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 ...

Hurdis Secundus Lalande Ravenshaw CMG (June 1869 – c. 6 June 1920) 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 in 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 ...

who served at the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

and saw action on the North-West Frontier of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, in South Africa in 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 South ...

and in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

in the First World War. In 1916 a German U-boat captured him, and he was a prisoner of war for the next two years. He died in 1920 in unusual circumstances after becoming lost in the South African bush near Port Elizabeth and succumbing to the elements.

Military career

Hurdis Ravenshaw was born in June 1869 to John Hurdis Ravenshaw and his second wife Harriet Lalande Biggs. His elder half-brother was Thomas Edward Ravenshaw., ''thePeerage.com''. Retrieved 19 August 2007 He was educated at

Haileybury and Imperial Service College Haileybury is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) near Hertford in England. It is a member of the Rugby Group and, though originally a major boys' public school in the Victorian era, it is now co-educational, enrol ...

and from there joined the militia, using this posting to gain a commission in the

East Yorkshire Regiment The East Yorkshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685 as Sir William Clifton's Regiment of Foot and later renamed the 15th Regiment of Foot. It saw service for three centuries, before eventually being ...

in December 1888. Seeking action, in August 1890 he transferred to 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 1958 ...

who were sent to India and went on campaign in 1895 as part of the Chitral Relief Force which overthrew the Mehtar of Chitral and replaced him with the pro-British

Shuja ul-Mulk His Highness Sir Shuja ul-Mulk KCIE (1 January 1881 – 13 October 1936) was the Mehtar (from fa, ) of the princely state of Chitral, and reigned it for 41 years until his death in 1936. He belonged to the royal Katur dynasty, which rule ...

the younger son of the former ruler,

Aman ul-Mulk Aman ul-Mulk (; 1 January 1821 – 30 August 1892) was the Mehtar of Chitral, Ghizer, Yasen and Ishkoman and Suzerain of Kafiristan. He ruled the State of Chitral from 1857 to 1892. His rule saw Chitral reach its territorial peak, extending from ...

. In 1897 and 1898 Ravenshaw was again active, conducting operations against Malakand and then participating in the

Tirah Campaign The Tirah campaign, often referred to in contemporary British accounts as the Tirah expedition, was an Indian frontier campaign from September 1897 to April 1898. Tirah is a mountainous tract of country in what was formally known as Federally ...

where he was with the army which forced the Khyber Pass against the

Afridis The Afrīdī ( ps, اپريدی ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ur, آفریدی) are a Pashtun tribe present in Pakistan, with substantial numbers in Afghanistan. The Afridis are most dominant in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal ...

. He was appointed adjutant of the 1st battalion of his regiment in December 1898, serving until December 1902. In these years he was transferred with his regiment to South Africa to fight against the

Boers Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this are ...

at the outbreak of the

in late 1899. He fought in the

relief of Ladysmith When the Second Boer War broke out on 11 October 1899, the Boers had a numeric superiority within Southern Africa. They quickly invaded the British territory and laid siege to Ladysmith, Kimberley and Mafeking. Britain meanwhile transported th ...

and numerous smaller actions for three years. After his return home in 1902, Ravenshaw was given the position of Adjutant at Sandhurst, a post he held until 1907.

First World War

In 1914, Ravenshaw was brought out of semi-retirement to command the 1st battalion of the

Connaught Rangers The Connaught Rangers ("The Devil's Own") was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army formed by the amalgamation of the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) (which formed the ''1st Battalion'') and the 94th Regiment of Foot (wh ...

, an Irish regiment in India which he brought to France for service on the Western Front in late September. Ravenshaw remained in command of the Connaught Rangers until April 1915, when he was made a staff officer at 1st Division headquarters before being promoted and given command of the 83rd Brigade. This unit saw action in France during 1915 before being sent to

Salonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

in Greece as part of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. There he served against the

Bulgarian Army The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were establishe ...

, rising to command the 27th Division in October 1916. Caledonia 1904 Saint John 1915

In December 1916, Ravenshaw sailed on the

troop ship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

to meet his superiors in England. On 4 December, sank ''Caledonia'' in the Mediterranean, and captured both Ravenshaw and his adjutant Captain FHD Vickerman. They were taken to

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, where they were prisoners of war for the next two years.Davies & Maddocks, ''Bloody Red Tabs'', p. 182. Released after the

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

, Ravenshaw was appointed commander of the troops in South Africa. In 1920 he travelled to Port Elizabeth in South Africa and on 6 June was seen entering Addo Bush near the city but failed to return. A search party discovered his body two days later.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ravenshaw, Hurdis 1869 births 1920 deaths People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College East Yorkshire Regiment officers Devonshire Regiment officers Connaught Rangers officers British military personnel of the Malakand Frontier War British military personnel of the Chitral Expedition British military personnel of the Tirah campaign British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army generals of World War I World War I prisoners of war held by Austria-Hungary Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George British World War I prisoners of war