Lives of the First World War
Discover, explore and remember millions of personal stories from the First World War
"Lions led by Donkeys?"
"Lions led by Donkeys?"
The name and inspiration for this Community comes from a research project at the University of Birmingham. ‘Who were all these generals anyway?’ This question, asked one spring evening at an extra-mural class in Wolverhampton, encouraged John Bourne, of the University's Centre for War Studies, to begin researching the hundreds of Generals who took part in the leadership of the British Army during WW1. Most people interested in the Great War are familiar with the names of a handful of senior commanders: French, Haig, Allenby, Byng, Plumer, Rawlinson. And probably familiar with the questionable verdict that many were ‘donkeys’ who sent their lion-hearted men to brutal deaths on squalid battlefields, the state of which they were culpably ignorant and from whose deprivations they were comfortably remote. But what about the totality of general officers in an army of 60 divisions and two million men? Who were they? How many were there? How were they chosen, promoted and dismissed? A group of researchers set out to discover the answers to these questions under the name of the Abbots Way Research Group. The fruits of this research are now being written up in a book, with contributions not only from John Bourne but also from Simon Robbins, Andrew Godefroy, Bryn Hammond and Professor Peter Simkins. The group has identified 1,257 Western Front generals. This "Lives of the First World War" community will include those on Peter Bourne's list, together with some of the other Generals who led forces in other theatres of WW1. The website for the "Lions led by Donkeys" project is here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/warstudies/research/projects/lionsdonkeys/index.aspx
Created by: , Bryan5462
-
Born 1859
Died 1943
British Army Brigadier General GOC 150th Brigade
British Army Brigadier General GOC East Anglian Reserve Infantry Brigade
More about John Ernest Bush -
Born 1865
Died 1951
British Army Royal Scots Fusiliers
Indian Army Cavalry Officer 11th Bengal Lancers
Indian Army
…
More about William Riddell Birdwood -
Born 1881
Died 1957
British Army Captain 1st Dragoon Guards
Royal Navy Midshipman
British Army Lieutenant Colonel Black Watch 1/7th Battalion
…
More about George Ronald Hamilton Cheape -
Born 1872
Died 1941
British Army Brigadier General East Africa Unattached List
British Army Lieutenant Colonel Devonshire Regiment
British Army Lieutenant Colonel Uganda and East Africa Police Police Service Battalion, East Africa Expeditionary Force
…
More about William Frederick S Edwards -
Born 1869
Died 1937
British Army Colonel Army Service Corps
British Army Major General Director of Transport, British Armies in France
More about William George Bertram Boyce, K -
Born 1862
Died 1939
British Army Colonel Temporary Brigadier General CRA 25th Division Artillery
More about Henry Arthur Bethell -
Born 1862
Died 1950
British Army Colonel Temporary Brigadier General General Headquarters Staff
More about Frederick Lionel Banon -
Born 1874
Died 1950
British Army Major Indian Army Infantry
Indian Army Lt. General
Indian Army General Director of Supplies and Transport
More about Henry Edward Ap Rhys Pryce K -
Born 1866
Died 1932
British Army Colonel Temporary Lieutenant General Army Medical Service
British Army Lieutenant Colonel Royal Army Medical Corps
British Army Lieutenant General DG, Army Medical Services
More about Charles Henry Burtchaell, Mb -
Born 1870
Died 1949
Australian Imperial Force Brigadier General CRA, Australian Corps
Australian Imperial Force Major General Chief of the Australian General Staff
More about Walter Adams Coxen -
Born 1877
Died 1963
British Army Captain Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders 8th argyll and Battalion
British Army Bt Lieutenant Colonel 12th Cavalry
Indian Army Major 12th Cavalry Awarded a D.S.O. in the 1915 Birthday Honours
…
More about Harry Beauchamp Douglas Baird -
Born 1865
Died 1947
British Army Temporary Lieutenant Colonel 11th Lancashire Fusiliers
British Army Colonel Temporary Brigadier General 11th Lancashire Fusiliers
British Army Brigadier General GOC 12th Infantry Brigade
More about James Dayrolles Crosbie -
Born 1880
Died 1952
British Army Major and Brevet Lieutenant Colonel/Temporary Brigadier General Highland Light Infantry/Commands and Staff
British Army Lieutenant Colonel Highland Light Infantry 2nd Battalion
British Army Lieutenant Colonel North Lancashire Regiment 9th Battalion
…
More about Hugh Marjoribanks Craigie-Halkett -
Born 1868
Died 1915
British Army Major General Rifle Brigade Staff Commandant 9th Scottish Division
British Army Brevet Colonel Rifle Brigade 4th Battalion
British Army Brevet Colonel (temp Major General) Rifle Brigade Staff
…
More about George Handcock Thesiger -
Born 1861
Died 1917
British Army Colonel Army Auxilliary Corps
British Army Colonel (temporary Brigadier General) Deputy Inspector-General of Communications, BEF France
British Army Brigadier General Commandant, Rouen Base
More about Francis John De Gex -
Born 1860
Indian Army Lieutenant General Military Secretary to the India Office
Indian Army General Military Secretary to the India Office
Indian Army Brigadier General GOC 29th Indian (Ghurka) Brigade
…
More about Herbert Vaughan Cox -
Born 1869
Died 1950
British Army Lieutenant General GOC Desert Mounted Corps, Palestine
British Army Brigadier General GOC 5th Cavalry Brigade
British Army Major General 2nd Cavalry Division
…
More about Philip Walhouse Chetwode -
Born 1857
Died 1939
British Army Brigadier General 94th Infantry Brigade
British Army The Buffs (East Kent Regiment)
British Army Brigadier General 74th Infantry Brigade, 25 Division
More about Alfred James Whitacre Allen -
Born 1867
Died 1934
Canadian Expeditionary Force Lieutenant Colonel Canadian Artillery
Canadian Expeditionary Force Brigadier General Canadian Artillery CRA, 5th Canadian Division Artillery
More about William O'kell Holden Dodds -
Born 1868
Died 1950
British Army Lieutenant Colonel/Temporary Brigadier General Royal Garrison Artillery
More about William St Colum Bland