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 ...

Francis Richard Gurney Hoare (14 December 187931 May 1959) was a South African military commander. Born in

Frognal Frognal is a small area of Hampstead, North West London in the London Borough of Camden. Frognal is reinforced as the name of a minor road, which goes uphill from Finchley Road and at its upper end is in the west of Hampstead village. History ...

, Hampstead, London, he was educated at Harrow School and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. He joined 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 ...

in 1894. He served in the

Anglo-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 South ...

, after which he settled in the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

as a civil servant. He joined the Transvaal Horse Artillery in 1912. Shortly after the outbreak of

World War I 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 ...

in 1914, he was seconded to the British Army as an officer in the Army Ordnance Department. From there he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. Lt Col Hoare returned to South Africa after the war, and became a founder member of the

South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...

on its formation in 1920. He was Staff Officer for Air Equipment at Defence Headquarters from 1921 to 1933.''List of Officers of the Union Defence Forces'' (1921). From 1933 to 1937, he served as the Union Defence Forces' Director Of Technical Services, and was briefly Director of Air and Technical Services (with the rank of colonel) before retiring in 1937. He returned to active duty in 1939 and served as Director-General of Technical Services again from 1939 to 1940. For the rest of

World War II 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 opposing ...

, he was involved in arms production and procurement. He retired again at the end of the war.

Awards

He was made 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 ...

for his World War I services. In 1944, he was made 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 ...

.''London Gazette'' 36545 (8 June 1944). * *

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoare, Francis English emigrants to South Africa South African Air Force generals People educated at Harrow School 1879 births 1959 deaths South African Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British emigrants to Transvaal Colony

Awards

See also

References