Major General Sir Sanford John Palairet Scobell, (26 September 1879 – 2 March 1955), known by his middle name John,"Scobell, Major-Gen. Sir (Sanford) John (Palairet)"
''Who Was Who'' (online edition), April 2014 (Oxford University Press). Retrieved 8 March 2016. was a senior officer in the British Army.

Early life

Sanford John Palairet Scobell was born on 26 September 1879, the son of Sanford George Treweeke Scobell, of Down House in

Redmarley Redmarley D'Abitot is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in the Forest of Dean (district), Forest of Dean non-metropolitan district, district, Gloucestershire, South West England. In addition to the village of Redmarley, the c ...

and of Osborne House, The Park,

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, by his wife Edith, fourth daughter of Septimus Henry Palairet, of the Grange in Bradford-upon-Avon, who was of Huguenot descent."Death of Col. S. G. T. Scobell"
''Gloucester Journal'', 22 June 1912, p. 8 His father was a major in the Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars and the regiment's Honorary Lieutenant Colonel in 1896; he was the son of Rev. John Scobell, rector of Southover and All Saints in

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

, who was part of the Scobell family of Nancealverne. In 1910, Scobell married Cecily Maude, daughter of Charles C. Hopkinson, of Belgrave Lodge in Cheltenham; they had two daughters and two sons. His elder sister, Mary Hamilton Scobell, was the mother of the best-selling author Barbara Cartland.

Military career

Following school at Winchester College, Scobell studied at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and 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 until ...

in the Norfolk Regiment (later the Royal Norfolk Regiment) on 12 August 1899. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant on 29 August the following year and served in the Somaliland campaign in 1904."Maj.-Gen. Sir John Scobell", ''Times'' (London), 4 March 1955, p. 10
The Half-Yearly Army List: January 1939
', 1939 (London: His Majesty's Stationery Office), pp. 37–50 On 24 January 1906, he became 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 ...

and served as an

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 ...

between November 1907 and November 1910. When the First World War broke out in August 1914, Scobell was studying at the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...

, and was hurried through schooling. He was a staff officer at Southampton between August and November 1914, before becoming a brigade major in the newly formed 35th Brigade of the

12th (Eastern) Division The 12th (Eastern) Division was an infantry division raised by the British Army during the First World War from men volunteering for Kitchener's New Armies. The division saw service in the trenches of the Western Front from June 1915 to the e ...

; he went to France with the unit and remained in the post until February 1916. Over the course of the war, Scobell served in France and Belgium, where he was

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 ...

eight times. In February 1916, he was appointed a

General Staff Officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

(GSO) with the 2nd Division, in France and the following May he was moved up to the 1st Division, where he remained until September 1919, by which time the war was over. He was part of the X Corps' staff when the Somme Offensive began in 1916 and later served with the 49th Division during the

Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

in 1917. In the meantime, he was promoted 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 ...

in September 1915 and

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

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 ...

on New Year's Day 1918. From 23 October 1919 to 23 March 1920, Scobell was a GSO with the Military Mission to Russia during the Russian Civil War; he was then transferred to the Black Sea and Turkey, where he remained until August 1923. In 1926, after returning to England, he was made a substantive lieutenant colonel and was

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the 1st Battalion, Norfolk Regiment. On 1 December 1928 he was made an assistant adjutant general at the War Office and promoted to colonel with seniority from New Year's Day 1922. In August 1930, he was posted to be commandant at the Senior Officers' School, Belgaum in India with the temporary rank of brigadier. He was there until 1 April 1932, when he took command of the

Quetta Infantry Brigade Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of the ...

in India. He was promoted to major general on 16 June 1934, but relinquished his post and went on the half-pay list in September of that year. He returned to the full pay list as a district commander in India on 25 November 1935. He retired in 1939, but was recalled that October with the outbreak of the Second World War. He commanded troops in Malta between 1939 and 1942, but went on the retired list again in 1942. He took up the ceremonial position of Lieutenant of the Tower of London, which he vacated in 1945. Scobell was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1916 and was appointed 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 1919, a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

in 1935, and a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1942. He died on 2 March 1955, at a nursing home in

Camberley Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Cambe ...

, Surrey.

References

Bibliography

External links

Generals of World War II
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Scobell, John 1879 births 1955 deaths Military personnel from Worcestershire British Army major generals Royal Norfolk Regiment officers Commandants of the Senior Officers' School, Belgaum People educated at Winchester College Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of the Russian Civil War British Army generals of World War II Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George