James Bevan Edwards

Lieutenant General Sir James Bevan Edwards KCB, KCMG (5 November 1834 – 8 July 1922) was a senior British Army officer and politician.

Sir James Edwards
Lieutenant General Sir James Edwards c.1895
Born(1834-11-05)5 November 1834
Died8 July 1922(1922-07-08) (aged 87)
London, England
Buried
Brompton Cemetery, London
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1852–1893
RankLieutenant General
Commands heldCommander of British Troops in China and Hong Kong
Royal School of Military Engineering
Battles/warsCrimean War
Indian Mutiny
Mahdist War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Mentioned in Despatches

Military career

Edwards was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1852.[1] He served with the Royal Engineers in the Crimean War in 1853 and the Indian Mutiny of 1857.[2]

He transferred to the Indian Staff Corps in 1882,[3] and, during the Mahdist War, became Commanding Royal Engineer for the Suakin Expeditionary Force in 1885.[4] He was mentioned in despatches for his role in this Expedition.[5]

On return to the United Kingdom, Edwards became Commandant of the Royal School of Military Engineering.[6] He was then appointed Commander of British Troops in China and Hong Kong in 1889.[7]

Edwards was also selected by the British Government to inspect the forces of the Australian colonies in 1889 and to advise on their organisation. He recommended a structure to enable the colonies to combine for mutual defence, uniform organisation and armament, a common Defence Act, a military college to train officers and a uniform gauge for railways.[2]

At the 1895 general election, he was elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament (MP) for Hythe in Kent,[8] but he made his resignation from the British House of Commons in February 1899.[9]

Funerary monument, Brompton Cemetery, London

He became colonel-commandant of the Royal Engineers in 1903.[2]

Edwards died in 1922 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.[10]

Family

Edwards married three times: in 1868 to Alice Brocklebank, daughter of Ralph Brocklebank; in 1901 to Nina Balfour, daughter of John Balfour; and, in 1918, Amy Ann Harding.[2] He had several children, including:

  • Isabel Sybil Edwards (died 1956), who married in 1902 Colonel Edward Charles Walthall Delves Walthall, CMG, DSO, (1874–1961), an officer in the Royal Artillery.[11]

References
  1. "No. 21397". The London Gazette. 31 December 1852. p. 3941.
  2. "Edwards, Sir James Bevan (1834–1922)". Biography - Sir James Bevan Edwards. Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  3. "No. 25104". The London Gazette. 5 May 1882. p. 2076.
  4. "No. 25444". The London Gazette. 20 February 1885. p. 759.
  5. "No. 25505". The London Gazette. 25 August 1885. p. 4042.
  6. "No. 25793". The London Gazette. 6 March 1888. p. 1428.
  7. "No. 25940". The London Gazette. 28 May 1889. p. 2879.
  8. "No. 26651". The London Gazette. 2 August 1895. p. 4481.
  9. "No. 27055". The London Gazette. 21 February 1899. p. 1116.
  10. Brompton Cemetery site Archived 2006-08-23 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "Marriages". The Times (36926). London. 15 November 1902. p. 1.
Military offices
Preceded by
Sir William Cameron		 Commander of British Troops in China and Hong Kong
1889–1890		 Succeeded by
Sir George Barker
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Edward Watkin		 Member of Parliament for Hythe
1895–1899		 Succeeded by
Sir Edward Sassoon
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