Arthur Grenfell Wauchope

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Arthur Wauchope
Arthur Grenfell Wauchope22.jpg
Wauchope as High Commissioner in Palestine
Born(1874-03-01)1 March 1874
Edinburgh, Scotland
Died14 September 1947(1947-09-14) (aged 73)
London, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branchFlag of the British Army.svg British Army
RankGeneral
Commands held2 Bn Black Watch
44th (Home Counties) Division
Northern Ireland District
Palestine and Trans-Jordan
Battles/warsWorld War I
Arab revolt in Palestine
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire
Distinguished Service Order
SignatureArthur Grenfell Wauchope Signature.png

General Sir Arthur Grenfell Wauchope GCB GCMG CIE DSO (1 March 1874 – 14 September 1947) was a British soldier and colonial administrator.

Military career[]

Educated at Repton School,[1] Wauchope was commissioned into the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1893.[2] He transferred to the 2nd Battalion Black Watch in January 1896.[2]

He served in the Second Boer War in South Africa from 1899, and took part in operations in Cape Colony, south of Orange River. British forces advancing north from the Cape to relieve the town of Kimberley, which was sieged by Boer forces, met heavy resistance in the Battle of Magersfontein on 11 December 1899. Wauchope was severely wounded in the battle, and was later mentioned in despatches and appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his services.[3]

In April 1902 he was seconded for a Staff appointment,[4] as an extra Aide de camp to Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson, Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Cape Colony.[5]

He served in World War I as Commanding Officer of 2 Bn Black Watch in France and Mesopotamia. After the War he joined 2nd Silesian Brigade, part of the British Upper Silesian Force, in Germany.[2] He became Military Member of an Overseas Delegation to Australia and New Zealand in 1923 and then Chief of the British Section of the Military Inter-Allied Commission of Control for Berlin in 1924.[2] He was appointed General Officer Commanding 44th (Home Counties) Division in 1927 and GOC Northern Ireland District in 1929.[2]

His last appointment was as High Commissioner and Commander-in-Chief for Palestine and Trans-Jordan in 1931.[2] Wauchope's administration was generally sympathetic to Zionist aspirations. By 1941 the former chief immigration officer for the Mandate, Albert Montefiore Hyamson, could write in his book Palestine: A Policy that "the first four years of his [Wauchope's] term were the heyday of Zionist history in Palestine." Not only did immigration go up threefold (the Jewish population increased from 174,606 to 329,358), but Jews also increased their land holdings (in 1931 they increased their land holdings by 18,585 dunams or 4,646 acres, while in 1935 they increased them by 72,905), and finally Jewish business and commerce enjoyed an economic boom.[6] He also promoted public works and civil engineering schemes but was regarded as lax at the early stages of the Arab rebellion.[1] He retired in 1938.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Sir Arthur Grenfell Wauchope". British Empire. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Wauchope, Arthur Grenfell". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Arthur Grenfell Wauchope". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  4. ^ "No. 27431". The London Gazette. 6 May 1902. p. 3014.
  5. ^ "No. 27430". The London Gazette. 2 May 1902. p. 2937.
  6. ^ Hyamson, Albert Montefiore. Palestine: A Policy Methuen, 1942, p. 147
Military offices
Preceded by
Sir Henry Hodgson
GOC 44th (Home Counties) Division
1927–1929
Succeeded by
Henry Peck
Preceded by
Sir Felix Ready
General Officer Commanding the British Army in Northern Ireland
1929–1931
Succeeded by
Eric Girdwood
Government offices
Preceded by
Sir Mark Aitchison Young (acting)
High Commissioner of Palestine
High Commissioner for Trans-Jordan

1932–1937
Succeeded by
William Denis Battershill (acting)
Retrieved from ""