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 ...

Louis Murray Phillpotts, (3 June 1870 – 8 September 1916) was a senior

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 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

Louis Murray Phillpotts was born on 3 June 1870 in

Lamerton Lamerton is a village and civil parish located 3 miles north-west of the town of Tavistock in Devon, England. The village's school is called Lamerton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School; affiliated with the Church of England, it ...

near Tavistock in Devon. His father, the Reverend Henry Phillpotts (1833-1919) (eldest son of Archdeacon

William Phillpotts William John Philpotts (26 May 1807 in Bishop Middleham – 10 July 1888 in St Gluvias) was Archdeacon of Cornwall from 1845 until his death. Life William John Phillpotts was the eldest son of Henry Phillpotts, Bishop of Exeter and Deborah Phil ...

and grandson of

Henry Phillpotts Henry Phillpotts (6 May 177818 September 1869), often called "Henry of Exeter", was the Anglican Bishop of Exeter from 1830 to 1869. One of England's longest serving bishops since the 14th century, Phillpotts was a striking figure of the 19th- ...

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

) was at that time vicar of Lamerton. Louis was educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

(under the headmastership of his uncle

James Surtees Phillpotts James Surtees Phillpotts (18 July 1839 – 16 October 1930) was a reforming Headmaster of Bedford School and the author and editor of a number of educational books. Biography Born in Cornwall on 18 July 1839, James Surtees Phillpotts was a gra ...

) and 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 ...

British Army

Louis Phillpotts received his first 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

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

on 14 February 1890, and 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 14 February 1893. He served during 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 ...

, between 1899 and 1901, where he fought in the

Battle of Modder River The Battle of Modder River ( af, Slag van die Twee Riviere, lit=Battle of the two rivers) was an engagement in the Boer War, fought at Modder River, on 28 November 1899. A British column under Lord Methuen, that was attempting to relieve the ...

(November 1899) and took part in the

Relief of Kimberley The siege of Kimberley took place during the Second Boer War at Kimberley, Northern Cape, Kimberley, Cape Colony (present-day South Africa), when Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the South African Republic, Transvaal besieged the diam ...

in February 1900. He was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

on 23 January 1900, and served as a divisional

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 ...

in South Africa in 1901. Promotion 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 ...

followed on 3 July 1907. He served during the

, was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

in October 1914, and to the 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 ...

in 1915. Phillpotts was invested as a Companion of 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 ...

in September 1901, and as a 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. ...

in June 1916.

Family life

Philpotts married Amy Anne Charlotte Duckett in 1909 and they had a son in Henry in 1910. Philpotts was killed in action in France on 8 September 1916, aged 46.Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 15 September 1916, p. 9

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillpotts, Louis Murray 1870 births 1916 deaths People from the Borough of West Devon People educated at Bedford School Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British Army generals Royal Artillery officers British military personnel killed in World War I