Geoffrey Feilding
Major General Sir Geoffrey Percy Thynne Feilding, KCB, KCVO, CMG, DSO (21 September 1866 – 21 October 1932) was a senior British Army officer who served as Major-General commanding the Brigade of Guards and General Officer Commanding London District from 1918 to 1920.
Sir Geoffrey Feilding | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 September 1866 London, England[1] |
| Died | 21 October 1932 (aged 66) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | British Army |
| Years of service | 1888−1927 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Unit | Coldstream Guards |
| Commands held | 56th (1st London) Division London District Guards Division 1st Guards Brigade 149th (Northumberland) Brigade 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards |
| Battles/wars | Second Boer War First World War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches (9) |
Early life
Born on 21 September 1866 in South Kensington, London, Feilding was the son of Hon. Sir Percy Feilding (son of the 7th Earl of Denbigh), who fought with the Coldstream Guards during the Crimean War, and his wife Lady Louisa Isabella Harriet Thynne, eldest daughter of the 3rd Marquess of Bath.[2]
Military career
Feilding was commissioned into the Coldstream Guards in April 1888,[3] promoted to lieutenant on 27 November 1890, and to captain on 6 April 1898.[4]
Second Boer War
He served in the early part of the Second Boer War from 1899 to 1900 and was present in the engagements at Belmont in November 1899, being mentioned in despatches twice, and received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). He returned to South Africa in 1902 commanding a battalion of mounted infantry and was granted the local rank of major on 20 April 1902.[5] Following the end of the war in June 1902, he returned to the United Kingdom on board the SS Ortona, which arrived in Southampton in September that year.[6]
First World War
Fielding later served in the First World War, being mentioned in despatches seven times.[2]
He was appointed Commanding Officer of the 3rd Battalion Coldstream Guards in 1914.[3] He went on to be commander of the 149th (Northumberland) Brigade in April 1915 and commander of the 1st Guards Brigade later that year.[3] He was General Officer Commanding Guards Division from 1916 to 1918.[3] A war memorial, unveiled by Feilding, honours the battlefield at Ginchy where many British soldiers from the Guards Division fell during the Battle of the Somme.[7]
Later life
After the war he became Major-General commanding the Brigade of Guards and General Officer Commanding London District and then in 1923 he was made General Officer Commanding 56th (1st London) Division.[3] Feilding retired in 1927.[3] He is buried at St. Editha's Church in Monks Kirby.[8]
References
- "Life story: Geoffrey Percy Thynne Feilding | Lives of the First World War". livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk.
- "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com.
- "Feilding, Sir Geoffrey Percy Thynne". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
- "No. 26954". The London Gazette. 5 April 1898. p. 2211.
- "No. 27442". The London Gazette. 13 June 1902. p. 3900.
- "The Army in South Africa - Troops returning Home". The Times. No. 36861. London. 1 September 1902. p. 6.
- "Guillemont". World War I Battlefields. Archived from the original on 23 April 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- Roots.web
