Wikipedia

Edward Perceval

Major General Sir Edward Maxwell Perceval KCB, DSO (13 August 1861 – 26 November 1955) was a British Army officer.

Edward Perceval
Born13 August 1861
Died26 November 1955 (aged 94)
Farnham, Surrey, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1880−1920
RankMajor General
UnitRoyal Artillery
Commands49th (West Riding) Division
68th (2nd Welsh) Division
Battles / warsSecond Boer War
First World War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order
Military Order of Aviz, 1st Class

Military career

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Lieutenant General Sir Douglas Haig, GOC I Corps, confers with Major General Charles Monro, GOC 2nd Division, in a street in France, August 1914. Second from right is Brigadier General J. Gough, Haig's BGGS, talking to Brigadier General E. M. Perceval, BGRA 2nd Division.

Educated at Royal Academy, Gosport and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Perceval was commissioned into the Royal Artillery as a subaltern, with the rank of lieutenant, on 19 May 1880.[1] He was promoted to captain on 15 August 1888[2] (later amended to 4 August)[3] and major on 23 February 1898.[4][5]

He attended the Staff College, Camberley as a student from January 1895.[6] From January 1897 onwards he served at the Royal Military Academy as an instructor.[7]

He saw action in the Second Boer War, which began in October 1899, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).[8]

After the end of the war, he returned once more to the Royal Military Academy, this time in the role of a professor.[9] Following this, he served as a deputy assistant adjutant general (DAAG) at army headquarters.[10] In November 1905 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel[11] and, in May 1908, after being seconded for service on the staff,[12] he took over the post of DAAG at the Staff College, Camberley from Lionel Stopford,[13] and received a promotion to brevet colonel in November that year.[14] In March 1909 he succeeded Walter Braithwaite as a general staff officer, grade 1 (GSO1) at the Staff College.[15] In December of that year he was promoted to colonel.[16]

After serving on the half-pay list, from May 1912,[17] Perceval was then appointed to be assistant director of movements at the War Office in London in October.[18] In April 1914 he relinquished this position in order to become commander, Royal Artillery (CRA) of the 2nd Division. With the new position came a promotion to the temporary rank of brigadier general.[19]

He deployed to France with the division, which formed part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), in August 1914, shortly after the start of the First World War.[20] He remained in this role until January 1915 when he took over the post of sub-chief of the general staff from Lieutenant General Sir Henry Wilson at the BEF's general headquarters (GHQ).[21] In February he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB), "in recognition of the meritorious services".[22][23] In June he was promoted to the rank of major general[24] and, in July, he became general officer commanding (GOC) of the 49th (West Riding) Division, a Territorial Force (TF) formation which had recently arrived on the Western Front, which he would command for over two years, including during the Battle of the Somme in mid-1916. He was awarded the Order of Leopold, "for distinguished services during the Campaign", by the Belgian government.[25] After falling ill, he returned to Britain to become GOC of the 68th Division in December 1917.[26]

He was appointed to the Military Order of Aviz, 1st Class in October 1918.[27]

After that he became commander of the troops at Shorncliffe Army Camp in 1919.[28] He retired from the army in April 1920.[29] He was made a KCB in January 1922.[30]

Family

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In 1894 he married Marian Bowles; they had one son.[28] After his first wife died in 1896, he married Norah Mayne in 1906; they had one son and one daughter.[28]

References

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  1. ^ "No. 24848". The London Gazette. 28 May 1880. p. 3221.
  2. ^ "No. 25855". The London Gazette. 11 September 1888. p. 5108.
  3. ^ "No. 25860". The London Gazette. 25 September 1888. p. 5328.
  4. ^ Hart′s Army list, 1904
  5. ^ "No. 26956". The London Gazette. 12 April 1898. p. 2350.
  6. ^ "No. 26595". The London Gazette. 5 February 1895. p. 686.
  7. ^ "No. 26821". The London Gazette. 9 February 1897. p. 760.
  8. ^ "No. 27306". The London Gazette. 19 April 1901. p. 2700.
  9. ^ "No. 27519". The London Gazette. 27 January 1903. p. 534.
  10. ^ "No. 27717". The London Gazette. 27 September 1904. p. 6206.
  11. ^ "No. 27854". The London Gazette. 14 November 1905. p. 7598.
  12. ^ "No. 28140". The London Gazette. 26 May 1908. p. 3884.
  13. ^ "No. 28139". The London Gazette. 22 May 1908. p. 3757.
  14. ^ "No. 28196". The London Gazette. 13 November 1908. p. 8279.
  15. ^ "No. 28236". The London Gazette. 26 March 1909. p. 2350.
  16. ^ "No. 28318". The London Gazette. 17 December 1909. p. 9863.
  17. ^ "No. 28607". The London Gazette. 14 May 1912. p. 3479.
  18. ^ "No. 28652". The London Gazette. 11 October 1912. p. 7489.
  19. ^ "No. 28819". The London Gazette. 7 April 1914. p. 3002.
  20. ^ "2nd Division". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  21. ^ "No. 29078". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 February 1915. p. 1809.
  22. ^ "No. 29074". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 February 1915. p. 1686.
  23. ^ "No. 29086". The London Gazette. 2 March 1915. p. 2091.
  24. ^ "No. 29202". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 June 1915. p. 6116.
  25. ^ "No. 29486". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 February 1916. p. 2075.
  26. ^ "Army Commands" (PDF). Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  27. ^ "No. 30945". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 October 1918. p. 11951.
  28. ^ a b c Obituary: Major-General Sir Edward Maxwell Perceval KCB, DSO, The Times, 26 November 1955
  29. ^ "No. 31882". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 April 1920. p. 4974.
  30. ^ "No. 32563". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1921. p. 10712.
Military offices
Preceded by GOC 49th (West Riding) Division
1915–1917 		Succeeded by
Preceded by GOC 68th (2nd Welsh) Division
1917–1919 		Succeeded by
Post disbanded
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