Brigadier Leslie Innes Jacques, (11 December 1897 – 28 December 1959) was a British Army officer. After studying at the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

he joined the

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 ...

on the Western Front of 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 ...

. Jacques received the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

for actions constructing a bridge during the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...

in 1918. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Jacques served with British Indian Army units in the Burma Campaign for which he was

mentioned in dispatches 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 ...

and appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

. After the war he served with the

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located a ...

and was appointed a

Commander 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 o ...

shortly before his retirement in 1953.

Early life and career

Leslie Innes Jacques was born on 11 December 1897 in Bristol; his father was H. I. Jacques. Jacques was educated at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

before attending the

. He graduated from Woolwich and was granted a regular commission as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

on 19 February 1916. Jacques attended a brief course at the

Royal School of Military Engineering The Royal School of Military Engineering (RSME) Group provides a wide range of training for the British Army and Defence. This includes; Combat Engineers, Carpenters, Chartered Engineers, Musicians, Band Masters, Sniffer Dogs, Veterinary Techni ...

in Chatham, Kent, before joining the British Expeditionary Force in France where it was fighting in the

. He served initially with 280 Army Troops Company. Jacques was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 19 August 1917. On 8 March 1919 he received the

"for marked gallantry and devotion to duty at

Knocke Knokke () is a town in the municipality of Knokke-Heist, which is located in the province of West Flanders in Flanders, Belgium. The town itself has 15,708 inhabitants (2007), while the municipality of Knokke-Heist has 33,818 inhabitants (2009). ...

, on 21st October, 1918". At the time Jacques was serving with 233rd Field Company of the Royal Engineers, during the

. His medal citation notes that he carried out a reconnaissance of a proposed canal crossing and afterwards constructed a bridge under "very heavy" rifle and machine gun fire. After the war Jacques served with 16 Field Company of the 2nd Queen Victoria's Own Madras Sappers and Miners in Egypt. He returned to Britain in 1921 to attend training courses at Cambridge, where he nearly lost an eye in a training accident, and Chatham. He afterwards served with 17 Field Company at

Bulford Camp Bulford Camp is a military camp on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. Established in 1897, the site continues in use as a large British Army base. The camp is close to the village of Bulford and is about northeast of the town of Amesbury. Th ...

. On 1 November 1925 Jacques was appointed adjutant of the engineer element of the Territorial Army's 50th (Northumbrian) Division, with the

temporary rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a m ...

of captain. He was promoted to the substantive rank of captain eight days later. He relinquished the position of adjutant on 1 November 1929. Jacques was posted to India in 1930 for service with the Madras Sappers and Miners. He lost a finger whilst practicing bridging at

Nanjangud Nanjangud, officially known as Nanjanagudu, is a town in the Mysuru district of Indian state of Karnataka. Nanjangud lies on the banks of the river Kapila (also called Kabini), 23 km from the city of Mysore. Nanjangud is famous for the S ...

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

Second World War

Jacques remained in the army during the

, holding 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 ...

in the Royal Engineers by 1941. He was promoted to

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 ...

on 24 September 1941. He was for a period with 10th Indian Infantry Division before serving as chief engineer of the

Indian XXI Corps The Indian XXI Corps was an Army Corps of the Indian Army during the Second World War. It served in the Tenth Army in 1942. Formation Lieutenant-General Mosley Mayne General Sir Ashton Gerard Oswald Mosley Mayne GCB CBE DSO (24 April 1889 � ...

and then the

XV Corps 15th Corps, Fifteenth Corps, or XV Corps may refer to: *XV Corps (British India) * XV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * 15th Army Corps (Russian Empire), a unit in World War I *XV Royal Bav ...

. For his actions in this role, controlling a large number of additional engineers assigned to the corps without any additional staff and contributing to the success of the campaign in Arakan, Burma he was recommended for an honour. The commander of XV Corps, Lieutenant-General

Philip Christison General Sir Alexander Frank Philip Christison, 4th Baronet, (17 November 1893 – 21 December 1993) was a British Army officer who served with distinction during the world wars. After service as a junior officer on the Western Front in the Fir ...

, recommended Jacques for appointment as

on 10 June 1944. The recommendation was downgraded to that of

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

by Christison's superior and commander of the Fourteenth Army, Lieutenant-General

William Slim William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

on 20 July. Despite Slim's superior, General

George Giffard General Sir George James Giffard (27 September 1886 – 17 November 1964) was a British military officer, who had a distinguished career in command of African troops in World War I, rising to command an Army Group in South East Asia in World Wa ...

, commanding 11th Army Group, agreeing with the revised recommendation on 12 September Jacques was appointed to the rank of Commander in the order for "gallant and distinguished services in Burma and on the Eastern Frontier of India" on 8 February 1945. When Jacques reached the three-year limit for service in this rank of lieutenant colonel on 24 September 1944 he was retained, initially in a supernumerary capacity. Two days after reaching the limit he was promoted to

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 ...

, the promotion being backdated to 20 September 1944. By February 1945 Jacques held the

of brigadier.

Post-war

Jacques was

for "gallant and distinguished services in Burma" on 9 May 1946. Jacques reverted to his substantive rank of colonel and was appointed chief engineer to

West Africa Command West Africa Command was a Command of the British Army. Conflicting information indicates that the command was either based at Achimota College in Accra or in Nigeria. It was disbanded in 1956. History After the First World War, military forces in ...

in 1948. He was retained as a supernumerary when he reached the time limit in that rank on 31 December 1949. He served for three years from 1950 in Antwerp as commander of the Engineer Services Liaison Staff of the

. Jacques was appointed a

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 ...

on 1 June 1953 and retired on 12 December, receiving the honorary rank of brigadier. He remained in the

Regular Army Reserve of Officers The Regular Reserve is the component of the military reserve of the British Armed Forces whose members have formerly served in the " Regular" (full-time professional) forces. (Other components of the Reserve are the Volunteer Reserves and the Sp ...

until 11 December 1955 when he reached the age limit for service. Jacques retired to

Pinner Pinner is a London suburb in the London borough of Harrow, Greater London, England, northwest of Charing Cross, close to the border with Hillingdon, historically in the county of Middlesex. The population was 31,130 in 2011. Originally a med ...

, Middlesex where he lived with his sister. He suffered from ill health in his later years and died on 28 December 1959.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacques, Leslie Innes 1897 births 1959 deaths Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Military Cross People educated at Clifton College Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich English amputees