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 a ...

Sir Richard Henry Havelock Charles, 1st Baronet, (10 March 1858 – 27 October 1934) was a British medical doctor, and

Serjeant Surgeon The Serjeant Surgeon is the senior surgeon in the Medical Household of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The origin of the post dates back to 1253. Early serjeant surgeons were military surgeons who followed their king ...

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

Early life and medical career

Charles was born in

Cookstown Cookstown ( ga, An Chorr Chríochach, IPA: �anˠˈxoːɾˠɾˠˈçɾʲiːxəx is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the fourth largest town in the county and had a population of 11,599 in the 2011 census. It, along with Maghe ...

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...

, the sixth son of David Hughes Charles MD and Annie Elizabeth Allen, and named after Sir

Henry Havelock Major-General Sir Henry Havelock (5 April 1795 – 24 November 1857) was a British general who is particularly associated with India and his recapture of Cawnpore during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (First War of Independence, Sepoy Mutiny). E ...

, who had died two months earlier. He was educated at

Queen's College, Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1 ...

, before joining the

Indian Medical Service The Indian Medical Service (IMS) was a military medical service in British India, which also had some civilian functions. It served during the two World Wars, and remained in existence until the independence of India in 1947. Many of its officer ...

as a surgeon in April 1882. In the year 1894, he was appointed as a Professor of Anatomy at the Medical College, Calcutta, and surgeon at the College Hospital. On 1 April 1902 he was promoted 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 colonel. ...

, and later attained the rank of

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 a ...

. During his tenure as a surgeon in the Medical College, Calcutta, he also served as the staff surgeon to the Prince of Wales (later

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

during the latter's tour of India. Following this, Charles was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(KCVO) in 1906, promoted to

Knight Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...

(GCVO) in 1912 and was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

(KCSI) in 1923.

Court appointment

On his return to India and upon ascension of

to the throne, Charles was appointed Serjeant Surgeon to

from 1910 to 1928, and was later Honorary Serjeant Surgeon to His Majesty. He was created a

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of The Abbey Grange, Waltham Abbey, in the County of Essex and of Manchester Square in the Parish of St Marylebone in the County of London, on 20 March 1928.

Family

Charles married Gertrude Seton Gordon, and they had two children, Sir Allen Aitcheson Havelock Charles, 2nd Baronet, and Sir Noel Charles, 3rd Baronet. He died at his home in Manchester Square, London W1, and is buried in

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Estab ...

, London.

He was succeeded as 2nd Baronet by his son, Captain Sir Allen Aitcheson Havelock Charles, who established the ''Richard Havelock Charles Scholarships and Medals'' at

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

in his honour.

References

Dictionary of Irish Biography
* ''Dictionary of Irish Biography: From the Earliest Times to the Year 2002'', nine volumes, eds. James McGuire and James Quinn,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, 2009. 1858 births 1934 deaths People from Cookstown Alumni of Queens College Cork Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British surgeons Burials at Brompton Cemetery 19th-century Irish medical doctors 20th-century Irish medical doctors Indian Medical Service officers British Indian Army generals Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India 20th-century surgeons Presidents of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Medical doctors from County Tyrone Irish military doctors Military personnel from County Tyrone {{UK-med-bio-stub