Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

Sir George Mackworth Bullock, (15 August 1851 – 28 January 1926) was an officer of 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 Gurkha ...

. He served during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, rising to the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

, and was also the one-hundred and eighth civil Governor 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 ...

(the office of ''Commander-in-Chief, Bermuda'' was re-titled ''General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Bermuda'' at the same time.

Early life and education

Bullock was born in 1851 at

Warangal Warangal () is a city in the Indian state of Telangana and the district headquarters of Warangal district. It is the second largest city in Telangana with a population of 704,570 per 2011 Census of India, and spreading over an . Warangal ser ...

in British India, the son of Susannah Juliana née Dennis (c1814—1866) and Col Thomas Henry Bullock (c1808—1868), Deputy Commissioner of Berar. He was educated at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Hugget ...

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

, and the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town o ...

. He was the younger brother of Frederick Bullock.

Military career

Bullock was commissioned into the 1st Battalion of the

11th Regiment of Foot 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first atteste ...

as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 24 April 1872, and attended

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, whic ...

in 1880. Promotion to

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 ...

followed on 22 February 1882, to

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

on 29 May 1891, 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 January 1897. He was Commanding Officer of 2nd Battalion of the

Devonshire Regiment The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1 ...

who were deployed to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

for 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 So ...

, and in 1902 was in command at

Volksrust Volksrust is a town in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa near the KwaZulu-Natal provincial border, some 240 km southeast of Johannesburg, 53 km north of Newcastle and 80 km southeast of Standerton. History The town was la ...

, where there was an internment camp for Boers. He was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

(including by Lord Kitchener dated 23 June 1902). The war ended in June 1902, and Bullock 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 the SS ''Scot'' in September, returning home. For his services Bullock 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 on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) a ...

(CB) in the April 1901 South Africa Honours list (the award was dated to 29 November 1900) and he received the actual decoration from King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second chil ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

on 24 October 1902. After the sudden death of the Chief Staff Officer in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

later the same year, Bullock was appointed to this position with the substantive rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

on 21 November 1902. Staying in Egypt, he became Brigadier-General commanding Alexandria District in 1904 and General Officer Commanding

British Troops in Egypt British Troops in Egypt was a command of the British Army. History A British Army commander was appointed in the late 19th century after the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882. The British Army remained in Egypt throughout the First World War and, after t ...

in 1905. After returning home, he was appointed General Officer Commanding the West Riding Division in 1910. Bullock was appointed Governor and military General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of

, 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 The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Br ...

) 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 A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mili ...

, effective 11 May 1912 (with Lieutenant ''Pyeec Roland Bradford Lawrence'',

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

, as his Aide-de-Camp). Bullock is remembered as moving Government House to the centre of Bermuda's social life. The British Government saw Bermuda more as a base than as a colony. Since the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, the

Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda HMD Bermuda ( Her/His Majesty's Dockyard, Bermuda) was the principal base of the Royal Navy in the Western Atlantic between American independence and the Cold War. The Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda had occupied a useful position astr ...

had been constructed and served as the headquarters of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

in the western North Atlantic, and the large Bermuda Garrison had been built up to defend it. Vast sums had been spent in the 19th century on fortifying the islands, and its governors were appointed almost exclusively from the general officers of the

, especially from the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

and the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. Bullock's predecessors had kept a distance from Bermuda's civilian population, but he made efforts to interact socially, opening Government House to prominent Bermudians and visitors, such as US President-elect

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

, for social functions. He also made efforts to take part in the normal social life of the colony. When Britain declared war on Germany in 1914, during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Bullock was temporarily overseas. The commanding officer of the Second Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment (2 Lincolns), based at Prospect Camp, Lieutenant-Colonel George Bunbury McAndrew, found himself acting Governor and Commander-In-Chief of Bermuda in Bullock's absence, and oversaw the colony's placement onto a war footing. BVRC-Great-War-Contingent 1914

A contingent from the

Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps The Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps (BVRC) was created in 1894 as a reserve for the Regular Army infantry component of the Bermuda Garrison. Renamed the ''Bermuda Rifles'' in 1951, it was amalgamated into the Bermuda Regiment in 1965. Formation A ...

(BVRC) was detached in December 1914 to train for the Front. It was hoped this could join 2 Lincolns, but when it arrived in England 2 Lincolns was already in France. It was initially attached to the 3rd Battalion, before being attached to the First Battalion (1 Lincolns) on in France as two extra platoons. It was the first colonial volunteer contingent to reach the Western Front when it arrived there in June, 1915. The contingent had trained at Warwick Camp, in Bermuda, over the winter of 1914–1915. As the BVRC still had to meet its obligations as part of the garrison, maintaining patrols and guarding key points around the archipelago, it did not have enough officers to provide an

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

to the cadre. Bullock filled this role himself, a job normally performed by a

. The contingent, as a result, was popularly known as ''Bullock's Boys''. Bullock retired from the governorship in 1917, but retained his link with the colony when he became the head of the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

based ''Bermuda Contingents Committee'' on 13 June 1917. This committee had been formed the as a

non-governmental agency A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

in 1916 by Mr. ''Joseph Rippon'' (Chairman), Mr. ''Boswell Tucker'' (Hon. Treasurer), Miss ''Gladys Trott'' (who would marry ''Harold Trimingham'') (Hon. Secretary), Mrs. ''Ada Mary Tucker'' (born ''Bowden'', the wife of the commander of the First Contingent of the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps sent to the Lincolnshire Regiment, Major ''Richard Jennings Tucker''), Mrs. ''Winifred Esther Everest Kitchener'' (daughter of the Hon. ''Arthur William Bluck'', Mayor of the City of Hamilton and a Member of the

Colonial Parliament Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 a ...

, and wife of Major (future Squadron Leader) ''Henry Hamilton Kitchener'' of the

and the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

, a son of the late Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Bermuda, Lieutenant-General Sir

Frederick Walter Kitchener 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� ...

, who had died in office and been buried at Prospect Camp in 1912), and Mrs. J. Boyd. The Committee had grown out of the role Ada Mary Tucker had previously performed, visiting wounded islanders in hospital, and acting to assist Bermudian servicemen in Britain. The Committee was formed with official support from the colonial government to become its agency for ensuring the welfare of all Bermudian serving overseas during the war, not simply the members of the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps contingents and Bermuda Contingent of the Royal Garrison Artillery. In his new role as head of the Committee, Bullock attempted to visit both the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps contingent and the Bermuda Contingent RGA on the Western Front in 1917 but was only able to locate the former (the Bermuda Contingent RGA frequently moving, and having been scattered about the front in detachments). An extract from a letter he wrote to his successor as Governor and GOC-in-C Bermuda, General Sir

James Willcocks General Sir James Willcocks, (1 April 1857 – 18 December 1926) was a British Army officer who spent most of his career in India and Africa and held high command during the First World War. Early life and education Willcocks was born in Bara ...

, was published in the 18 September, 1917, issue of The Royal Gazette: Bullock also served as Colonel of the

from 1910 to 1921.

Family

He married Amy Isabella née Thomson (1854—1952) in 1884; Lady Amy Bullock was invested as OBE for her war work on 27 March 1918.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bullock, George Governors of Bermuda Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George British Army lieutenant generals British Army generals of World War I 1851 births 1926 deaths People educated at Cheltenham College Alumni of University College, Oxford Military personnel of British India