Charles Gwynn
|
Sir Charles Gwynn
|
|
|---|---|
| Born | 4 November 1870 County Down, Ireland |
| Died | 12 November 1962 Dublin, Ireland |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |
 British Army |
| Years of service | 1889–1931 |
| Rank | Major-General |
| Commands held | Staff College, Camberley |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order |
Major-General Sir Charles William Gwynn KCB, CMG, DSO, FRGS (4 November 1870 – 12 November 1962) was an Irish born British Army officer, geographer, explorer and author of works on military history and theory.
Military career
Born the son of John Gwynn (1827–1917), Regius Professor of Divinity at Trinity College, Dublin, and his wife, Lucy Josephine (1840–1907) daughter of the Irish nationalist William Smith O'Brien, Gwynn was educated at St. Columba's College, Dublin and at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and was commissioned in the Royal Engineers in 1889. [1]
In 1893–94, Gwynn saw active service in West Africa in operations against the Sofas,[2] and in 1897 joined the geographical section of the Intelligence Branch of the War Office.[1] Following the reconquest of Sudan from the Mahdi, Gwynn undertook survey work there,[2] remaining until 1904. He was awarded his CMG for his survey work determining the Sudanese/Abyssinian border.[1]
In June 1911, he was detailed to Australia as an instructor at the Royal Military College, Duntroon,[2] where he served as the director of military art, instructing tactics, strategy, and military history. With the outbreak of World War I, he returned to England, where he unsuccessfully sought a posting to France. In July 1915, he was sent to the Middle East where he was assigned as the GSO1 of the Australian 2nd Division. He was eventually posted to serve as the Chief of Staff of the II ANZAC Corps, a position he held until the end of the war.[3] His brother, Stephen, and Stephen's son, Dennis, also served in the Great War.[citation needed]
After World War I, he served in a variety of staff assignments, culminating in May 1926 when he was made Commandant of the Staff College, Camberley.[2] Upon his retirement in 1931,[2] he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.[3]
In 1934, he wrote Imperial Policing, now regarded as a classic in the field of low intensity conflict and small wars.[citation needed]
Publications by Charles Gwynn
- The Frontiers of Abyssinia: a retrospect Journal of the Royal African Society, Vol. 36, No. 143 (Apr., 1937), pp. 150–161
- Imperial Policing London: Macmillan, 1934
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Geographical Journal, Vol. 129, No. 2 (Jun., 1963), pp. 251–251
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Gavin Long, 'Gwynn, Sir Charles William (1870–1963)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 9, Melbourne University Press, 1983, pp 146–147
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Commandant of the Staff College, Camberley 1926–1931 |
Succeeded by John Dill |
- Articles with unsourced statements from October 2015
- 1870 births
- 1962 deaths
- Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
- Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
- Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
- Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society
- English explorers
- Explorers of Africa
- Irish people of World War I
- British Army personnel of World War I
- People from County Down
- Royal Engineers officers
