General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Sir Garrett O'Moore Creagh, (2 April 1848 – 9 August 1923), known as Sir O'Moore Creagh, 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 and an Irish recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces.

Early life and family

Creagh was born in Cahirbane,

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

, on 2 April 1848, the sevent

son of Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Creagh, an officer of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, and his wife, Grace O'Moore. Creagh was married twice, firstly to Mary Longfield (or possibly Brereton) in 1874, who died in 1876, and then to Elizabeth Reade in 1891. He had three children, one of whom was Major General Sir Michael Creagh. In 1866, after training at 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 infantry a ...

, Creagh was commissioned into the

95th (Derbyshire) Regiment of Foot The 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment of Foot was a British Army infantry regiment, raised in 1823. Under the Childers Reforms, it amalgamated with the 45th (Nottinghamshire) (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment of Foot to form the Sherwood Foresters in 188 ...

and in 1869 was posted to India, being transferred to the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

the next year.

Second Anglo-Afghan War

Creagh was 31 years old, and a

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 ...

in the

Bombay Staff Corps The Indian Staff Corps was a branch of the Indian Army during the British Raj. Separate Staff Corps were formed in 1861 for the Bengal, Madras and Bombay Armies, which were later combined into the Indian Army. They were meant to provide officers f ...

during the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...

, when the following deed on 22 April 1879 at Kam Dakka, on the Kabul River,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, took place for which he was awarded the VC:

Later career

In 1878 he became

of the Merwara

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

, commanding them from 1882 until 1886. He assumed command of the 29th (Duke of Connaught's Own) Bombay Infantry (2nd Baluch Battalion) in 1890, and was promoted to Assistant Quarter-master General in 1896. He commanded the Indian contingent during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

in China in 1900, and was in July 1901 appointed General Officer Commanding the British Force in China after the departure of General

Alfred Gaselee General Sir Alfred Gaselee, , (3 June 1844 – 29 March 1918) was a soldier who served in the Indian Army. Early life Gaselee was born at Little Yeldham, Essex, the eldest son of the Reverend John Gaselee, rector of Little Yeldham, and his w ...

. He stayed in China for several years, and a report on the field operations of the force during his first year in overall command was sent in a despatch published in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

'' of 21 November 1902. He was knighted as 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 1904 and promoted to

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

on 11 December 1907. The same year he was appointed

Military Secretary to the India Office The Military Secretary to the India Office was responsible for the recruitment of British and other European nationals to the officer ranks of the Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian A ...

. Creagh succeeded Lord Kitchener as

Commander-in-Chief, India During the period of the Company rule in India and the British Raj, the Commander-in-Chief, India (often "Commander-in-Chief ''in'' or ''of'' India") was the supreme commander of the British Indian Army. The Commander-in-Chief and most of his ...

, in 1909, retiring in 1914. 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 served as the military advisor to the Central Association of

Volunteer Training Corps The Volunteer Training Corps was a voluntary home defence reserve force in the United Kingdom during World War I. Early development After war had been declared in August 1914, there was a popular demand for a means of service for those men who we ...

. He died at 65 Albert Hall Mansions, London SW9, on 9 August 1923. Creagh further followed Kitchener in becoming the District Grand Master of Freemasons in the Punjab. His Victoria Cross is held by the

National Army Museum The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the "Chelsea Pensioners". The museum is a non-departmental public body. ...

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...

, England.

Footnotes

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Surrey)'' * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Creagh, OMoore 1848 births 1923 deaths Military personnel from County Clare 19th-century Irish people Irish officers in the British Army People from County Clare Irish recipients of the Victoria Cross British Indian Army generals British military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion British Commanders-in-Chief of India Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Second Anglo-Afghan War recipients of the Victoria Cross Knights of Grace of the Order of St John Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Sherwood Foresters officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Bombay Staff Corps officers Irish Freemasons Irish knights British Army generals British Army personnel of World War I Members of the Council of the Governor General of India