Major-General Sir Percival Spearman Wilkinson KCMG CB (5 July 1865 – 4 November 1953) was a British Army officer who served as colonel of the Northumberland Fusiliers from 1915 to 1935.
Sir Percival Spearman Wilkinson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 July 1865 Mount Oswald, County Durham, England |
| Died | 4 November 1953 (aged 88) |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1883–1923 |
| Rank | Major-General |
| Unit | Northumberland Fusiliers |
| Commands held | 1st Secunderabad Infantry Brigade (1912-1914) 50th (Northumbrian) Division (1915–1918) |
| Battles/wars | First World War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George[1] Companion of the Order of the Bath[2] |
Military career edit
Wilkinson was commissioned as a lieutenant into the 3rd (Militia) Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers (later the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers) on 10 November 1883.[3][4]
He became Inspector General of the Royal West African Frontier Force in 1909.[5] Promoted to major-general on 8 August 1912, he served as Commander of the 1st Secunderabad Infantry Brigade, part of the 9th (Secunderabad) Division, on internal security duties in India[6] and then served as General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division in place of Major General The Earl of Cavan on the Western Front from August 1915 until February 1918 during the First World War.[7] He returned to command 50th (Northumbrian) Division as a peacetime formation in the UK in July 1919 before he retired from the army on 4 July 1923.[8] In retirement he was Chief Commissioner of St. John Ambulance.[9]
He was colonel of the Northumberland Fusiliers from January 1915[10] to July 1935,[9] when Major General William Norman Herbert succeeded him.[11]
References edit
- ^ "No. 30111". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1917. p. 5458.
- ^ "No. 12630". The Edinburgh Gazette. 2 January 1914. p. 7.
- ^ "No. 25286". The London Gazette. 9 November 1883. p. 5304.
- ^ Davies & Maddocks 2014, p. 205.
- ^ "Major-General Sir Percival Spearman Wilkinson KCMG CB". British Empire. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ^ Perry 1993, p. 106.
- ^ "The Battle of the Somme, July to November 2016". Imperial war Museum. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
- ^ "Army List 1940". War Office. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ^ a b "Colonels". British Empire. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ^ "No. 29127". The London Gazette. 13 April 1915. p. 3590.
- ^ "No. 34177". The London Gazette. 5 July 1935. p. 4343.
Sources edit
- Perry, F.W. (1993). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 5B. Indian Army Divisions. Newport: Ray Westlake Military Books. ISBN 1-871167-23-X.
- Davies, Frank; Maddocks, Graham (2014) [1995]. Bloody Red Tabs: General Officer Casualties of the Great War 1914–1918. Leo Cooper. ISBN 978-1-78346-237-7.