Alfred Codrington

Lieutenant General Sir Alfred Edward Codrington, GCVO, KCB (4 May 1854 – 12 September 1945) was a British Army officer who served in colonial wars in Africa during the late nineteenth century, and later commanded a reserve army during the First World War.

Sir Alfred Codrington
Born(1854-05-04)4 May 1854
Died12 September 1945(1945-09-12) (aged 91)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1873–1918
RankLieutenant General
Commands heldThird Army
London District
1st London Division
1st Battalion Coldstream Guards
Battles/warsAnglo-Egyptian War
Second Boer War
First World War
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Mentioned in Despatches
RelationsGeneral Sir William Codrington (father)

Military career

Born in 1854, the second son of General Sir William Codrington, he was educated at Harrow and entered the Coldstream Guards in 1873. He first saw active service during the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882, where he was mentioned in despatches.[1]

He later commanded the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards in the Second Boer War between 1899 and 1902, where he was wounded twice. He took part in the Battle of Magersfontein on 10–11 December 1899, in which the defending Boer force defeated the advancing British forces amongst heavy casualties for the latter. Codrington was mentioned in the despatch from Lord Methuen describing the battle and how he "though wounded, insisted on remaining in command of his battalion till nightfall".[2] He was again wounded and mentioned in despatches later in the war, and given a brevet promotion as colonel. For his service, he received the Queen's medal with three clasps, and the King's medal with two clasps.[3] After his return to the United Kingdom, he was placed on half-pay as he resigned his command of the 1st battalion on 28 October 1902.[4]

He commanded the 1st London Division of the Territorial Force from 1908 to 1909, when he was appointed Major-General commanding the Brigade of Guards and General Officer Commanding London District, retiring from this post in 1913. He returned to duty after the outbreak of the First World War, serving as the Military Secretary to Lord Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War, from August until October 1914.[3][5] He was then appointed to command Third Army in the Home Forces; this was based around Luton, and contained four Territorial divisions and two Territorial cavalry brigades.[6][7] He relinquished command in 1916.[3] He was appointed to sit on a Pensions Appeal Tribunal in the summer of 1917, which dealt with appeals against governmental decisions on military pensions, and later published a book on War Pensions: Past and Present, co-authored with Edward Abbott Parry, another member of the Tribunal.[8]

His final military position was the ceremonial colonelcy of the Coldstream Guards, to which he was appointed in 1918.[3] Unusually, this had been a position previously occupied by his father.[9] He was appointed chairman of the Society of Miniature Rifle Clubs in 1917, and President of the Association in 1932.[10]

Family

He married Adela Harriet Portal, the niece of the Earl of Minto, in 1885; she died in 1935.[3] The couple had three sons, Geoffrey, William, and John, and one daughter, Mary. Colonel Sir Geoffrey Codrington became the High Sheriff of Wiltshire and was an usher to both King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II, while William was the Chief Security Officer to the War Cabinet during the Second World War and later High Sheriff of Rutland.[11][12]

Notes

  1. "No. 25162". The London Gazette. 2 November 1882. p. 4880.
  2. "No. 27174". The London Gazette. 16 March 1900. pp. 1785–1787.
  3. Who Was Who
  4. "No. 27488". The London Gazette. 28 October 1902. p. 6805.
  5. "No. 28878". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 August 1914. p. 6675.
  6. Rinaldi, p. 26
  7. "No. 28965". The London Gazette. 6 November 1914. p. 9017.
  8. Digitised copy
  9. William Codrington at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  10. Brief History, National Smallbore Rifle Association
  11. "High Sheriffs of Rutland 1129-2012". Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  12. "No. 3658". The London Gazette. 28 November 1700. p. 1.

References

Military offices
New title GOC 1st London Division
1908–1909
Succeeded by
Arthur Henniker-Major
Preceded by
Sir Frederick Stopford
GOC London District
1909–1913
Succeeded by
Sir Francis Lloyd
Preceded by
Sir William Franklyn
Military Secretary
August 1914 – October 1914
Succeeded by
Sir Frederick Robb
Preceded by
Hon. Bernard Ward
Colonel of the Suffolk Regiment
1918–1918
Succeeded by
Sir Thomas D'Oyly Snow
Preceded by
The Viscount Falmouth
Colonel of the Coldstream Guards
1918–1945
Succeeded by
Charles Loyd
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