General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
Sir James Willcocks, (1 April 1857 – 18 December 1926) was a
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 who spent most of his career in India and Africa and held high command 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 ...
.
Early life and education
Willcocks was born in
Baraut,
Meerut District
Meerut district, is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state of India, and Meerut is the district headquarters. Meerut district is also a part of the Meerut division. The administrative head of district of Meerut is a District Magistrate w ...
,
United Provinces,
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 ...
, the son of an officer in the
East India Company's army. He was educated in England and passed out from 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 infantry a ...
, in January 1878 (having only got in on the third attempt), being commissioned into the
100th Foot
The 100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot was a British Army regiment, raised in 1858. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 109th Regiment of Foot (Bombay Infantry) to form the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regimen ...
in the
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
.
![HMS Malabar (1865)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/HMS_Malabar_%281865%29.jpg)
Military career as a company and field officer
In late 1879, shortly after being promoted lieutenant, Willcocks persuaded his superiors to send him to the
Second Afghan War
The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...
(although his regiment was not engaged there), where he served as a transport officer. In 1881 he again served as a transport officer in the
Mahsud Waziri
The Mahsud or Mehsood ( ps, محسود), also spelled Maseed ( ps, ماسيد), is a Karlani Pashtun tribe inhabiting mostly the South Waziristan Agency in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, now merged within Khyb ...
expedition, rejoining his regiment the following year. In 1884 he was seconded to the newly formed
Army Transport Department
The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dome ...
and posted to
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
. He was promoted
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 ...
in what was by now the
Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment
The Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot and the 109th Regiment of Foot ...
in August 1884. He served in the
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
in 1885–1886 and then returned to Assam before serving in
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
in 1886, for which he was awarded 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 December 1887 he was offered a permanent transfer to the
Commissariat and Transport Department
A commissariat is a department or organization commanded by a commissary or by a corps of commissaries.
In many countries, commissary is a police rank. In those countries, a commissariat is a police station commanded by a commissary.
In some ar ...
, but declined in favour of the
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 ...
cy of the 1st Battalion of his regiment.
![General Sir James Willcocks, KCMG, DSO, and staff, at the entrance to the fort at Kumasi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/General_Sir_James_Willcocks%2C_KCMG%2C_DSO%2C_and_staff%2C_at_the_entrance_to_the_fort_at_Kumasi.jpg)
In 1889 Willcocks served as an
intelligence officer
An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of ''officer'' is a working title, not a rank, used in the same way a ...
in the
Chin-Lushai expedition and in 1891 in the
Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...
expedition. In June 1897 he was appointed assistant
adjutant-general of the
Baluchistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
field force, and in November 1897
second-in-command
Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation.
Usage
In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, ...
of the new
West African Frontier Force
The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. In 1928, it received royal recognition ...
as a temporary
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. ...
, under the command of
Frederick Lugard
Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard (22 January 1858 – 11 April 1945), known as Sir Frederick Lugard between 1901 and 1928, was a British soldier, mercenary, explorer of Africa and colonial administrator. He was Governor of Hong ...
. He was appointed
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.
...
(CMG) in the
1899 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1899 were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British India.
They were published in ''The Times'' on 2 January 1899, and the various honours were gazetted in ''The London Ga ...
. In November 1899 he was promoted substantive lieutenant-colonel (having received his
brevet
Brevet may refer to:
Military
* Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay
* Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college
* Aircre ...
in May 1898). On the 23 September 1899 Willcocks is recorded as being aboard the British and African Steam Navigation Company Royal Mail ship SS Bornu, embarking from Liverpool with the destination being
Forçados
Forçados is a small town in Burutu LGA of Delta State, Nigeria. It is most noted for the Forcados River, which is a major navigable channel of the Niger Delta. The river starts about downstream from Aboh and flows through zones of freshwater sw ...
. He was accompanied aboard ship by a number of officers who took part in the
War of the Golden Stool
The War of the Golden Stool, also known as the Yaa Asantewaa War, the Third Ashanti Expedition, the Ashanti Uprising, or variations thereof, was a campaign in 1900 during the series of conflicts between the United Kingdom and the Ashanti Empire ...
.
Colonel Lugard became High Commissioner following the proclamation of the new
Protectorate of Northern Nigeria
Northern Nigeria (Hausa: ''Arewacin Najeriya'') was a British protectorate which lasted from 1900 until 1914 and covered the northern part of what is now Nigeria.
The protectorate spanned and included the emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate an ...
on 1 January 1900, and Willcocks succeeded him as
colonel-commandant of the Frontier Force, being granted the local 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 of ...
on the same day. For his relief of
Kumasi
Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the ...
during the
Ashanti War of 1900, Willcocks was appointed
Knight Commander 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, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III.
It is named in honour ...
(KCMG) and promoted to brevet colonel.
Military career as a general officer
![2-4 Bn East Yorkshire Regiment and General Sir James Willcocks Hamilton Bermuda 1917](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/2-4_Bn_East_Yorkshire_Regiment_and_General_Sir_James_Willcocks_Hamilton_Bermuda_1917.jpg)
In early January 1902, Willcocks received orders to go to South Africa, and issued a statement to say how welcome he found this order, as he had never before been unemployed. He was graded as a colonel on the staff while employed on special service in South Africa.
After serving only a couple of weeks in the late stages 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 ...
, Willcocks was transferred to India in late February, to assume command of the
Belgaum district. He was promoted to the substantive rank of colonel on 29 March 1902, on the day he took up command with the temporary rank of
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 ...
while so employed. He was promoted
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 ...
and given a
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.
Br ...
in 1906, commanded the
Bazar Valley Field Force against the Zakka Khel clan of the
Afridi in February and March 1908, was given command a
division
Division or divider may refer to:
Mathematics
*Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
*Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division
Military
*Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
in March 1908 and promoted
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 the ...
for distinguished service in the field following his command of the
Mohmand
The Mohmand ( ps, مومند) or Mohmand is a prominent tribe of Pashtun people. They are based primarily in the Mohmand territory, which is located in Nangarhar, Afghanistan and Mohmand Agency, Pakistan.
Most people of the Mohmand tribe spe ...
Field Force in July 1908. He was appointed
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Companion may refer to:
Relationships Currently
* Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance
* A domestic partner, akin to a spouse
* Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach
* Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...
(CB) in the
1907 Birthday Honours
The 1907 Birthday Honours for the British Empire were announced on 28 June, to celebrate the birthday of Edward VII.
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged by honour, with classes (K ...
. In October 1910 he was appointed to the command of the
Northern Army. In the
1913 New Year Honours he was appointed
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). He was appointed
Knight Commander 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 ...
(KCB) in 1914.
In 1914 Willcocks was given command of the
Indian Corps
The I Indian Corps was an army corps of the British Indian Army in the World War I. It was formed at the outbreak of war under the title Indian Corps from troops sent to the Western Front. The British Indian Army did not have a pre-war corps str ...
in France. He was appointed
Knight Grand Cross 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, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III.
It is named in honour ...
(GCMG) in the
1915 Birthday Honours
The 1915 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...
, and was promoted general in May 1915, but resigned in September 1915 after friction with
Sir Douglas Haig
Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 until ...
, who commanded the
First Army.
Willcocks was given the colonelcy of
The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)
The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (until 1921 known as the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Lancashire R ...
from 1916 until his death.
Governor of Bermuda and General Officer Commanding Bermuda, retirement and death
In May 1917, Willcocks was appointed
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
and
General Officer Commanding the
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 ...
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 =
, e ...
(where a large
Bermuda Garrison protected the
Royal Naval Dockyard
Royal Navy Dockyards (more usually termed Royal Dockyards) were state-owned harbour facilities where ships of the Royal Navy were built, based, repaired and refitted. Until the mid-19th century the Royal Dockyards were the largest industrial c ...
and other strategic assets), being sworn in by the
Chief Justice of Bermuda
The Chief Justice of Bermuda is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of Bermuda.
Chief Justices
*2018–present Narinder Hargun
*2012–2018 Ian Kawaley
*2004–2012 Richard Ground
*1993-2004 Sir Austin Ward
*1977-1993 Sir James Rufus Astwood
* ...
at the entrance to the
Council
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
Chambers in
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
on 2 June 1917.
Serving under Willcocks in Bermuda as General Staff Officer, 2nd Grade, was his son, Major James Lugard Willcocks, DSO, MC (1893–1963) of the
Black Watch. His granddaughter (the daughter of James Lugard Willcocks and his wife, Muriel Kathleen Price, the daughter of the late Colonel Gordon Price, I.M.S.), Wendy Winifred Willcocks, was born at Bermuda on 15 November 1919.
The
depot ship
A depot ship is an auxiliary ship used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing an ...
at the Royal Naval Dockyard Bermuda at the time was the old troopship
HMS Malabar
Five ships and a shore establishment of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Malabar'', after Malabar, a region of India:
* HMS ''Malabar'' was a 54-gun fourth rate, previously the East Indiaman . The Admiralty purchased her in 1795, but she f ...
, which had been assigned to that role in 1897 and was renamed HMS ''Terror'' (the name of her
predecessor as depot ship) in 1901. She was placed on the sale list in 1914 and was sold in 1918. She was the first ship Willcocks saw at Bermuda when he arrived in 1917. Shortly after visiting her alongside the wharf at Front Street in the city of Hamilton, he wrote a letter for the ''Royal Gazette'' newspaper (dated 3 September 1918 and published on the front page on 7 September 1918) in which he fondly recalled his passage to India aboard her when he was a subaltern at the start of his career as a military officer. Willcocks also memorably was carried aloft in the first flight over Bermuda (by a Burgess-built
Curtiss N-9H Jenny floatplane (A2646) of the United States Navy from the former
USS Elinor) on 22 May 1919 (strictly the second flight: US Navy Ensigns G. L. Richard and W. H. Cushing flew the seaplane from Murray's Anchorage to
Hamilton Harbour
Hamilton Harbour, formerly known as Burlington Bay, lies on the western tip of Lake Ontario, bounded on the northwest by the City of Burlington, on the south by the City of Hamilton, and on the east by Hamilton Beach (south of the Burlington Ba ...
, where they set down to collect Willcocks, who took Cushing's place in the two-seater). Willcocks dropped a message of goodwill to the people of Bermuda, which was Bermuda's first air mail. Willcocks was also a passenger in the first descent by a submarine in local waters. He was the life patron of the Bermuda War Veterans Society.
He served in these posts until 1922. He was appointed
Knight Grand Cross 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) as one ...
(GCB) in the
1921 Birthday Honours
The 1921 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King, and were ...
. He authored his memoirs ''The Romance of Soldiering and Sport'', which was published in 1925. He later returned to India and died at
Bharatpur in 1926.
Personal life
Willcocks married Winifred Way, the second daughter of Colonel
George Augustus Way, CB, BSC, on 29 July 1889, at Calcutta. James Lugard Willcocks, born 5 January 1893, in Delhi, was their only child.
Death
Willcocks died at Moti Hahal Palace, Bharatpur, Rajputana, India, on 18 December 1926. News of his death was received at Bermuda on 21 December. A ball scheduled to take place that evening at
Government House
Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries.
Gover ...
was postponed until 23 December. The
Legislative council was sitting, but limited business to one matter other than sending a letter to the Governor asking that the council's sympathies be expressed to Lady Willcocks. The
House of Assembly of Bermuda
The House of Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. The house has 36 Members of Parliament (MPs), elected for a term of five years in single seat constituencies using first-past-the-post voting ...
also sent a message to the Governor, on the motion of Major
Thomas Melville Dill
Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Melville Dill OBE (23 December 1876 – 7 March 1945) was a prominent Bermudian lawyer, politician, and soldier.
Early life
Dill was born in Devonshire Parish, in the British Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda, the ...
, MCP, asking that the profound regret of the Legislature and people of Bermuda and an expression of sympathy be sent to Lady Willcocks by the
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies.
Histor ...
. General Willcocks' final message to Bermuda was printed in the Royal Gazette on 29 December 1926.
Footnotes
References
*Biography, ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
''
*
* Willcocks, General Sir James. ''The Romance of Soldiering & Sport''. London: Cassell and Company, Ltd. 1925.
* Willcocks, Brigadier General Sir James. ''From Kabul To Kumassi. Twenty Four Years of Soldiering and Sport.'' London: John Murray. 1904.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willcocks, James
1857 births
1926 deaths
People from Meerut district
Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War
British Army personnel of the Mahdist War
British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Burmese War
British military personnel of the Second Boer War
British Army generals of World War I
Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment officers
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India
Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Royal West African Frontier Force officers
Royal Army Service Corps officers
Governors of Bermuda
British military personnel of the War of the Golden Stool
Military personnel of British India