Charles Bulkeley Bulkeley-Johnson

Brigadier General Charles Bulkeley Bulkeley-Johnson (1867 –1917) was a British and Egyptian Army officer who served in the Mahdist War and the First World War, he was killed in action on 11 April 1917, while commanding the 8th Cavalry Brigade, on the second day of the Battle of Arras.[1]

Brigadier General

Charles Bulkeley Bulkeley-Johnson
Bulkeley-Johnson October 1914
Born(1867-11-19)19 November 1867
Shanghai
Died11 April 1917(1917-04-11) (aged 49)
Belgium
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1887–1917
RankLieutenant-general

He is one of the only foreigners to receive the Russian Imperial Order of St. George Cross, the highest military order, in both IVth and IIIrd class, for his bravery.

Biography

The son of Francis Bulkeley Johnson, he was born in 1867.[1] He was educated at Harrow School and graduated from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.[2]

Bulkeley-Johnson was commissioned into the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys) as a second-lieutenant on 5 February 1887, promoted to lieutenant on 16 March 1889 and to captain on 13 June 1894.[3] He served in the Egyptian Army from January 1899 to January 1903, during which he participated in the Nile Expedition. He also participated in operations that resulted in the defeat of the Khalifa, when he was in command of a squadron of cavalry during the Battle of Umm Diwaykarat on 25 November 1899 (mentioned in despatches 25 November 1899[4]). Promotion to major came on 17 September 1902.[5] On 19 August 1911, at 43 years of age, Bulkeley-Johnson was appointed as the commanding officer of the Royal Scots Greys. On 23 November 1914 he was promoted to the GOC of the 8th Cavalry Brigade of the 3rd Cavalry Division and he commanded this brigade until his death.

For his exploits he has been awarded the two Crosses of the Russian Order of St. George[6] — which makes him the only Allied Officer during WWI ever to achieve such a level of recognition.

On 11 April 1917, during the Battle of Arras, British infantry were pinned down in front of the village of Monchy under very heavy machine-gun fire from the north ridge of Scarpe. The General was mortally wounded and died at age 49 in Monchy-le-Preux, France. His burial site is the Gouy-en-Artois Communal Cemetery Extension.[1] An account of General Bulkeley-Johnson's death is related in detail in And All For What? by D.W.J Cuddeford.[7]

References
  • Davies, Frank and Graham Maddocks. Bloody Red Tabs: General Officer Casualties of the Great War 1914–1918. Leo Cooper, 1995. ISBN 0850524636 ISBN 9780850524635.

Notes
  1. "Lions Led by Donkeys: Surnames beginning 'B'." (Archive) University of Birmingham. Retrieved on 27 September 2013.
  2. Davies and Maddocks, p. 50: "2 PRO WO 95/3685 Charles Bulkeley Bulkeley-Johnson was born in 1867 and was educated at Harrow and the R.M.C., Sandhurst. He obtained his commission in the 8th Cavalry Brigade 3rd Cavalry[...]"
  3. Hart′s Army list, 1903
  4. "No. 27159". The London Gazette. 30 January 1900. pp. 597–600.
  5. "No. 27474". The London Gazette. 16 September 1902. p. 5959.
  6. IVth class — Nov. the 27th 1914; IIIrd class — Sep. the 27th 1915.
  7. Cuddeford, D.W.J (1933). AND ALL FOR WHAT?. 6 Fleet Lane, London E.C. 4: Heath Cranton Limited (The Naval & Military Press Ltd edition). pp. 162–163. ISBN 1-845740-95-5.CS1 maint: location (link)
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