Charles à Court Repington, (29 January 1858 – 25 May 1925), known until 1903 as Charles à Court, was an English soldier, who went on to have a second career as an influential
war correspondent during the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. He is also credited with coining the term 'First World War' and one of the first to use the term '
world war
A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I ...
' in general.
Early life
Charles à Court was born at
Heytesbury, in the county of
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...
on 29 January 1858, the son of
Charles Henry Wyndham A'Court Repington,
M.P. His family name at birth was à Court. In his memoir, he later wrote: "The à Courts are Wiltshire folk, and in old days represented
Heytesbury in Parliament... The name of Repington, under the terms of an old will, was assumed by all the à Courts in turn as they succeeded to the
Amington Hall Estate, and I followed the rule when my father died in 1903."
[Reid 2001, p. 163] He received his early formal education at
Eton College
Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
and the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst.
Military career
He commenced his military career as a commissioned
infantry
Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
officer in 1878 with the
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
's
Rifle Brigade. After serving in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
,
Burma
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
, and
Sudan
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
, he entered the
Staff College at
Camberley, where he was a brilliant student,
and where his peers included the future senior generals
Herbert Plumer and
Horace Smith-Dorrien. On graduation from Staff College he served as a
in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
and
The Hague
The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
, following which he was promoted to
lieutenant-colonel. He served as a staff officer during the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
1899–1901, 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, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...
(CMG) during the conflict.
After returning from the war, what had appeared to be a promising military career was cut short during a posting to
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
in 1902 where Repington re-engaged a romantic affair dating back to the late 1890s with Lady Garstin, the wife of a British official,
William Garstin, which became public. He was reprimanded by senior military authorities, as he had given a written promise "upon his honour as a soldier and gentleman" previously to have no further dealings with her. He had given this "parole" to
Henry Wilson (a friend of Mary Garstin's late father, who had been asked by her family to get involved) on 9 October 1899. Repington told Wilson – at Chieveley, near Colenso in South Africa, during the 2nd Boer War campaign in February 1901 – that he regarded himself as absolved from his promise to give Mary Garstin up after learning that her husband had been spreading rumours of his other infidelities. During the divorce proceedings, it was revealed that Repington had ignored warnings about his behaviour (i.e. had "broken his parole") and had continued with the affair. Wilson was unable or unwilling to confirm Repington's claim that he had released him from his parole in South Africa. Repington believed that Wilson had betrayed a fellow soldier in this, but was forced to resign his commission and retire from the British Army in social disgrace with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on 15 January 1902. In a subsequent career as a journalist, specializing in military matters, he was a strong critic of Wilson whenever the opportunity presented itself.
Military correspondent
On returning to London, he took a position as a military correspondent with the ''
Morning Post'' (1902–1904), and ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' (1904–1918). His reports as a
war correspondent from the scene of the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...
in 1904–1905 were later published as a book entitled ''The War in the Far East''. Repington was an advocate of the creation of a larger British Army (at the expense of the then all-powerful, in Edwardian England,
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
), which brought him into conflict with Admiral
Fisher). He supported the creation of a British Army General Staff pre-World War I, feared a German "bolt from the blue" (i.e. an attack upon the
British Isles
The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...
by the
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
before a declaration of hostilities), and was a "Westerner" (i.e., supported during the war the defeat of the German Empire by heavy fighting on the
Western Front rather than pursuing an alternative indirect strategy). According to his memoir ''Vestigia'', an unnamed Radical paper once called him "the gorgeous Wreckington", but this was a personal attack in reference to his divorce scandal.
During
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
Repington relied on his personal contacts in the British Army and the
War Office for his information, and his early reporting of the war acquired important material from his personal friendship with the first Commander-in-Chief of the
British Expeditionary Force, Sir
John French, via which he was able to visit the
Western Front during the opening moves of the conflict in late 1914, at a time when most of his rival journalists were prohibited by the British Government from going to the war front.
Repington appears to be the first person to have used the term
"First World War" on 10 September 1918 in a conversation noted in his diary, hoping that title would serve as a reminder and warning that the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
was a possibility in the future.
"Shells Scandal"
In May 1915, Repington personally witnessed the failed British attack at
Aubers Ridge in
Artois, and was particularly moved by the casualties sustained by his old Corps the Rifle Brigade in the action. He dispatched a telegram to ''The Times'' blaming a lack of artillery ammunition available for the
British Expeditionary Force, which, despite being heavily censored, was printed after Sir John French's aide
Brinsley Fitzgerald assured him of French's tacit approval. Repington later emphatically denied that French had spoken to him on the issue, but French had in fact supplied Repington with information for the story. The appearance of this story in ''The Times'' and later in the ''
Daily Mail'', resulted in a
political scandal
In politics, a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage. Politicians, government officials, Political party, party officials and Lobbying, lobbyists can be accused of various ...
which contributed to the creation of a separate
Ministry of Munitions
The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis o ...
under the future Prime Minister
David Lloyd George, and a reduction in the power of the
War Secretary Lord Kitchener. Such blatant meddling in politics also damaged the authority of Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of the B.E.F. and contributed to his enforced resignation from the post at the end of 1915. The affair had given Repington substantial influence over military policy via his newspaper reports, but he was personally temporarily prohibited from visiting the Western Front again until March 1916.
Prosecution under the Defence of the Realm Act
He resigned from ''The Times'' in January 1918 due to a disagreement with its proprietor,
Lord Northcliffe, who after the German counterattack at the
Battle of Cambrai had distanced himself from Field Marshal
Douglas Haig
Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the British Army. During the First World War he commanded the British Expeditionary F ...
's conduct of the war, and required journalists in his employ to do the same. Repington, unwilling to go along with this editorial policy returned to ''
The Morning Post''. On 16 February 1918, as part of the power struggle between Lloyd George (
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
since December 1916) and the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, General
Robertson, Repington along with the ''Morning Post's'' editor
Howell Arthur Gwynne appeared at
Bow Street Magistrates' Court charged with having contravened
DORA Regulation 18 by publishing articles (on 11 February 1918) disclosing Lloyd George's attempts to bypass Robertson by setting up
a rival staff under
Henry Wilson at
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
; Lloyd George's plans to re-focus British military effort away from the Western Front towards defeating the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, and the Government's failure to keep the British Army on the Western Front up to required troop strength for offensive operations. Repington claimed that the crowd in attendance was the largest since the trial of
Dr Crippen, and later claimed that Robertson had told him that he could no more afford to be seen with him than either of them "could afford to be seen walking down Regent Street with a whore". Repington was found guilty and was fined.
Repington was also a casualty of the
Maurice Debate. On 12 May a two-page editorial in ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.
In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' (written by the editor
J. L. Garvin at the behest of the owner
Waldorf Astor) attacked him and his reputation never fully recovered.
Later life
After the end of the war Repington joined the staff of ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'', and subsequently published several books. These works included ''The First World War'' (1920), and ''After the War'' (1922), which were bestsellers, but cost Repington friendships for his apparent willingness to report what others considered to have been private conversations.
Death
He died on 25 May 1925 at Pembroke Lodge in
Hove,
East Sussex. He was 67 years old. His body was buried at
Hove Cemetery, Old Shoreham Road.
Personal life
On 11 February 1882, Repington married Melloney Catherine (died 1934), daughter of Colonel Henry Sales Scobell, of Abbey House,
Pershore
Pershore () is a market town and civil parish in the Wychavon district in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. At the 2011 UK census, census, the population was 7,125. The town is best known for Per ...
,
High Sheriff of Worcestershire in 1872; she was a sister of Major-General
Henry Jenner Scobell. The marriage produced four children: Charles Edward Geoffrey (1888-1889), (Melloney) Catherine ("Kitty") Isabel (1891–1965), Elizabeth Frances (1892-1950), and Violet Emily (1895-1898); they were judicially separated in 1902. Repington subsequently married Mary North (formerly Lady Garstin), and had a daughter, Laetitia Frances Mary, born in 1911.
[Lieutenant-Colonel Charles À Court Repington- A Study in the Interaction of Personality, the Press and Power, W. Michael Ryan, Garland, 1987, pp. 20, 130]
Honours
*
Selected works
* 1905 �
''The War in the Far East'' London, J. Murray.
* 1919 �
''Vestigia, Reminiscences of Peace and War'' Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin Co.
* 1920 �
''The First World War, 1914–1918,'' Vol. IVol. II London : Constable & Co.
* 1922 �
''After the War; London–Paris–Rome–Athens–Prague–Vienna–Budapest–Bucharest–Berlin–Sofia–Coblenz–New York–Washington; a Diary'' Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin Co.
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
*
A. J. A. Morris: ''Reporting the First World War: Charles Repington, The Times and the Great War, 1914–1918'', Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press, 2015,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Repington, Charles
1858 births
1925 deaths
Burials in East Sussex
British military attachés
Military personnel from Wiltshire
Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley
English war correspondents
Rifle Brigade officers
People educated at Eton College
British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War
South African Light Horse officers
English military writers
War correspondents of the Russo-Japanese War
Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
Officers of the Legion of Honour