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 John Hanbury-Williams, (19 October 1859 – 19 October 1946) 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 served as Military Secretary to the Secretary of State for War and later Brigadier-General in charge of Administration (Scotland). He served on the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC), representing

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

between 1911 and 1921. 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 ...

he was head of the British military mission with the Russian Stavka with direct access to

Tsar Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Polan ...

Early life

John Hanbury-Williams was the youngest son of Ferdinand Hanbury-Williams, of Coldbrook Park, Monmouthshire. He was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin * Wellington College, Wellington, Ne ...

Career

Hanbury-Williams attended 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 in 1878 he was commissioned into the 43rd Light Infantry. He was ADC to Lieutenant General Sir E Hamley in the

Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt (1882), also known as Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It ...

of 1882. That same year he took part in the

Battle of Tel-El-Kebir The Battle of Tel El Kebir (often spelled Tel-El-Kebir) was fought on 13 September 1882 at Tell El Kebir in Egypt, 110 km north-north-east of Cairo. An entrenched Egyptian force under the command of Ahmed ʻUrabi was defeated by a British a ...

, and was mentioned in despatches. He was extra ADC to Sir

M. E. Grant Duff Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant Duff (21 February 1829 – 12 January 1906), known as M. E. Grant Duff before 1887 and as Sir Mountstuart Grant Duff thereafter, was a Scottish politician, administrator and author. He served as the Under-Sec ...

, Governor of Madras in 1884 and 1885. Hanbury-Williams was Adjutant of the 3rd Oxfordshire Light Infantry from 1892 to 1897. He served 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 ...

between 1899 and 1900 and was mentioned in despatches. He was Military Secretary to Sir

Alfred Milner Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, (23 March 1854 – 13 May 1925) was a British statesman and colonial administrator who played a role in the formulation of British foreign and domestic policy between the mid-1890s and early 1920s. From De ...

from 1897 to 1900 and Military Secretary to the Secretary of State for War from 1900 to 1903. He was the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Governor-General's Secretary and Military Secretary from 1904 to 1909. He was Brigadier-General in charge of Administration (Scotland) from 1909 to 1914. In 1911 he was elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to represent Canada and served on the IOC until 1921. He was employed on the General Staff in 1914. During the

he was head of the British military mission with the Russian Stavka and was mentioned in despatches. He was popular with the Russian leaders because he was a relative of

Charles Hanbury Williams Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, KB (8 December 1708 – 2 November 1759) was a Welsh diplomat, writer and satirist. He was a Member of Parliament from 1734 until his death. Early life Hanbury was the son of a Welsh ironmaster and Member of Parl ...

. Lloyd George later recorded in his War Memoirs (published in the 1930s) that he was charming, hardworking and able to point out faults without causing offence. However, historian George Cassar writes that he had little knowledge of Eastern Europe and could not speak Russian, so had to converse with Russian generals in French; he had only limited dealings with his French counterpart General de Laguiche. He also had only limited dealings with the British Military Attache Lt-Col

Alfred Knox Major-General Sir Alfred William Fortescue Knox (30 October 1870 – 9 March 1964) was a career British military officer and later a Conservative Party politician. Military career Born in Ulster, Knox joined the British Army when he attended th ...

(who had been in Russia since 1911 and was jealous of Hanbury Williams’ job), nor with Knox’s assistant Captain James Blair – both of these men could speak Russian, and Knox often toured the Russian Army while Blair remained in Petrograd. This post provided Hanbury-Williams with direct access to the Tsar. He later wrote a book titled ''The Emperor Nicholas II, as I knew him'', published in 1922. He was in charge of the British Prisoners of War Department at

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

from August 1917 to March 1918 and at

Berne Bern () or Berne; in other Swiss languages, gsw, Bärn ; frp, Bèrna ; it, Berna ; rm, Berna is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city" (in german: Bundesstadt, link=no, french: ville fédérale ...

from April 1918 to December 1918. He retired from the Army in 1919. He was Her Majesty's

Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps His Majesty's Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps is a senior member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. He is the King's link with the diplomatic community in London, arranges the annual diplomatic corps reception by th ...

in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of England from 1920 to 1934. Hanbury-Williams was Colonel Commandant of the

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

from 1918 to the time of his death when he was succeeded in the post by General Sir

Bernard Paget General Sir Bernard Charles Tolver Paget, (15 September 1887 – 16 February 1961) was a senior British Army officer who served with distinction in the First World War, and then later during the Second World War. During the latter, he command ...

. He was Extra Equerry to the King from 1934. Hanbury-Williams was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1899, and a 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 1917. In 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, o ...

, he was appointed a Commander (CVO) in the November 1902 Birthday Honours list, advanced to Knight Commander (KCVO) in 1908, and advanced to Knight Grand Cross (GCVO) in 1926.

Personal life

John Hanbury-Williams married Annie Emily, youngest daughter of Emil Reiss, in 1888, with whom he was to have four children. His wife pre-deceased him in 1933. Partly as a result of what he had seen at first hand in Russia during the First World War, Hanbury-Williams became a fierce opponent of Bolshevism, and was a founding member of the Liberty League which was formed in the United Kingdom after the War with a view to combat the spread of this political creed. In 1934 he appeared as a witness in

Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia Princess Irina Alexandrovna of Russia (russian: Ирина Александровна; – 26 February 1970) was the only daughter and eldest child of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Rus ...

's famous and successful libel suit against Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Limited following the release in England of the film ''Rasputin, the Mad Monk'' (USA title: ''Rasputin and the Empress''). In later life Sir John Hanbury-Williams resided in an apartment in the Henry III Tower at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

, where he died on 19 October 1946, on his eighty-seventh birthday. His oldest son was Sir John Coldbrook Hanbury-Williams (1892-1965), while another of his sons, Lieut Charles Ferdinand Reiss Hanbury-Williams was killed in 1916 whilst serving with the

Notes

Books

External links

The Emperor Nicholas II, as I knew him (1922)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanbury-Williams, John Marshals of the Diplomatic Corps Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George British Army major generals 43rd Regiment of Foot officers British Army personnel of the Mahdist War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army generals of World War I Equerries People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British anti-communists International Olympic Committee members 1946 deaths 1859 births Presidents of the Canadian Olympic Committee