Charles Metcalfe (British Army officer)
Encyclopedia
Major-General Charles Theophilus Evelyn Metcalfe CB
(7 February 1856 - 1912) was a British Army
officer who became General Officer Commanding
6th Division.
, Eton College
and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
, Metcalfe was commissioned into the Rifle Brigade in 1874 and took part in the Burma expedition in 1886 and then joined the Tochi Field Force on the North West Frontier
of India
in 1897. He served as Commanding Officer
of 2nd Battalion of the Rifle Brigade during the Second Boer War
taking part in the Siege of Ladysmith
and then became Brigadier-General commanding the Troops in Mauritius
in 1902. He was appointed General Officer Commanding
6th Division in Southern Ireland in 1909 and retired in 1910.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(7 February 1856 - 1912) was a British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
officer who became General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...
6th Division.
Military career
Educated at Malvern WellsMalvern Wells
Malvern Wells is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. The parish of Malvern Wells, once known as South Malvern, was formed in 1894 from parts of the civil parishes of Hanley Castle, Welland, and the former parish of Great Malvern, and owes its...
, Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
, Metcalfe was commissioned into the Rifle Brigade in 1874 and took part in the Burma expedition in 1886 and then joined the Tochi Field Force on the North West Frontier
North-West Frontier (military history)
The North-West Frontier was the most difficult area, from a military point of view, of the former British India in the Indian sub-continent. It remains the frontier of present-day Pakistan, extending from the Pamir Knot in the north to the Koh-i-Malik Siah in the west, and separating the...
of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1897. He served as Commanding Officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
of 2nd Battalion of the Rifle Brigade during the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
taking part in the Siege of Ladysmith
Siege of Ladysmith
The Siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 30 October 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal.-Background:...
and then became Brigadier-General commanding the Troops in Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
in 1902. He was appointed General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...
6th Division in Southern Ireland in 1909 and retired in 1910.