GB 0099 KCLMA Townshend - TOWNSHEND, Maj Gen Sir Charles Vere Ferrers (1861- 1924)

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0099 KCLMA Townshend

Title

TOWNSHEND, Maj Gen Sir Charles Vere Ferrers (1861- 1924)

Date(s)

  • Created 1899-1937, 1964-1966 (Creation)

Level of description

Extent and medium

2 boxes or 0.02 cubic metres

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Born 1861; educated at Cranleigh School, Kent and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; commissioned into the Royal Marine Light Infantry, 1881; Sudan Expedition, 1884-1886; transferred to Indian Army, 1886; Hunza Naga Expedition, India, 1891-1892; Capt, 1892; garrison commander during siege of Chitral Fort, North West Frontier, India, 1895; Maj, 1895; awarded CB, 1895; transferred to Egyptian Army, 1896; Lt Col, 1896; Dongola Expedition, Sudan, 1896; Commanding Officer, 12 Sudanese Bn, Egypt, 1896-1898; Nile Expedition, Sudan, 1898; Battles of Atbara and Khartoum, Sudan, 1898; awarded DSO, 1898; Second Boer War, South Africa, 1899-1902; Assistant Adjutant General on staff of Military Governor, Orange Free State, South Africa, 1900; transferred to Royal Fusiliers, 1900; Col, 1904; Military Attaché, Paris, France, 1905; transferred to King's Shropshire Light Infantry, 1906; Assistant Adjutant General, 9 Div, India, 1907-1908; command of Orange River Colony District, South Africa, 1908-1911; Brig Gen, 1909; Maj Gen, 1911; General Officer Commanding East Anglian Div, Territorial Force, 1911-1913; command of Jhanzi Bde, India, 1913; Rawal Pindi Bde, India, 1913-1915; served World War One, 1914-1918; General Officer Commanding 6 Indian Div, Mesopotamia, 1915-1916; commanded 6 Indian Div at Battles of Kurna, Kut el Amara, Ctesiphon and the defence and siege of Kut el Amara, 1915-1916; POW, 1916-1918; created KCB, 1917; resigned, 1920; Independent Conservative MP for the Wrekin, Shropshire, 1920-1922; died 1924. Publications: The military life of Field Marshal George, first Marquess Townshend, 1724-1807 (John Murray, London, 1901); My Campaign in Mesopotamia (Thornton Butterworth, London, 1920).

Archival history

GB 0099 KCLMA Townshend Created 1899-1937, 1964-1966 Collection (fonds) 2 boxes or 0.02 cubic metres

Born 1861; educated at Cranleigh School, Kent and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; commissioned into the Royal Marine Light Infantry, 1881; Sudan Expedition, 1884-1886; transferred to Indian Army, 1886; Hunza Naga Expedition, India, 1891-1892; Capt, 1892; garrison commander during siege of Chitral Fort, North West Frontier, India, 1895; Maj, 1895; awarded CB, 1895; transferred to Egyptian Army, 1896; Lt Col, 1896; Dongola Expedition, Sudan, 1896; Commanding Officer, 12 Sudanese Bn, Egypt, 1896-1898; Nile Expedition, Sudan, 1898; Battles of Atbara and Khartoum, Sudan, 1898; awarded DSO, 1898; Second Boer War, South Africa, 1899-1902; Assistant Adjutant General on staff of Military Governor, Orange Free State, South Africa, 1900; transferred to Royal Fusiliers, 1900; Col, 1904; Military Attaché, Paris, France, 1905; transferred to King's Shropshire Light Infantry, 1906; Assistant Adjutant General, 9 Div, India, 1907-1908; command of Orange River Colony District, South Africa, 1908-1911; Brig Gen, 1909; Maj Gen, 1911; General Officer Commanding East Anglian Div, Territorial Force, 1911-1913; command of Jhanzi Bde, India, 1913; Rawal Pindi Bde, India, 1913-1915; served World War One, 1914-1918; General Officer Commanding 6 Indian Div, Mesopotamia, 1915-1916; commanded 6 Indian Div at Battles of Kurna, Kut el Amara, Ctesiphon and the defence and siege of Kut el Amara, 1915-1916; POW, 1916-1918; created KCB, 1917; resigned, 1920; Independent Conservative MP for the Wrekin, Shropshire, 1920-1922; died 1924. Publications: The military life of Field Marshal George, first Marquess Townshend, 1724-1807 (John Murray, London, 1901); My Campaign in Mesopotamia (Thornton Butterworth, London, 1920).

Placed in the Centre in 1979 by Lt Col Arthur James Barker.

Papers, 1899-1937, and 1964-1966, including personal letters to Alice Townshend, Lady Townshend, and to Comtesse Cahen d'Anvers from FM Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum and Broome, 1906-1911, also single personal letters from Frederick Edward Grey Ponsonby, Assistant Private Secretary to Queen Victoria, 1899, FM Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, 1901, Brig Gen Sir William Riddell Birdwood, Bt, 1906, Christian Rudolf de Wet, Minister of Agriculture, Orange River Colony, South Africa, 1909, FM Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts of Kandahar, Pretoria and Waterford, 1911-1912, Rt Hon George Nathanial Curzon, Lord Privy Seal, 1915, Rt Hon Herbert Henry Asquith, Prime Minister, 1916, Paul Cambon, French Ambassador to Court of St James's, 1916, Lt Gen Sir Philip Walhouse Chetwode, 7th Bt, Military Secretary, War Office, 1919, and others; letter from Alice Townshend, Lady Townshend, dated 1916, to Mrs Morland, mother of Capt Walter Edward Thomson Morland, Aide de Camp to Townshend and captured with him at Kut el Amara, Mesopotamia, with information on the safety of her son, with three photographs of Townshend and the POW accomodation in Constantinople, 1916; scrapbook of newspaper cuttings, 1916, on the Mesopotamian campaign and the defence and siege of Kut el Amara, with signed printed portrait of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, 1937; file of research correspondence by Lt Col Arthur James Barker for The neglected war (Faber, London, 1967) and Townshend of Kut (Cassell, London, 1967), 1964-1966, including correspondence with Capt Sir (Thomas) Noël Arkell, FM Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, Maj Gen George Osborne de Renzy Channer, Sir Reader (William) Bullard, Brig Kenneth Bredin Shakespear Crawford, Sir Ernest (William) Goodale, Capt Basil Henry Liddell Hart, Maj Gen Henry Hampden Rich, Col Clive Woodes Rogers, Col Eric Lechmere Stephenson, Countess Audrey de Borchgrave-Townshend, Brig Louis James Woodhouse.

2 files, 1 volume

Open, subject to signature of reader's undertaking form.

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, attention of the Director of Archive Services.
English

Summary guide entry on-line at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/top.htm

Cambridge University Library: the papers of Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, include correspondence with Townshend, 1915-1916 (ref: Hardinge); Centre for Kentish Studies: one volume of Townshend's communiques as General Officer Commanding 6 Indian Div, Mesopotamia, 1914-1915 (ref: BZ/ZTO); National Army Museum: papers comprising dispatches from Kut el Amara, 1915-1916 (ref: 6012-299), notebook and copies of communiques to his troops, 1916 (ref: 6012-399), order of the day for 4 Dec 1915, the day following Townshend's retreat to Kut el Amara (ref: 6012-288), Townshend's letter of surrender, 29 Apr 1916 (ref: 8008-47), casualty list and press cuttings relating to the siege of Kut el Amara (ref: 6009-17); British Library: Townshend papers (ref: Add MSS 63082, 63102); Liddle Collection, University of Leeds: collection of press cuttings.

Papers relating to Major General C V F Townshend's appreciation of the position after the Battle of Kut-el-Amara, etc (Parliamentary Papers. House of Commons. Session 1916, vol 21, London, 1916); Townshend of Chitral and Kut by Erroll Sherson (Heinemann, London, 1928); Townshend of Kut. A biography of Major General Sir Charles Townshend, KCB, DSO by Arthur James Barker (Cassell, London, 1967).

Decorations: KCB, DSO
Jun 1998 Wars (events) Arkell , Thomas Noel , 1893-1981 , Captain , brewer Armed forces Asquith , Herbert Henry , 1852-1928 , 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith , statesman x Oxford and Asquith , 1st Earl of Ataturk , Mustafa Kemal , 1881-1938 , President of Turkey Auchinleck , Sir , Claude John Eyre , 1884-1981 , Knight , Field Marshal Barker , Arthur James , 1918-1981 , Lieutenant Colonel and author Birdwood , William Riddell , 1865-1951 , 1st Baron Birdwood of Anzac and Totnes , Field Marshal x Birdwood of Anzac and Totnes , 1st Baron British Army Bullard , Sir , Reader William , 1885-1976 , Knight , British Ambassador to Iran Cambon , Paul , 1843-1924 , French Ambassador to Great Britain Channer , George Osborne de Renzy , 1890-1969 , Major General Chetwode , Philip Walhouse , 1869-1950 , 1st Baron Chetwode of Chetwode , Field Marshal x Chetwode , 1st Baron Constantinople Crawford , Kenneth Bredin Shakespear , fl 1964-1966 , Brigadier Curzon , George Nathaniel , 1859-1925 , 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston x Curzon of Kedleston , 1st Marquess d'Anvers , Cahen , fl 1906-1911 , Comtesse Cahen d'Anvers x Anvers , Cahen , d' England Europe Goodale , Sir , Ernest William , 1896-1984 , Knight , textile manufacturer and civil servant Hart , Sir , Basil Henry , Liddell , 1895-1970 , Knight , Captain , military historian x Liddell Hart , Sir , Basil International conflicts International relations Iraq Kitchener , Horatio Herbert , 1850-1916 , 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum and Broome , Field Marshal x Kitchener of Khartoum and Broome , 1st Earl Kut el Amara London Mesopotamia Middle East Military engineering Military operations Military organizations Morland , Walter Edward Thomson , fl 1916 , Captain Organizations Ponsonby , Frederick Edward Grey , 1867-1935 , Assistant Private Secretary to Queen Victoria Rich , Henry Hampden , 1891-1976 , Major General Roberts , Frederick Sleigh , 1832-1914 , 1st Earl Roberts of Kandahar, Pretoria and Waterford , Field Marshal x Roberts of Kandahar, pretoria and Waterford , 1st Earl Rogers , Clive Woodes , fl 1964-1966 , Colonel State security Stephenson , Eric Lechmere , 1892-1978 , Colonel Townshend , Alice , fl 1898-1916 , wife of Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend Townshend , Audrey , de Borchgrave- , fl 1964-1966 , Countess x Borchgrave-Townshend , Audrey , de x de Borchgrave-Townshend , Audrey Turkey UK Victoria , 1819-1901 , Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and empress of India War Warfare War prisoners War victims Western Europe Wet , Christian Rudolf , De , 1854-1922 , South African General and politician x De Wet , Christian Rudolf Wolseley , Garnet Joseph , 1833-1913 , Field Marshal , 1st Viscount Wolseley x Wolseley , 1st Viscount Woodhouse , Louis James , fl 1964-1966 , Brigadier World War One (1914-1918) World wars (events)

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Placed in the Centre in 1979 by Lt Col Arthur James Barker.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Papers, 1899-1937, and 1964-1966, including personal letters to Alice Townshend, Lady Townshend, and to Comtesse Cahen d'Anvers from FM Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum and Broome, 1906-1911, also single personal letters from Frederick Edward Grey Ponsonby, Assistant Private Secretary to Queen Victoria, 1899, FM Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, 1901, Brig Gen Sir William Riddell Birdwood, Bt, 1906, Christian Rudolf de Wet, Minister of Agriculture, Orange River Colony, South Africa, 1909, FM Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts of Kandahar, Pretoria and Waterford, 1911-1912, Rt Hon George Nathanial Curzon, Lord Privy Seal, 1915, Rt Hon Herbert Henry Asquith, Prime Minister, 1916, Paul Cambon, French Ambassador to Court of St James's, 1916, Lt Gen Sir Philip Walhouse Chetwode, 7th Bt, Military Secretary, War Office, 1919, and others; letter from Alice Townshend, Lady Townshend, dated 1916, to Mrs Morland, mother of Capt Walter Edward Thomson Morland, Aide de Camp to Townshend and captured with him at Kut el Amara, Mesopotamia, with information on the safety of her son, with three photographs of Townshend and the POW accomodation in Constantinople, 1916; scrapbook of newspaper cuttings, 1916, on the Mesopotamian campaign and the defence and siege of Kut el Amara, with signed printed portrait of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, 1937; file of research correspondence by Lt Col Arthur James Barker for The neglected war (Faber, London, 1967) and Townshend of Kut (Cassell, London, 1967), 1964-1966, including correspondence with Capt Sir (Thomas) Noël Arkell, FM Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, Maj Gen George Osborne de Renzy Channer, Sir Reader (William) Bullard, Brig Kenneth Bredin Shakespear Crawford, Sir Ernest (William) Goodale, Capt Basil Henry Liddell Hart, Maj Gen Henry Hampden Rich, Col Clive Woodes Rogers, Col Eric Lechmere Stephenson, Countess Audrey de Borchgrave-Townshend, Brig Louis James Woodhouse.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

2 files, 1 volume

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Open, subject to signature of reader's undertaking form.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, attention of the Director of Archive Services.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Cambridge University Library: the papers of Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, include correspondence with Townshend, 1915-1916 (ref: Hardinge); Centre for Kentish Studies: one volume of Townshend's communiques as General Officer Commanding 6 Indian Div, Mesopotamia, 1914-1915 (ref: BZ/ZTO); National Army Museum: papers comprising dispatches from Kut el Amara, 1915-1916 (ref: 6012-299), notebook and copies of communiques to his troops, 1916 (ref: 6012-399), order of the day for 4 Dec 1915, the day following Townshend's retreat to Kut el Amara (ref: 6012-288), Townshend's letter of surrender, 29 Apr 1916 (ref: 8008-47), casualty list and press cuttings relating to the siege of Kut el Amara (ref: 6009-17); British Library: Townshend papers (ref: Add MSS 63082, 63102); Liddle Collection, University of Leeds: collection of press cuttings.

Finding aids

Summary guide entry on-line at http://www.kcl.ac.uk/top.htm

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Publication note

Decorations: KCB, DSO

Notes area

Note

Decorations: KCB, DSO

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area