Brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Sir Harry Osborne Mance, (2 October 1875 – 30 August 1966) was a senior

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 ...

officer during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, transportation expert and author.

Biography

Harry Osborne Mance was born in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

on 2 October 1875, the son of

Henry Christopher Mance Sir Henry Christopher Mance, (6 September 1840 – 21 April 1926) was a British electrical engineer and a former president of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. He was knighted for developing the heliograph. Career Born in Exeter, he was ...

, inventor of the heliograph and was educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

, between 1884 and 1893, and at the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

. He received his first commission as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in 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 heade ...

in March 1895, was promoted to

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 sub ...

on 15 March 1898, and served 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 Sout ...

, between 1899 and 1902, as Deputy Assistant Director of Railways and Armoured Trains on the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

line. He stayed in South Africa throughout the war, which formally ended in June 1902 after the Peace of Vereeniging, and 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 ...

for home on the SS ''Britannic'' in early October that year. For his service in the war, he was appointed a Companion of the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

(DSO) in the October 1902 South African honours list. He was an engineer during the construction of the

Baro Baro or Baró may refer to: Places ;Bangladesh * Baro Vatra, a village in Gopalganj District ;Guinea * Baro, Guinea ;Iran * Baro, Iran, a village in Zanjan Province ;Nigeria * Baro (Nigeria), a town in Niger state * Baro-Kano Railway Station ...

- Kano Railway, between 1908 and 1911. He served during the

, between 1914 and 1918, and was Director of Railways, Light Railways and Roads at the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

, between 1916 and 1920. He was Transportation Adviser to the British Delegation during the Paris Peace Conference, between 1919 and 1920. He retired from the

in 1924, and was appointed British Director of

Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the se ...

, between 1925 and 1930. He was author of reports on Austrian Federal Railways, in 1933, and on the co-ordination of transportation in East Africa, in 1936. He was Director of Canals at the Ministry of War Transport, between 1941 and 1944, British Representative on the Transport and Communications Commission of the United Nations, between 1946 and 1954, British Delegate on the

Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine The Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR; french: link=no, Commission centrale pour la navigation du Rhin; german: link=no, Zentralkommission für die Rheinschifffahrt; nl, link=no, Centrale Commissie voor de Rijnvaart) is an ...

, between 1946 and 1957, and was appointed as President of the

Institute of Transport The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) is a professional body representing the transport and logistics industries worldwide. It is a membership-based organisation with over 30,000 members in over 30 countries. This i ...

in 1949.

Sir Harry Osborne Mance was appointed a Companion of the

in 1902, a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

in 1917, 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 ...

in 1918, and a Knight Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1929. He died in London on 30 August 1966, aged 90.Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 31 August 1966, p. 10 He had married Elsie Stenhouse and had two sons and a daughter. His elder son, Henry Stenhouse Mance, became chairman of Lloyd's of London.

Publications

*''The Road and Rail Transport Problem'', 1940 *''International Telecommunications'', 1943 *''International Air Transport'', 1943 *''International River and Canal Transport'', 1944 *''International Sea Transport'', 1945 *''International Road Transport and Miscellaneous'', 1946 *''Frontiers, Peace Treaties and International Organisation for Transport'', 1946

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mance, Harry Osborne 1875 births 1966 deaths People educated at Bedford School Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath British Army generals