Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Walter Kitchener (26 May 1858 – 6 March 1912), also known as Walter Kitchener, was a British soldier and colonial administrator.

Military career

Kitchener was the youngest son of Henry Horatio Kitchener (1805–1894) and his wife Frances Anne Chevallier (1826–1864). In 1876 he followed his elder brother

Herbert Kitchener Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, (; 24 June 1850 – 5 June 1916) was a senior British Army officer and colonial administrator. Kitchener came to prominence for his imperial campaigns, his scorched earth policy against the Boers, h ...

in taking up a career in 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 ...

. Initially commissioned an unattached sub-lieutenant, he joined the 14th Foot (later the

West Yorkshire Regiment ) , march = ''Ça Ira'' , battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine , anniversaries = Imphal (22 June) The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) wa ...

) in 1877. He served in the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...

as a transport officer to the

Kabul Field Force The Kabul Field Force was a field force created in September 1879 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War, under the command of General Frederick Roberts. It combined British and Indian Army regiments, and initially numbered around 7,500 men, but la ...

and took part in the first Battle of Charasiah and the battle of Karez Meer. Kitchener also saw action in the Chardeh Valley. He was promoted to captain on 11 November 1882, to major on 7 March 1892, and 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 colo ...

on 18 November 1896. He later served in Egypt during the Mahdist War where his brother Lord Kitchener was commanding British forces. During the war Frederick was made director of Transport during the 1898 Nile expedition and advance on

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

. He was appointed commander of the

Kordofan Kordofan ( ar, كردفان ') is a former province of central Sudan. In 1994 it was divided into three new federal states: North Kordofan, South Kordofan and West Kordofan. In August 2005, West Kordofan State was abolished and its territory ...

force and took part in the

Battle of Omdurman The Battle of Omdurman was fought during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan between a British–Egyptian expeditionary force commanded by British Commander-in-Chief ( sirdar) major general Horatio Herbert Kitchener and a Sudanese army of the ...

which resulted in the recapture of Khartoum which had been captured by Mahdist's during the Siege of Khartoum in 1885. He was appointed Khartoum's military governor after it came under Anglo-Egyptian control. In 1899 Kitchener was appointed to the staff of Sir

Redvers Buller General Sir Redvers Henry Buller, (7 December 1839 – 2 June 1908) was a British Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forc ...

in South Africa and took part in attempts to relieve

Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to: * Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa * Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada * Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States * Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia * Ladysmith, Virginia, United States * Ladysmith Island, Queenslan ...

during 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 South ...

. He was expected to be given an important post in South Africa but was passed over by his brother because Lord Kitchener (Commander-in-Chief of the troops in South Africa) did not want to be accused of favouritism. During the latter part of the war he commanded troops in

Western Transvaal The Province of the Transvaal ( af, Provinsie van Transvaal), commonly referred to as the Transvaal (; ), was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994, when a new constitution subdivided it following the end of apartheid. The name "Trans ...

, and following the announcement of peace on 31 May 1902, he supervised the surrender of arms in that area. He left

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

on board the SS ''Dunvegan Castle'' in late June 1902, and arrived at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

the next month. For his service in South Africa he was awarded the

Queen's South Africa Medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

with five clasps and the

King's South Africa Medal The King's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to all British and Colonial military personnel who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa, and who were in the theatre on or after 1 January 1902 and who had completed 18 m ...

with two clasps, and was created 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) in the October 1902 South Africa Honours list. In late 1902 he was posted to

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, where on 14 November 1902 he took up the command of the

Lahore Division Lahore Division is an administrative division of Punjab Province, Pakistan. It comprises four Districts - Kasur, Lahore, Nankana Sahib and Sheikhupura. The Lahore Division is commanded by a Commissioner to manage the division. Under the Commissi ...

(Mecan Meer District). He was appointed

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and military Commander-in-Chief of

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

, a strategic

Imperial fortress Imperial fortress was the designation given in the British Empire to four colonies that were located in strategic positions from each of which Royal Navy squadrons could control the surrounding regions and, between them, much of the planet. His ...

colony (now described as a British Overseas Territory) in the North

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

with a disproportionately large garrison, effective 31 October 1908 (with Lieutenant Octavius Henry Lothian Nicholson, D.S.O., The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment), as his aide-de-campe), serving until his death in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

following complications from an operation for

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a ru ...

. He was buried at Prospect Camp.

Family

Kitchener married Caroline Louisa Fenton, daughter of Major Charles Hamilton Fenton, on 27 November 1884 and had five children, including Major Henry Hamilton "Hal" Kitchener, a First World War aviator who returned to Bermuda after the war and ran an aviation company on Hinson's Island, previously part of the prisoner-of-war camp from which

Fritz Joubert Duquesne Frederick "Fritz" Joubert Duquesne (; 21 September 187724 May 1956; sometimes Du Quesne) was a South African Boer and German soldier, big-game hunter, journalist, and spy. Many of the claims Duquesne made about himself are in dispute; over his l ...

, his uncle's alleged assassin, had escaped during the Second Boer War.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitchener, Frederick Walter 1858 births 1912 deaths British Army lieutenant generals West Yorkshire Regiment officers Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of the Mahdist War British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War Governors of Bermuda