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 of ...

James Lethbridge Brooke Templer (27 May 1846 – 2 January 1924) was an early British military pioneer of balloons. He was an officer in the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

and

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 ...

. Templer set out a scientific foundation for British military ballooning. In particular, he worked out routines for balloon handling, how to use hydrogen in cylinders and methods for training observers.

Biography

James Templer was the son of John Templer. He was educated at Harrow and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. Whilst serving in the King's Royal Rifle Corps Templer became interested in military ballooning. In 1878 Captain Templer and Captain C M Watson started the first regular British Army balloon school at Woolwich. The school was started with Templer's own balloon, the ''Crusader''. At the same time, Templer was appointed Instructor in Ballooning to the Royal Engineers. The following year Captain Templer took command of the newly established military balloon department at Chatham. On 10 December 1881 Captain Templer was accompanied by Walter Powell the MP for

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the up ...

and Mr. A. Agg-Gardner, brother of James Agg-Gardner – then between terms as MP for

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

– in the balloon ''Saladin''. The group departed

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

and headed towards Dorset. In time they found themselves within half a mile of the sea near Eypesmouth which is to the west of

Bridport Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the Asker. Its origins are Saxon and it has a long history as a rope-making centre. On the coast and withi ...

. As the balloon was rapidly drifting seaward, they attempted to descend. The balloon touched the ground a mere 150 yards from the cliff edge. The balloon dragged along and ground and Templer exited the basket holding the valve line in his hand. As the balloon had just been lightened, it rose about eight feet and Agg-Gardner jumped out breaking his leg. Powell was now the only occupant of the balloon. Templer, who had still hold of the line, shouted to Powell to climb down the line. Powell made a move for the rope but the balloon rose, tearing the line out of Templer's hands. The balloon climbed rapidly and Powell was taken out to sea. He was never seen again. In February 1885, Templer was promoted to the rank of

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 indicators ...

. During the British Army's expedition to the Sudan in 1885, Templer took three balloons. He was mentioned in despatches for his actions during the Hasheen engagement. In 1888 Templer was accused, arrested and charged with providing the Italian Government with British secrets about military ballooning. The case was found to be without foundation and Templer was honourably acquitted. At the start of 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 ...

(1899–1902), Templer served in the Scientific and Departmental Corps as a

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 colone ...

. He was promoted to full colonel in the

Reserve of Officers The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the British Army. It is separate from the Regular Reserve whose members are ex-Regular personnel who retain a statutory liability for service. The Army Reserve was known as the Ter ...

on 6 December 1899, and was able to put his interest in steam traction to use when he served as Director of Steam Road Transport during the war. 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 ...

(29 November 1900) by Lord Roberts, Commander-in-Chief during the early part of the War. After the end of the war, Templer retired from his commission in the 7th (Militia) Battalion of the King′s Royal Rifle Corps in November 1902. In 1902, Templer decided that it was time to construct a British military airship. Under Templer's direction, in 1905 the Balloon Factory relocated to

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...

. where work could be started on an airship shed. This, and a shortage of money, delayed the project. Work on the

British Army Dirigible No 1 British Army Dirigible No 1, christened ''Nulli Secundus'' (Latin: "Second to none") was a semi-rigid airship. First flown on 10 September 1907, it was Britain's first powered military aircraft. Design Built at the Army's Balloon Factory at ...

, named ''Nulli Secundus'' ("Second to none") was not complete until 1907 by which time Templer was no longer the superintendent of the Balloon Factory, Colonel Capper having taken over in 1906. Templer continued as the superintendent of the Balloon Factory until retiring from service in 1908. He died at Laughton Grange in the

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

town of

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

on 2 January 1924.

Family

Templer married Florence Henrietta Gilliat at Chorley Wood in

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

on 12 January 1889. Their daughter Ursula Florence Templer was born in London the following year on 29 August 1890.
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References

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Templer, James Lethbridge Brooke King's Royal Rifle Corps officers Royal Engineers officers British balloonists People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 1846 births 1924 deaths