secondly, in 1902, Nelly O'Connell, only daughter of Sir Maurice O'Connell, 2nd Bt.

Military career

Commissioned into the

22nd Foot The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence of over 300 years. Th ...

in 1855, in November 1860 Tucker transferred to the 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers), 80th Staffordshire volunteers, with whom he served in the Duar War, Bhutan expedition (1865) and the Perak War (1875). He first came to prominence during the Zulu War when, as a Major (rank), major, he commanded the Fort at Kopje Allein in 1879. Later that year he commanded the 80th Regiment in operations against the Zulus, and was promoted lieutenant-colonel and appointed a companion of the Order of the Bath (CB). From 1891 he served in Colony of Natal, Natal. He was promoted major-general in 1893 and in 1895 left Natal for India, where he commanded the Secunderabad district, until the end of 1899. In December 1899, following the outbreak of the Second Boer War, Tucker was ordered by the commander-in-chief of forces in South Africa, Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, Lord Roberts, to take command of the 7th Infantry Division (United_Kingdom)#Second Boer War, 7th division, participating in the Siege of Kimberley, relief of Kimberley and the advance on Bloemfontein. After the fall of Pretoria he commanded the garrison in the city. He then led a force based on Bloemfontein, guarding the lines of communication, until he left South Africa in March 1902. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in November 1900, in recognition of his services in South Africa, and invested as such by King Edward VII on 13 May 1902, after his return to the UK. In his final Mentioned in dispatches, despatch from South Africa in June 1902, Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, Lord Kitchener, Commander-in-Chief of the forces during the latter part of the war, described Tucker as an officer who ''"has never feared responsibility, or failed in giving emphatic pronouncement to the good common-sense of which he is possessed".'' Tucker returned to South Africa with his new wife in June 1902, but the war had now ended with the Peace of Vereeniging, and he left the following month from Cape Town on the SS ''Canada'', arriving at Southampton in late July. He was promoted to Lieutenant-general (British Army), lieutenant-general in the South Africa Honours list published on 26 June 1902, and two months later commanded the Colonial forces present in London during the Coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, coronation of King Edward VII. He became General Officer Commanding Scottish District in 1903 and, subsequently, the first General Officer Commanding-in-Chief for Scottish Command in 1905, before retiring later that year. He spent much of his retirement at Biarritz, France, where he died on 22 December 1935, aged 97. He was buried at Ashburton, Devon. He was also Colonel of the Cheshire Regiment (1909–1911) and of the South Staffordshire Regiment (1911–1935).

Decorations

Order of the Bath, Most Honourable Order of the Bath * CB - Companion – ''1879''. * KCB - Knight Commander – ''29 November 1900''. ''In recognition of services in connection with the Campaign in South Africa 1899-1900''. * GCB - Knight Grand Cross – ''1912''. Royal Victorian Order * GCVO - Knight Grand Cross – ''1905''. Tucker's decorations are held by the Staffordshire Regiment Museum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, Charles 1838 births 1935 deaths People from Ashburton, Devon People educated at Marlborough College British Army generals British Army personnel of the Anglo-Zulu War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Cheshire Regiment officers South Staffordshire Regiment officers Military personnel from Devon