General George Nicolas Channer (7 January 1842 – 13 December 1905) was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces.

Life

George Channer was born at

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

, India, on 7 January 1842, the eldest surviving son of eight children of George Girdwood Channer, colonel, Bengal artillery (1811–1895) and Susan (d. 1895), daughter of Nicholas Kendall JP, vicar of Talland and Lanlivery, Cornwall. He was educated at Cheltenham College. Joining the army in September 1859, he served in India with the 89th and 95th regiments, seeing active service in the

Ambela campaign The Ambela campaign (also called Umbeyla; Umbeylah; Ambeyla) in 1863 was one of many expeditions in the border area between the Emirate of Afghanistan and the Punjab Province of British India (this area was formally renamed to North-West Frontie ...

of 1863–4. In August 1866 he entered the Bengal Staff Corps, serving with the Indian Army for the remainder of his career. He was 32 years old, and a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the Bengal Staff Corps, Indian Army, and

1st Gurkha Rifles 1st Gorkha Rifles (The Malaun Regiment), often referred to as the 1st Gorkha Rifles, or 1 GR in abbreviation, is the most senior Gorkha Infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It was originally formed as part of the East India Company's Bengal Arm ...

during the

Perak War The Perak War (1875–76) took place between British and local forces in Perak, a state in northwestern Malaysia. The sultan of Upper Perak and other local chiefs attempted to end foreign influence in the region and remove the British adminis ...

when, on 20 December 1875 in

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

, Captain Channer performed the deed for which he was awarded the VC. Channer had been despatched with a small party to obtain intelligence of the position and strength of the enemy's stockade. Having located it, he jumped in, taking the enemy by surprise. After shooting one man dead with his revolver, the rest of Channer's party entered the stockade, which they captured. The stockade was formidable and it would have been impossible to bring guns to bear on it because of the steepness of the hill and the density of the jungle. If Captain Channer and his party had not been able to take the stockade in this manner it would have been necessary to resort to the bayonet, with consequent great loss of life. In addition to the VC, in April 1876 Channer was mentioned in dispatches and promoted to

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

major. Channer served with the

Jowaki Expedition The Jowaki Expedition was a British punitive expedition in India, occurring between 1877 and 1878. It started when the British government in India proposed to reduce the payment of the Jowaki Afridi tribe in the Northwest Frontier. The Jowaki wer ...

in 1877 and the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1978–80). Here he was with the 29th Punjabi infantry in the

Kurram Valley Field Force __NOTOC__ The Kurram Valley Field ForceOften referred to at the time as the ''Kuram Field Force''. e.g.: was a British military formation during the first phase of the Second Afghan War, 1878–79. It was one of three military columns created b ...

, commanding the regiment at the

Battle of Peiwar Kotal The Battle of Peiwar Kotal was fought on 2 December 1878 between British forces under Major General Frederick Roberts and Afghan forces under Karim Khan, during the opening stages of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The British were victorious, and ...

in December 1878. He was made a brevet lieutenant-colonel in November 1879 and a colonel in the army in November 1883, at the early age of forty-one. He commanded a brigade in the Hazara Expedition of 1888, after which he was made a companion of the Order of the Bath (CB). He attained the rank of major-general in April 1893, lieutenant-general in 9 November 1896 and General in January 1899. He retired in November 1901. He died at the age of 63 on 13 December 1905 at Westward Ho!, Devon. He was buried in

East-the-Water Cemetery, Bideford East-the-Water Cemetery (also known as Bideford Church Cemetery) was the Church of England burial ground for East-the-Water, once a separate village but now a suburb of Bideford, in Devon, England. Located on Barnstaple Road, the cemetery is ...

, in a grave adjacent to that of

Gerald Graham Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant General Sir Gerald Graham, (27 June 1831 – 17 December 1899) was a senior British Army commander in the late 19th century and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for ga ...

VC. His Victoria Cross medal group is in the

Lord Ashcroft Gallery The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

at the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

Family

He married in June 1872, Annie Isabella, daughter of John William Watson. They had four surviving sons (two served in the army) and four daughters.

Notes

External links

Location of grave and VC medal

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Channer, George Nicolas 1842 births 1905 deaths British recipients of the Victoria Cross British Indian Army generals People educated at Cheltenham College Companions of the Order of the Bath Military personnel from Allahabad Bengal Staff Corps officers British military personnel of the Perak War British military personnel of the Umbeyla Campaign British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War

Life

Family

See also

Notes

External links