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William Nicholson, 1st Baron Nicholson

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For other people named William Nicholson, seeWilliam Nicholson (disambiguation).

Field MarshalThe Right Honourable

The Lord Nicholson

GCB
Field Marshal Lord Nicholson
Born(1845-03-02)2 March 1845
Roundhay Park,Leeds,England
Died13 September 1918(1918-09-13)(aged 73)
London,England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1865–1912
1914–1918
RankField Marshal
Commands heldChief of the Imperial General Staff
Battles/warsSecond Anglo-Afghan War Mahdist War
Third Anglo-Burmese War
Second Boer War
First World War
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Mentioned in Despatches
Order of Osmanieh, 4th Class(Ottoman Empire)

Field MarshalWilliam Gustavus Nicholson, 1st Baron Nicholson,GCB(2 March 1845 – 13 September 1918) was aBritish Armyofficer who served in theSecond Anglo-Afghan War,theMahdist War,theThird Anglo-Burmese War,theSecond Boer Warand theFirst World War.He becameChief of the Imperial General Staffand was closely involved in the reorganisation of the British Army in the early years of the 20th century.

Early life

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Born the youngest son of William Nicholson Nicholson (who had been born with the surname of Phillips but in 1827 assumed his mother's surname of Nicholson) and Martha Nicholson (née Rhodes),[1]Nicholson graduated fromLeeds Grammar Schoolin 1863 and entered theRoyal Military Academy, Woolwich,where he was awarded thePollock Medalthe following year.[2]

Military career

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Early career

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Nicholson was commissioned as a lieutenant in theRoyal Engineerson 21 March 1865.[3]From 1868 to 1871 he was employed on coastal fortification work inBarbados,West Indies.[2]Following this he was posted toIndia,with the Public Works Department atHyderabad,thePunjabIrrigation Branch, and atRawalpindiandPeshawaron barrack work and the construction of Army waterworks.[1]

The Battle of Kandahar, at which Nicholson was present, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War

Nicholson was promoted to the rank ofcaptainon 16 March 1878,[4]and posted toAfghanistan,seeing service in theSecond Anglo-Afghan War.[2]He served in the first campaign as Field Engineer,KandaharField Force from 10 October 1878 to 5 March 1879, and as Royal Engineers Commander for the Thal-Chotiali Field Force from 6 March to 30 April 1879. During the second campaign of the war he served first as Field Engineer, 1st Division,Kabul Field Forcefrom 23 September 1879 until 7 August 1880, being present at the action near Surkai Kotal on 14 October 1879, the defence of the Shutargardan in October 1879 and the defence of theLatabandin December 1879.[1]He then served as Field Engineer, Kabul-Kandahar Field Force, taking part in the advance to the relief ofKandahar,and being present at theBattle of Kandahar.[1]During the Afghanistan campaigns, he was three times mentioned in despatches and was awarded a campaign medal with three clasps.[2]

He was appointed Secretary of the Defence Committee atSimlain 1880 and was given the brevet rank ofmajoron 1 March 1881.[5]His time as secretary was interrupted by service in Egypt in 1882, where he served with the Indian contingent in the Egyptian Campaign.[2]His force made a successful flanking movement at the battle of Tel-el-Kebir[2]and opened up the way toCairoby cutting the enemy's railway system nearZagazig,where Nicholson, then with the cavalry, captured four trains under steam, which were later used to transport British infantry. His efforts earned him another campaign medal with clasp, theOrder of Osmanieh(4th Class),[6]and the Khedive's Star. He was promoted to the substantive rank of major on 21 March 1885.[7]

From 1885 he served as Assistant Adjutant General,Royal EngineersinBengal.[2]Service in theThird Anglo-Burmese War,which stamped out theguerrilla activitiesthat followed the overthrow of KingThibaw Min,earned Nicholson a further mention in despatches[8]and promotion to the rank of brevet lieutenant colonel on 1 July 1887.[9]

The Tirah Campaign, for which Nicholson served as Chief of Staff

Nicholson was appointed Military Secretary toLord Roberts,Commander-in-Chief in India on 1 July 1890[10]and granted the substantive rank ofcolonelon 1 January 1891.[11]He was appointed aCompanion of the Order of the Bathin theQueen's Birthday Honours1891.[12]He was employed with the Military Works Department, India as a Chief Engineer from 1893 and was appointed Adjutant General for thePunjabwith rank ofbrigadier generalin 1895.[2]

Nicholson saw service on the North West Frontier of India as Chief of Staff for theTirah Campaignin 1897 to 1898.[2]Lieutenant GeneralSir William Lockhartmentioned him in despatches referring to his "brilliant abilities" on 29 March 1898.[13]He was awarded a campaign medal with two clasps and advanced to aKnight Commander of the Order of the Bathon 20 May 1898.[14]He was madeAdjutant-General in Indiaon 24 February 1899.[15]

Second Boer War

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He was again appointed as Military Secretary to Lord Roberts, now Commander-in-Chief in South Africa, on 23 December 1899 during theSecond Boer War,[16]and was granted the local rank ofmajor-general.[17]He went on to be Director of Transport on 18 February 1900.[18]Nicholson was mentioned in Lord Roberts' despatch dated 31 March 1900: in this despatch Lord Roberts wrote, "...Colonel Sir W. Nicholson (local Major-Gen.), R.E., undertook, at my request, organisation of a transport department in the limited time available; he performed this duty with conspicuous ability."[19]He was present at theBattle of Paardebergand at the actions atPoplar Grove,Driefontein,Vet and Zand Rivers, and in operations nearJohannesburg,Pretoriaand Diamond Hill, and in the operations in theTransvaal,east of Pretoria, during the latter half of 1900.[1]In the South African honours list published in April 1901, he was promoted to the substative rank of major-general for distinguished service in the field, dated 23 December 1899 (the date he was granted that rank locally in South Africa).[20]

Portrait of Lord Nicholson by George Hall Neale

Nicholson returned to London in late December 1900,[21]was appointedDirector-General of Mobilisation and Military Intelligenceat Headquarters on 1 May 1901[22]and was promoted to lieutenant general on 4 November 1901.[23]Between May and September 1902, as part of the recentAnglo-Japanese Alliance,Nicholson negotiated secret military intelligence cooperation agreements with Major GeneralFukushima Yasumasa,of theJapanese General Staff.Fukushima was ostensibly in London to representEmperor Meijiat thecoronationofKing Edward VIIon 9 August.[24]Nicholson was made a Knight of Grace of theVenerable Order of Saint Johnon 5 March 1903[25]and madeChief Military Attachéto theImperial Japanese ArmyinManchuriain 1904 during theRusso-Japanese War.[26]He was appointedQuartermaster-General to the Forcesand Member of theArmy Councilon 18 December 1905[27]earning promotion togeneralon 23 October 1906.[28]

Chief of the General Staff

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He was appointed asChief of the General Staff(CGS) on 2 April 1908,[29]and, having been advanced to aKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bathin theKing's Birthday Honours1908,[30]found his role re-designatedChief of the Imperial General Staff(CIGS) on 22 November 1909.[31]He was appointedaide-de-camp generaltothe Kingon 1 July 1910.[32]In July 1910 he took part in the funeral procession following the death ofKing Edward VII.[33]

Funerary monument, Brompton Cemetery, London

As CIGS Nicholson was closely involved in the reorganisation of the British Army, consolidating theTerritorial Forceand the creation of a modern general staff.[1]He was promoted tofield marshalon 19 June 1911.[34]

Nicholson had a sharp tongue and one occasionAdmiral FisheraskedMaurice Hankeyto stop "Old Nick" "stamping his hoof on his toes".[35]

At theCommittee of Imperial Defencemeeting after theAgadir CrisistheFirst Sea LordAdmiralArthur Wilsonsaid that in the event of war the Navy planned to land the Army on the Baltic Coast. Nicholson asked Wilson whether the Admiralty had maps of German strategic railways (to show how the Germans could rush reinforcements to invasion spots), and when Wilson said it was not the Admiralty's business to have such maps, Nicholson openly rebuked him and said that if the Navy "meddled" in military matters they needed not just to have such maps but to have studied them. Prime MinisterH.H. Asquithordered the Navy to fall in with the Army's plans to deploy an Expeditionary Force to France.[35]

Nicolson retired in March 1912 and was raised to thepeerageasBaron Nicholson,ofRoundhayin the County of York on 4 October 1912.[36]

From autumn 1914, shortly after the outbreak of theFirst World War,he served on theCommittee of Imperial Defence,investigating the conduct of operations inGallipoliandMesopotamiaand in 1916 he was appointed to theDardanelles Commission.[26]

Nicolson was alsocolonel commandant,Royal Engineers from October 1916.[37]His other duties included those of Chairman of the Territorial Forces Association forLondon.[1]Less than two months beforeArmistice Day,Lord Nicholson died in his home at 15 Pont Street, London, aged 73.[1]He left no heirs and the barony died with him.[37]He was buried inBrompton Cemetery,London.[1]

Family

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In 1871 he married Victorie d' Allier (née Dillon); they had no children.[1]

References

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  1. ^abcdefghijMoreman, T. R. (2004)."William Nicholson, 1st Baron Nicholson".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35232.Retrieved18 February2012.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
  2. ^abcdefghiHeathcote, p.228
  3. ^"No. 22950".The London Gazette.21 March 1865. p. 1619.
  4. ^"No. 24570".The London Gazette.9 April 1878. p. 2451.
  5. ^"No. 24944".The London Gazette.1 March 1881. p. 977.
  6. ^"No. 25169".The London Gazette.17 November 1882. p. 5169.
  7. ^"No. 25454".The London Gazette.24 March 1885. p. 1312.
  8. ^"No. 25735".The London Gazette.2 September 1887. p. 4758.
  9. ^"No. 25761".The London Gazette.25 November 1887. p. 6376.
  10. ^"No. 26114".The London Gazette.12 December 1890. p. 6991.
  11. ^"No. 26126".The London Gazette.20 January 1891. p. 362.
  12. ^"No. 26167".The London Gazette.30 May 1891. p. 2922.
  13. ^"No. 26954".The London Gazette.5 April 1898. p. 2180.
  14. ^"No. 26968".The London Gazette.20 May 1898. p. 3165.
  15. ^"Senior Army Appointments"(PDF).Retrieved27 June2017.
  16. ^"No. 27146".The London Gazette.22 December 1899. p. 8542.
  17. ^"No. 27170".The London Gazette.2 March 1900. p. 1436.
  18. ^"No. 27203".The London Gazette.19 June 1900. p. 3815.
  19. ^"No. 27282".The London Gazette.8 February 1901. p. 845.
  20. ^"No. 27306".The London Gazette.19 April 1901. p. 2703.
  21. ^"The War".The Times.No. 36336. London. 27 December 1900. p. 4.
  22. ^"No. 27331".The London Gazette.9 July 1901. p. 4573.
  23. ^"No. 27380".The London Gazette.26 November 1901. p. 8090.
  24. ^Usami, Shozo (15 February 2007).Japan as seen from Kasato Maru(in Japanese) (First ed.). Tokyo: Kaibundo Publishing. p. 52.ISBN978-4-303-63440-7.
  25. ^"No. 27532".The London Gazette.6 March 1903. p. 1503.
  26. ^abHeathcote, p.229
  27. ^"No. 27868".The London Gazette.29 December 1905. p. 9320.
  28. ^"No. 27960".The London Gazette.23 October 1906. p. 7113.
  29. ^"No. 28125".The London Gazette.3 April 1908. p. 2567.
  30. ^"No. 28151".The London Gazette(Supplement). 23 June 1908. p. 4641.
  31. ^"No. 28311".The London Gazette.23 November 1909. p. 8662.
  32. ^"No. 28391".The London Gazette.1 July 1910. p. 4654.
  33. ^"No. 28401".The London Gazette(Supplement). 26 July 1910. p. 5481.
  34. ^"No. 28505".The London Gazette(Supplement). 16 June 1911. p. 4597.
  35. ^abReid 2006, 167–70
  36. ^"No. 28650".The London Gazette.4 October 1912. p. 7292.
  37. ^abHeathcote, p.230

Bibliography

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  • Connolly, T.W.J. (1898).Roll of Officers of the Corps of Royal Engineers from 1660 to 1898.The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham.
  • Creswicke, Louis (1901).South Africa and the Transvaal War, Volume VI.T.C. & E.C. Jack, Edinburgh.
  • Hart, Henry George (1885).The New Annual Army List, 1885.John Murray, London.
  • Hart, Henry George (1893).The New Annual Army List, 1893.John Murray, London.
  • Hart, Henry George (1909).The New Annual Army List, 1909.John Murray, London.
  • Heathcote, Tony (1999).The British Field Marshals 1736–1997.Pen & Sword.ISBN0-85052-696-5.
  • Maurice, John Frederick (1973).Military History of the Campaign of 1882 in Egypt.J.B. Hayward & Son, London.
  • Reid, Walter (2006).Architect of Victory: Douglas Haig.Birlinn Ltd, Edinburgh.ISBN1-84158-517-3.
  • Shadbolt, Sydney (2001).The Afghan Campaigns of 1878–1880.J.B. Hayward & Son, London.ISBN978-1843421054.
  • Vibart, Henry Meredi (1894).Addiscombe: Its Heroes and Men of Note.Archibald Constable and Co., Westminster.
  • Army and Navy Gazette,South African War Honours & Awards, 1899–1902,Arms and Armour Press, London, 1979
  • The Sapper(Regimental Journal of the Corps of Royal Engineers) Vol. II, No. 6, November 1964
  • Who Was Who,1916–1928A. & C. Black, London, 1947
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Wikimedia Commons has media related toWilliam Nicholson, 1st Baron Nicholson.
Military offices
Preceded by Adjutant-General, India
1898–1901 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
John Ardagh
(As Director of Military Intelligence)
 Director General of Mobilisation and Military Intelligence
1901–1904 		Succeeded by
James Grierson
(As Director of Military Operations)
Preceded by Quartermaster-General to the Forces
1905–1908 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief of the General Staff
1908–1909 		Succeeded by
Position abolished
Preceded by
New position
 Chief of the Imperial General Staff
1909–1912 		Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation Baron Nicholson
1912–1918 		Extinct
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