Everything about James Willcocks totally explained
General
Sir James Willcocks GCB GCMG KCSI DSO (
1 April 1857–
18 December 1926) was a
British Army officer.
Willcocks was born in
Baraut,
Meerut District,
United Provinces,
India, the son of an officer in the
East India Company's army. He was educated in
England and passed out from the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst in January 1878 (having only got in on the third attempt), being commissioned into the
100th Foot in the
Punjab.
In late 1879, shortly after being promoted
Lieutenant, he persuaded his superiors to send him to the
Second Afghan War (although his regiment wasn't engaged there), where he served as a transport officer. In 1881 he again served as a transport officer in the
Mahsud Waziri expedition, rejoining his regiment the following year. In 1884 he was seconded to the newly-formed
Army Transport Department and posted to
Assam. He was promoted
Captain in August 1884. He served in the
Sudan in 1885–1886 and then returned to Assam before serving in
Burma in 1886, for which he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order (DSO). In December 1887 he was offered a permanent transfer to the
Commissariat and Transport Department, but declined in favour of the
adjutantcy of the 1st Battalion of his regiment (now the
Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment).
In 1889 he served as a
intelligence officer in the
Chin-Lushai expedition and in 1891 in the
Manipur expedition. In June 1897 he was appointed assistant
adjutant-general of the
Baluchistan field force and in November 1897
second-in-command of the new
West African Frontier Force as a Temporary
Lieutenant-Colonel. He was appointed
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1899 New Year Honours. In November 1899 he was promoted substantive
Lieutenant-Colonel (having received his
Brevet in May) and became
Colonel-Commandant of the Frontier Force, being granted the local rank of
Colonel in January 1900. For his relief of
Kumasi during the
Ashanti War of 1900 he was appointed
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) and promoted to Brevet Colonel.
After briefly serving in the
South African War in 1902, he returned to India. He was promoted substantive Colonel in March 1902, although at this time he was serving as a
Brigadier-General. He was promoted
Major-General and given a
brigade in 1906, commanded the
Bazar Valley Field Force in February and March 1908, was given command a a
division in March 1908 and promoted
Lieutenant-General for distinguished service in the field following his command of the
Mohmand Field Force in July 1908. He was appointed
Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 1907 Birthday Honours. In 1910 he was appointed to the command of the
Northern Army. In the 1913 New Year Honours he was appointed
Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (KCSI). He was appointed
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1914.
In 1914 he was given command of the
Indian Army Corps in
France. He was appointed
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in the 1915 Birthday Honours and was promoted
General in May 1915, but resigned in September 1915 after friction with
Sir Douglas Haig, who commanded the
First Army.
In May 1917 Willcocks was appointed
Governor of Bermuda, a post in which he served until 1922. He was appointed
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in the 1921 Birthday Honours. He later returned to India and died at
Bharatpur in 1926.
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