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 ...

Edward Barrington de Fonblanque (29 May 1895 – 17 September 1981) was a British Army officer of 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 ...

and

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 opposin ...

, and later served as '' aide-de-camp'' to King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

Family and early life

De Fonblanque was the son of Lester Ramsey de Fonblanque, and Constance Lucy (''née'' Kerr), his paternal great-great-grandfather was the politician John Anthony Fonblanque and his grandfather the historian

Edward Barrington de Fonblanque Edward Barrington de Fonblanque (18 January 1821 – 14 June 1895) was a British historian of English, Irish and Huguenot stock. Family Edward was born in Calais to Thomas de Grenier de Fonblanque, Her Britannic Majesty's Consul General and ...

. He was also descended from Sir Jonah Barrington. His elder brother,

Philip de Fonblanque Major-General Philip de Fonblanque (16 November 1885 – 2 July 1940) was a senior British officer, who at the start of the Second World War, organised the logistics for the British Expeditionary Force in France and Belgium. Already a sick man ...

(1885–1940), was also an officer in the British Army. Edward was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

Career

In 1914, he joined the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

and served throughout the First World War. From 1921 to 1925 he was an instructor at the Army School of Equitation at Weedon, and from 1923 to 1931 he was captain of the

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. (Although the cavalry link ...

. He competed in two events at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

. From 1934 to 1938, de Fonblanque was an instructor at the Command and Staff College in

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

. From 1938 to 1939, he commanded the B/O Battery Royal Horse Artillery, and in 1939–40 commanded the

2nd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery 2nd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery was a regiment of the Royal Horse Artillery that served in the Second World War. It saw action in France, Greece, North Africa and Italy. It was redesignated as 2nd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery in 1958. T ...

. In 1941, he was commander of the Royal Artillery, 45th Division, and from 1941 to 1943 served as chief of staff of the

X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to: France * 10th Army Corps (France) * X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

. From 1944 to 1945, he was corps commander of the Royal Artillery

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...

. After the Second World War, de Fonblanque served as chief of staff of the

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...

. In 1947, he served as chief administrative of the

Allied Commission Following the termination of hostilities in World War II, the Allies were in control of the defeated Axis countries. Anticipating the defeat of Germany and Japan, they had already set up the European Advisory Commission and a proposed Far Easter ...

in Germany and as ''aide-de-camp'' to George VI. From 1948 to 1951, he served as commander of the

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

District. After de Fonblanque's retirement from active duty in 1951, he served in

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. U ...

as assistant commissioner of civil defence, and as inspector-general of the Federal Home Guard from 1952 to 1958. In 1952, he became colonel commandant of the Royal Artillery and from 1959 was representative, colonel commandant.

Honours

In 1945, 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 ...

(DSO) and appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in 1945, both in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Italy. In 1947, he was named a commander of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

. In the

1948 Birthday Honours The 1948 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the Commonwealth Realms. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King, a ...

, he 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).

Personal life

In 1933, he married Elizabeth Flora Lutley Sclater, granddaughter of zoologist

Philip Sclater Philip Lutley Sclater (4 November 1829 – 27 June 1913) was an England, English lawyer and zoologist. In zoology, he was an expert ornithologist, and identified the main zoogeographic regions of the world. He was Secretary of the Zoological ...

. They had two sons and one daughter: Patricia Constance de Fonblanque, Brigadier Hugh Barrington de Fonblanque, and John Robert de Fonblanque. He died in 1981, at age 86.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Fonblanque, Edward Barrington 1895 births 1981 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Commanders of the Legion of Merit English people of Irish descent English people of Scottish descent English people of French descent Royal Horse Artillery officers Military personnel from London People from Kensington British male equestrians Olympic equestrians for Great Britain Equestrians at the 1924 Summer Olympics De Fonblanque family