Frederick Shaw (British Army officer)
Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Charles Shaw KCB PC (Ire) ( 31 July 1861 – 6 January 1942) was a British Army general who served in the Boer War and the First World War. He became Commander-in-Chief, Ireland, and retired in 1920.
Sir Frederick Shaw | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 31 July 1861 |
| Died | 6 January 1942 (aged 80) |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1882–1920 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Unit | Sherwood Foresters |
| Commands held | 2nd Battalion Sherwood Foresters 9th Brigade 29th Division 13th (Western) Division Ireland |
| Battles/wars | Anglo-Egyptian War Second Boer War First World War Anglo-Irish War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath |
Family
Shaw was born on 31 July 1861, the son of John Shaw of Normanton, Derbyshire. He was educated at Repton School. He married Florence Edith Denton, daughter of Reverend Canon Denton of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. She died in 1918; they had one daughter.[1]
Military career
Shaw was commissioned into the Sherwood Foresters as a lieutenant on 28 January 1882.[2] He saw service in the Anglo-Egyptian War later the same year,[2] and was promoted to captain on 14 October 1889.[3]
Promoted to major on 11 October 1899, he served during the Second Boer War as a Brigade Major, then as Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General and then as Assistant Adjutant-General.[2] He received the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel on 29 November 1900. Following the end of the war, he return to the United Kingdom in August 1902.[4] In 1907 he was made commanding officer (CO) of the 2nd Battalion, Sherwood Foresters.[2]
He served in World War I, initially commanding the 3rd Division's 9th Brigade in which role he deployed to France.[2] He was wounded by a shell that hit his headquarters on 12 November 1914.[2] After his recovery, in 1915, he was initially appointed as general officer commanding (GOC) of the 29th Division on its mobilisation in January. Just two months later, however, he was replaced by Aylmer Hunter-Weston and was later appointed Commander of the 13th (Western) Division.[5] He then became Director of Home Defence and subsequently Chief of the General Staff for Home Forces.[2]
On 19 September 1919, during the Irish War of Independence, he suggested that the police force in Ireland be expanded via the recruitment of a special force of volunteer British ex-servicemen.[6] Following direct intervention from London, the "Black and Tans" and Auxiliary Division of the Constabulary were introduced in order to achieve a decisive result. This intervention preceded a purge of the Irish administration at Dublin Castle during which Shaw himself was replaced.[7]
Shaw retired in 1920 and died on 6 January 1942.[1]
References
- Who Was Who 1941–50.
- University of Birmingham
- Hart´s Army list, 1903
- "The War - Return of Troops". The Times. No. 36842. London. 9 August 1902. p. 11.
- "King's Collections : Archive Catalogues : Military Archives".
- Townshend, Charles (1975). The British Campaign in Ireland, 1919-1921: The Development of Political and Military Policies. Oxford. p. 30. ISBN 019821863X.
- Ainsworth, John S. (2000). British Security Policy in Ireland, 1920-1921: A Desperate Attempt by the Crown to Maintain Anglo-Irish Unity by Force. Proceedings 11th Irish-Australian Conference, Murdoch University, Perth. p. 1.
Further reading
- Davies, Frank (1997). Bloody Red Tabs: General Officer Casualties of the Great War 1914–1918. London: Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 9781783462377.