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 Oliver Stewart Wood Nugent, (9 November 1860 – 31 May 1926) 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 known for his command of the

36th (Ulster) Division The 36th (Ulster) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of Lord Kitchener's New Army, formed in September 1914. Originally called the ''Ulster Division'', it was made up of mainly members of the Ulster Volunteer Force, wh ...

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 ...

and particularly at the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

Military career

He was the son of Major General St George Nugent and Emily, daughter of the Right Honourable Edward Litton, who was a senior Irish judge and MP for

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

at Westminster. Nugent was educated at Harrow and Sandhurst before joining the

when he was commissioned into the

Royal Munster Fusiliers The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1922. It traced its origins to the East India Company, East India Company's Bengal European Regiment raised in 1652, which later became the 101st Regiment ...

as a

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 29 July 1882. Transferring in April 1883 to the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

, he was promoted 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 ...

on 15 October 1890 and served in the Hazara, Miranzai (where 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

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 ...

expeditions, being mentioned in dispatches again and being awarded 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 ...

(DSO). Promoted to

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 ...

on 21 October 1899, he then served 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 ...

where he was wounded and taken prisoner at the

battle of Talana Hill The Battle of Talana Hill, also known as the Battle of Glencoe, was the first major clash of the Second Boer War. A frontal attack by British infantry supported by artillery drove Boers from a hilltop position, but the British suffered heavy casu ...

. After his return to the United Kingdom, he was on 19 October 1902 appointed deputy assistant quartermaster general to the 3rd Army Corps, stationed in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The First World War saw him serving in England until 1915 when he was appointed to command the 41st Brigade (part of the

14th (Light) Division The 14th (Light) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener during the First World War. All of its infantry regiments were originally of the fast marchin ...

) on the Western Front. In September 1915 he was appointed to command the 36th (Ulster) Division with which he served until 1918. He was promoted to major-general 1 January 1916.January 1919 Indian Army List Attack on Schwaben Redoubt 1 July 1916 map

Attack on Schwaben Redoubt 1 July 1916 map

Nugent devised the strategy that led to the Ulster Division going 'over the top' twenty minutes before Zero Hour. This allowed his soldiers to get the advantage and capture the main objective of the

Schwaben Redoubt The Capture of Schwaben Redoubt () was a tactical incident in the Battle of the Somme, 1916 during the First World War. The redoubt was a German strong point long and wide, built in stages since 1915, near the village of Thiepval and overlooki ...

. However, along the rest of the line, the attack faltered and this caused the 36th Division to withdraw. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the New Year Honours 1917. He commanded the Meerut Division in India from August 1918 to 1920, and retired in 1920 to the family estate in Farren Connell, County Cavan, where he died from pneumonia on 31 May 1926. He was knighted in the New Year Honours 1922. Nugent's portrait by William Conor is in Belfast City Hall.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Somme hero's 'lost' medals go on display, The NewsletterSomme hero's 'lost' medals go on display, Ulster GazetteArt UK
Nugent's portrait in Belfast City Hall * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nugent, Oliver 1860 births 1926 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in the Republic of Ireland Military personnel from County Cavan British Army major generals People educated at Harrow School People from County Cavan Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Army generals of World War I Irish people of World War I Royal Munster Fusiliers officers King's Royal Rifle Corps officers British military personnel of the Chitral Expedition British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British prisoners of war of the Second Boer War Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Royal Irish Fusiliers officers Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) British military personnel of the Hazara Expedition of 1888