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 ...

Sir Spring Robert Rice (11 July 1858 – 11 August 1929) 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 ...

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

who was on the staff of the British Expeditionary Force 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 ...

Biography

He entered the Royal Engineers in 1877, and was promoted to captain in 1888. He was appointed the adjutant of the School of Military Engineering in 1892, and promoted to major in 1896. During the South African War he commanded 23rd Field Company RE, deployed to

Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to: * Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa * Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada * Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States * Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia * Ladysmith, Virginia, United States * Ladysmith Island, Queenslan ...

; during the

Siege of Ladysmith The siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 2 November 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal. Background As war with the Boer republics appeared likely in June 1899, the War Offic ...

, he acted as the commanding officer of the Royal Engineers. In 1901, he designed a simple and inexpensive blockhouse, which saw extensive use. For his services during the war, he was mentioned in despatches four times, received the Queen's Medal with two clasps and the King's medal with two clasps, and was given a

brevet promotion In many of the world's military establishments, a brevet ( or ) was a warrant giving a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward for gallantry or meritorious conduct but may not confer the authority, precedence, or pay of real rank. ...

to lieutenant colonel in the South African honours list published on 26 June 1902. He left the School of Military Engineering in 1905, and was appointed the chief engineer in charge of coastal defences for Southern Command in 1909, with the rank of colonel. In 1911 he was appointed as the chief engineer of Aldershot Command, holding this post until 1914. On the outbreak of the

, he was appointed to the post of Brigadier-General Royal Engineers in

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...

, the senior engineering officer of the corps. He was promoted to major general in 1915 for distinguished service, and in February 1916 he was appointed Engineer-in-Chief of the entire BEF, succeeding G. H. Fowke. He picked up the trial project to form the

Royal Engineer tunnelling companies Royal Engineer tunnelling companies were specialist units of the Corps of Royal Engineers within the British Army, formed to dig attacking tunnels under enemy lines during the First World War. The stalemate situation in the early part of the war ...

, forming them into a distinct branch within the Corps. He was transferred to the Forts Garrison Command in 1917, a posting he held for the remainder of the war. He retired in 1919, having been mentioned in despatches a further six times, awarded the Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George and the Croix de Guerre, and made a Commander of the Order of Leopold for his wartime service.''Who Was Who'' He was a first-class

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

player and played for the Royal Engineers in 1878 and 1879.

Notes

References

* "RICE, Maj.-Gen. Sir Spring Robert", in

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Spring 1858 births 1929 deaths British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army generals of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Royal Engineers officers