Oliver Nugent

Major-General Sir Oliver Stewart Wood Nugent, KCB, DSO (9 November 1860[1] – 31 May 1926) was a British Army officer known for his command of the 36th (Ulster) Division during the First World War and particularly at the Battle of the Somme.

Sir Oliver Stewart Wood Nugent KCB DSO
Born	(1860-11-09)9 November 1860
Died	31 May 1926(1926-05-31) (aged 65)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Major General
Commands held	36th (Ulster) Division
Battles/wars	Second Boer War First World War * Battle of the Somme
Awards	Knight Commander of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order

He was the son of Major General St George Nugent and Emily, daughter of the Right Honourable Edward Litton, who was a senior Irish judge and MP for Coleraine at Westminster.[1]

Nugent was educated at Harrow and Sandhurst before joining the British Army when he was commissioned into the Royal Munster Fusiliers as a lieutenant on 29 July 1882. Transferring in April 1883 to the King's Royal Rifle Corps, he was promoted to captain on 15 October 1890 and served in the Hazara, Miranzai (where he was mentioned in dispatches) and Chitral expeditions, being mentioned in dispatches again and being awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).[2] Promoted to major on 21 October 1899, he then served in the Second Boer War where he was wounded and taken prisoner at the battle of Talana Hill.[3]

After his return to the United Kingdom, he was on 19 October 1902 appointed deputy assistant quartermaster general to the 3rd Army Corps,[4] stationed in Ireland. The First World War saw him serving in England until 1915 when he was appointed to command the 41st Infantry Brigade (part of the 14th (Light) Division) on the Western Front. In September 1915 he was appointed to command the 36th (Ulster) Division with which he served until 1918. He was promoted Major-General 1 January 1916.[5]

The Ulster Division's deployment on 1 July 1916. Schwaben Redoubt is at centre right

Nugent devised the strategy that led to the Ulster Division going 'over the top' twenty minutes before Zero Hour. This allowed his soldiers to get the advantage and capture the main objective of the Schwaben Redoubt. However along the rest of the line, the attack faltered and this caused the 36th Division to withdraw.

He commanded the Meerut Division in India from August 1918[5] to 1920, and retired in 1920 to the family estate in Farren Connell, County Cavan,[1] where he died from pneumonia on 31 May 1926.[6] Nugent's portrait by William Conor is in Belfast City Hall.