Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Sir Charles Louis Woollcombe (23 March 1857 – 6 May 1934) 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 during

World War I 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 ...

Early life and education

Woollcombe was born in Devon, the eldest son of Rev. Louis Woollcombe, Rector of

Petrockstowe Petrockstowe (or Petrockstow) is a small village and civil parish in the district of Torridge in Northern Devon, England. Its population in 2001 was 379, hardly different from the figure of 385 recorded in 1901. The southern boundary of the pa ...

, and Augusta Rundell Brown. He was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

. After beginning a career as an accountant, he decided to join the military and in 1876 entered

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 ...

. He was a member of the football teams at Marlborough and Sandhurst.

Military career

Woollcombe originally served with the 1st Devon Militia, before obtaining a Regular commission in the

46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot The 46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1741. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 32nd (Cornwall) Regiment of Foot to form the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in 1881, ...

in 1876. In 1877, he transferred to the 25th Regiment of Foot, which was retitled as the

King's Own Scottish Borderers The King's Own Scottish Borderers (KOSBs) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division. On 28 March 2006 the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own ...

in 1887. He took part in the

Peshawar Valley The Valley of Peshawar ( ps, د لوی پېښور وادي; ur, وادئ پشاور), or Peshawar Basin, historically known as the Gandhara Valley, is a broad area situated in the central part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The va ...

expedition and the Khyber Line Force in

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 ...

between 1878 and 1880 and in the Chin Lushai expedition in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

between 1889 and 1890.Sir Charles Louis Woollcombe
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives He was Deputy Assistant Adjutant General for

Musketry A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually di ...

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

from 1890 and then Brigade Major for the

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 ...

Relief Force in Buram in 1895. He then served on the North West Frontier in India becoming Assistant Adjutant General of the

Mohmand The Mohmand ( ps, مومند) or Mohmand is a prominent tribe of Pashtun people. They are based primarily in the Mohmand territory, which is located in Nangarhar, Afghanistan and Mohmand Agency, Pakistan. Most people of the Mohmand tribe spe ...

Field Force in 1897. He then took part in the

Tirah The Tirah also spelled Terah ( ps, تیراہ) also called the Tirah Valley (), is a mountainous tract located in the Khyber district, lying between the Khyber Pass and the Khanki Valley in Pakistan. Society Lying close to the Pak-Afghan bord ...

expedition from 1897 to 1898 and then became Assistant Adjutant General in India in 1899. He 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 ...

in South Africa and then became Assistant Adjutant General for Musketry in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

between 1901 and 1906. He became

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

of the

Allahabad Brigade The 8th (Lucknow) Division was a formation of the British Indian Army's Northern Army that was first formed as a result of the Kitchener reforms of the Indian Army in 1903. The Division remained in India on internal security duties during World ...

in India in 1906, commander of the

Garhwal Brigade The Garhwal Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Indian Army that formed part of the Indian Army during the First World War. It was formed in April 1917 to replace the original Garhwal Brigade that had been mobilized in August 1914 as ...

in India in 1907 and General Officer Commanding the Highland Division in 1911. On the outbreak of 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 was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Command until 7 June 1915 when he became GOC-in-C of 2nd Army,

Central Force In classical mechanics, a central force on an object is a force that is directed towards or away from a point called center of force. : \vec = \mathbf(\mathbf) = \left\vert F( \mathbf ) \right\vert \hat where \vec F is the force, F is a vecto ...

. Then on 4 July 1916 he took command of 11th (Northern) Division on the Western Front (normally a major-general's command) until 1 December when he became GOC IV Corps. Finally on 29 June 1918 he returned to his post as GOC-in-Chief at Eastern Command: he retired in 1920.IV Corps at The long, long trail.
/ref>

Personal life

In 1886, he married Agnes Meade Murray, youngest daughter of General Sir

John Irvine Murray General Sir John Irvine Murray, (31 July 1826 – 20 May 1902) was a Scottish commanding officer of the British Indian Army. Career Murray was the son of James Murray of Denholm and Margaret Irvine. He joined the British Indian Army in 1842, ...

. They had two sons, Malcolm Louis and 2nd Lt. Charles Stephenson, and a daughter, Joan. The younger son was killed in action while serving with his father's regiment, the

, at the

Battle of La Bassée The Battle of La Bassée was fought by German and Franco-British forces in northern France in October 1914, during reciprocal attempts by the contending armies to envelop the northern flank of their opponent, which has been called the Race to th ...

on 12 October 1914. He died at his home, Chat Moss,

Bexhill-on-Sea Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish situated in the county of East Sussex in South East England. An ancient town and part of the local government district of Rother, Bexhill is home to a number of arc ...

, Sussex.

References

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Woollcombe, Charles 1857 births 1934 deaths British Army lieutenant generals People educated at Marlborough College Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Army generals of World War I Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Devon Militia officers King's Own Scottish Borderers officers British military personnel of the Tirah campaign British Army personnel of the Second Boer War People from Torridge District Military personnel from Devon