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 th ...
Sir Louis Jean Bols (23 November 1867 – 13 September 1930) 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 Gurkha ...
General, he served as
Edmund Allenby's
Third Army Chief of Staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
on the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to:
Military frontiers
* Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...
and
Sinai and Palestine campaigns of World War I. From 1927 onto his death he served as the
Governor of Bermuda
The Governor of Bermuda (fully the ''Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Somers Isles (alias the Islands of Bermuda)'') is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Bermuda.
For the purposes of this ar ...
.
Early life
Bols was born in
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
and educated at
Lancing College
Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...
in England and
Bishop's College School in
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 to ...
.
Military career
He was commissioned 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 unt ...
in the
Devonshire Regiment
The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1 ...
on 5 February 1887, and was promoted to
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 ...
on 22 September 1889. In 1891-92 he served 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 C. Wells, Joh ...
, including operations in the
Kachin Hills, and received the operational medal with clasp. In 1895 he served with the
Chitral
Chitral ( khw, , lit=field, translit=ćhitrār; ur, , translit=ćitrāl) is situated on the Chitral River in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Chitral District and before that as the capital of Chitral ...
Relief Force under
Sir Robert Low as
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 ...
and
quartermaster
Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...
at the British Military Depot. Promotion to
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 ...
followed on 18 January 1897, and he served as
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 ...
of the 2nd Battalion of his regiment from 17 February 1899.
Following the outbreak 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 So ...
in late 1899, his battalion was sent to
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
, where he served as adjutant of the battalion throughout the war. He was present at the battles of
Colenso (15 December 1899),
Vaal Krantz (5–7 February 1900),
Tugela Heights and Pieter's Hill (14–27 February 1900) and the
Relief of Ladysmith (1 March 1900), and later in operations in the
Transvaal and
Orange River Colony
The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after Britain first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Union ...
. For his services in the war, he was twice
mentioned in despatches
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 ...
, received the
Queen's South Africa Medal and was appointed 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, ty ...
(DSO). After peace was declared in May 1902, Bols left South Africa on board the SS ''Bavarian'' and arrived in the United Kingdom the following month.
He took command of the
Dorsetshire Regiment
The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was formally called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although usually known as "The Dorsets". In ...
in 1914 at the start of the First World War.
At the
Second Battle of Ypres
During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pr ...
in 1915 Bols held the command of the
84th (Infantry) Brigade. Later in that year he was attached to Headquarters of
Third Army, as General Sir
Edmund Allenby's Chief of Staff, and served in the latter capacity, both on the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to:
Military frontiers
* Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...
in 1916, and in 1917–18 in Palestine.
From January to June 1920 he served as the
Chief Administrator of Palestine, and signed over power to
Herbert Samuel, the first British
High Commissioner of Palestine, who confirmed in an often-quoted document:
:"Received from Major-General Sir Louis J. Bols K.C.B.—One Palestine, complete."
Bols went on to become General Officer Commanding
43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division in September 1920.
From 1927 to his death he was
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 of the
army garrison of the
Imperial fortress colony
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...
of
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = "Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
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. He also served as colonel of the
Devonshire Regiment
The Devonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that served under various titles and served in many wars and conflicts from 1685 to 1958, such as the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1 ...
from 1921 to his death.
Bols died in his 63rd year on 13 September 1930 in a nursing home in the city of
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lor ...
, while on leave from Bermuda.
Personal life
He married Augusta Blanche Strickland on 14 October 1897. The marriage produced two sons, Major-General
Eric Bols, and Maj. Kenneth Bols (killed in action in Italy in
World War II
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
).
References
External links
Louis Jean Bolsbio at firstworldwar.com
at angloboerwar.com
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bols, Louis
1867 births
1930 deaths
Administrators of Palestine
British Army generals of World War I
British Army personnel of the Second Boer War
British military personnel of the Chitral Expedition
British people of Belgian descent
Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Devonshire Regiment officers
Governors of Bermuda
Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
People educated at Lancing College
British Army lieutenant generals
Military personnel from Cape Town
Bishop's College School alumni
Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir
Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class