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 Ponsonby (25 March 1866 – 26 March 1952) 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 commanded 5th Division during

World War I 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 ...

Military career

Born the son of Sir Henry Ponsonby and educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, Ponsonby was commissioned into the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

in 1888.''Armorial families: a directory of gentlemen of coat-armour'' (Volume 2)
by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, p. 132. He served in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

from 1898 and was seconded for service 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 Sout ...

in South Africa in March 1900, and attached to the Rhodesian Field Force. He was again sent to South Africa in February 1902. He fought in

, initially as commander of the 2nd Guards Brigade from 1915 and then as General Officer Commanding (GOC) 40th Division from 1917, leading his Division at the Battle of Cambrai.''The Times'', 20 May 2004. In July 1918 he went on to become General Officer Commanding 5th Division remaining in that role until the end of the War. After the War he became GOC

Madras District Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

of India. He retired from the army in 1926. He lived at Haile Hall near

Beckermet Beckermet is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cumbria, England, between Egremont, Cumbria, Egremont and Seascale. The parish had a population of 1,619 in the 2011 census. Historically in Cumberland, it is served by Bra ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

Family

In 1935 he married Mary (Mollie) Robley; they had no children.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ponsonby, John 1866 births 1952 deaths Italian front (World War I) British Army personnel of the Second Boer War People educated at Eton College British Army generals of World War I Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Coldstream Guards officers