Colonel Sir George Malcolm Fox (4 March 1843 – 10 March 1918) was Inspector General of Gymnasia at Aldershot, (1890-1897) and Director of Physical Training at the Military School, Aldershot.

Early life

Fox was born in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

in 1843, one of six children born to Marianne ''née'' Strutt (1814–1898) and Douglas Fox (1798–1885), a magistrate and surgeon. He was educated at

Rossall School Rossall School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for 0–18 year olds, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St Vincent Beechey as a sister school to Marlborough College ...

and

Brighton College Brighton College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18); Brighton College Preparatory Sc ...

before joining the army. Fox began his military career serving with the 100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot from 1863-1875, being promoted to Lieutenant in 1865 and Captain in 1871. With his regiment he saw service in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. After transferring to the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot (the 'Black Watch') he was with his regiment in Aldershot in 1881 before seeing service in the Egypt Campaign where he was wounded during the

Battle of Tell El Kebir The Battle of Tel El Kebir (often spelled Tel-El-Kebir) was fought on 13 September 1882 at Tell El Kebir in Egypt, 110 km north-north-east of Cairo. An entrenched Egyptian force under the command of Ahmed ʻUrabi was defeated by a British ...

in 1882. In

Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville (31 May 183518 May 1885) was a French academic Painting, painter who studied under Eugène Delacroix. His dramatic and intensely patriotic subjects illustrated episodes from the Franco-Prussian War, the Crimean ...

's painting ''The Storming of Tel el Kebir'' (1882) Fox is depicted to the left wounded in the shoulder and being held by another soldier, whereas in reality he was shot in the thigh.

At Aldershot

Fox had an interest in physical training, in particular in fencing and boxing, and he organised various sporting competitions in the Army which lead to his appointment at

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

in April 1883 as Assistant Inspector of Gymnasia under Colonel G. M. Onslow. In July 1883 he was promoted Major. Fox was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1888 and was a Colonel by 1900.Amateur Athletic Association - The Coming of Age Dinner
ATHLOS: A website dedicated to athletics literature Fox married firstly Mary Rose "Minnie" Newall in 1881 who died in childbirth in 1882 giving birth to her daughter Mary Agnes Dorothy Fox (1882–1968); and secondly, Marion Jane Mills (1863–1957) in 1884, with whom he had a daughter: Marion Inez Douglas Fox (1885–1973).

Inspector of Gymnasia

George Malcolm Fox, Vanity Fair, 1896-09-03

From 1890 to 1897 Fox was Inspector of Gymnasia at Aldershot, having succeeded Colonel G. M. Onslow, and financed the expansion of the army athletic grounds and gymnasia at Aldershot using his second wife's money including in 1894 building the gymnasium that was later to bear his name. An expert swordsman, he designed swords for 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 ...

including the 1895 Infantry Sword Exercise and the Pattern 1897 infantry officer's sword, leading to his 'Swordsmanship'

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...

appearing in '' Vanity Fair'' in 1896, drawn by ''

Spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

''. He was also influential in the design of the pattern 1908 cavalry sword. As Inspector of Gymnasia Fox had the responsibility for deciding which skills needed to be incorporated to form the set routines for gymnastics competitions in Scotland. The original gymnasium of 1861 was replaced with the much larger Headquarters Gymnasium in 1894 at the instigation of Fox.

Later life

In 1900 he retired with the rank of Colonel. He was temporarily Inspector of Gymnasia from 1900 to 1902 during his retirement while Lieutenant-Colonel J. Scott Napier, the then holder of the post was employed in South Africa during the

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 Sou ...

.Biography of Colonel Fox
''Mind, Body and Spirit: The Annual Journal of the Royal Army Physical Training Corps'', 3 June 2015, pp. 89-90 In 1903 he was seconded to the

Board Of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

as the Chief Inspector of Physical Training. He was a member of the Bartitsu Club. Headquarters Gymnasium Aldershot 1917

Colonel George Malcolm Fox was knighted in 1910. After a series of strokes Fox died at his home, Rustington House near

Littlehampton Littlehampton is a town, seaside resort, and pleasure harbour, and the most populous civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the English Channel on the eastern bank of the mouth of the River Arun. It is south sout ...

in March 1918. In his will he left an estate valued at £31,244 12s 5d. The Headquarters Gymnasium in Aldershot built by him in 1894 was renamed the Fox Gymnasium in his honour in the 1940s and remains the main training gymnasium of the Royal Army Physical Training Corps (RAPT). Fox Lines, where today the RAPT complex is located, was also named in his memory in 1994.Barrack Finder
Friends of the Aldershot Military Museum website

Medal entitlement

George Malcolm Fox was entitled to the following medals:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, George Malcolm 1843 births 1918 deaths People educated at Rossall School People educated at Brighton College British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War People from Derby Military personnel from Derbyshire Royal Army Physical Training Corps soldiers