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 Ronald Bertram Lane, (19 February 1847 – 7 March 1937) 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 who became Military Secretary.

Early life

Lane was born at Kings Bromley Manor,

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

, Staffordshire, in 1847, the youngest son and 10th child of John Newton Lane and Hon. Agnes Bagot, second daughter of William Bagot, 2nd Baron Bagot.

Military career

Lane was commissioned into the Rifle Brigade in 1867. He was appointed Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster-General in

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

in 1891, Aide-de-Camp to the Duke of Connaught as Commander of the Guards' Brigade in Egypt in 1882 and Assistant Military Secretary in Canada in 1883.''The county families of the United Kingdom or, Royal manual of the titled and untitled aristocracy of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland'' (Volume ed.59, 1919) by Edward Walford, p. 210
/ref> He went on to be Assistant Military Secretary at Headquarters in 1892, Aide-de-camp to the Duke of Cambridge as Commander-in-Chief in 1889 and Commander of the Garrison at

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

in 1898. In December 1901 he was appointed Commander of the Infantry Brigade at

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, and he served as administrator of the government during the absence of the Governor, Sir Francis Grenfell, in July 1902. His last appointments were as Military Secretary at Headquarters in 1903 and Lieutenant-Governor and Secretary of the

Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse, the ancient sense of the word "hospital", it is a site located on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea. It is an ...

in 1905 before retiring in 1909. In retirement he became Chairman of the Southern Alberta Land Company 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 tot ...

. On 15 March 1920, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Suffolk.

Personal life

In 1893, he married Augusta Sarah Beaumont, daughter of John Augustus Beaumont, developer of

Wimbledon Park Wimbledon Park is the name of an urban park in Wimbledon and also of the suburb south and east of the park and the Wimbledon Park tube station. The park itself is in area. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is immediately to the west ...

. Their only child, Captain George Ronald Lane, was in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

and fell in action in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. He died at the age of 90 at Carlton Hall,

Saxmundham Saxmundham ( ) is a market town in Suffolk, England, set in the valley of the River Fromus about north-east of Ipswich and west of the coast at Sizewell. The town is bypassed by the main A12 road between London and Lowestoft. The town is ser ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Ronald 1847 births 1937 deaths British Army major generals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Rifle Brigade officers Deputy Lieutenants of Suffolk People from Lichfield District British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War Military personnel from Staffordshire 20th-century British Army personnel