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 Frederick William Stopford, (2 February 1854 – 4 May 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 Gur ...

officer, best remembered for commanding the landing at Suvla Bay in August 1915, during the Gallipoli Campaign, where he failed to order an aggressive exploitation of the initially successful landings.

Early life

Stopford was a younger son of James Stopford, 4th Earl of Courtown, and his second wife Dora Pennefather, daughter of

Edward Pennefather Edward Pennefather PC, KC (22 October 1774 – 6 September 1847) was an Irish barrister, Law Officer and judge of the Victorian era, who held office as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. Early life Pennefather was born in Tipperary, the second ...

Lord Chief Justice of Ireland The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge ...

Military career

Stopford was commissioned into the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

on 28 October 1871. He was appointed aide-de-camp to Sir John Adye, chief of staff for the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, and took part in the

Battle of Tel el-Kebir The Battle of Tel El Kebir (often spelled Tel-El-Kebir) was fought on 13 September 1882 at Tell El Kebir in Egypt, 110 km north-north-east of Cairo. An entrenched Egyptian force under the command of Ahmed ʻUrabi was defeated by a British ...

in 1882. He went on to be aide-de-camp to Major General Arthur Fremantle, commander of the

Suakin expedition The Suakin Expedition was either of two British military expeditions, led by Major-General Sir Gerald Graham V.C., to Suakin in Sudan, with the intention of destroying the power of the Sudanese military commander Osman Digna and his troops during ...

in 1885. He was then made brigade major for the Brigade of Guards, which had been posted to Egypt. Stopford returned to England to be brigade major of the 2nd Infantry Brigade at

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alde ...

in 1886. He became deputy assistant adjutant general at Horseguards in 1892, and deputy assistant adjutant general at Aldershot in 1894. He took part in the Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War in 1895, and became assistant adjutant general at Horseguards in 1897. Stopford took part 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 South ...

as military secretary to General Sir Redvers Buller and later military secretary to the general officer commanding Natal, for which he was knighted as a

Knight Commander 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, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in hono ...

in November 1900. After his return to Britain, he was appointed deputy adjutant general at Aldershot in 1901, and chief staff officer for I Corps with the temporary rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

, on 1 April 1902. Two years later, he was appointed director of military training at Horseguards in 1904. He was major-general commanding the Brigade of Guards and general officer commanding of the London District from 1906. On 5 August 1914 he was appointed GOC First Army, part of Home Forces, a position he held until he took command of IX Corps. Stopford served in 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 fig ...

and, as general officer commanding of IX Corps, was blamed for the failure to attack following the landing at Suvla Bay in August 1915, during the Gallipoli Campaign. Stopford had chosen to command the landing from , anchored offshore, but slept as the landing was in progress. He was quickly replaced on 15 August by General Sir Julian Byng. He retired from the army in 1920.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stopford, Frederick 1854 births 1929 deaths British Army lieutenant generals British Army generals of World War I British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War British Army personnel of the Mahdist War British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British military personnel of the Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War Grenadier Guards officers Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Lieutenants of the Tower of London Military personnel from Dublin (city) Frederick Younger sons of earls