Major General Raymond Northland Revell Reade, CB, CMG (c. 1861 – 18 October 1943) was a British Army general and Commandant of the Royal Military College of Canada.
Raymond Reade | |
|---|---|
 Reade in 1917 | |
| Born | c. 1861 Chelsea, London, England |
| Died | (aged 83) Samford, Suffolk,[1] England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | British Army |
| Years of service | 1880–1920 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands held | 68th (2nd Welsh) Division 59th (2nd North Midland) Division Straits Settlements Royal Military College of Canada |
| Battles/wars | First World War |
| Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George Commander of the Royal Order of George I (Greece) Medal of Military Merit, 1st Class (Greece) |
Background edit
Born in Chelsea, London,[2] he was the son of John Page Reade and his wife Lady Mary Stuart Knox, daughter of Thomas Knox, 2nd Earl of Ranfurly. He was educated at Eton College and went to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.[3]
Military career edit
Reade was commissioned into the 85th Regiment of Foot on 14 January 1880.[4] He served as Commandant of Royal Military College of Canada from 1901 to 1905. His criticism of poor RMC examination marks in French, physics and chemistry in 1901 and surveying and physics 1904 led to reforms at the college: smaller classes for French, entrance tests in physics and chemistry, and separate instructors for physics and surveying. He also built up the RMC library and extended library privileges to Permanent Force Officers in the Kingston, Ontario, area. A 25-bed hospital was also constructed adjacent to the education block, and a large gymnasium was constructed south of the Stone Frigate. He secured quarters for the staff-adjutant and his family in what was later called Panet House, after the first resident. He built an extension to the rear of the Stone Frigate for bathroom facilities.[5]
Reade served in Malta and Scotland and became General Officer Commanding the Troops in the Straits Settlements in 1914. Poor health prevented his active service in the First World War, but he commanded the 59th (2nd North Midland) Division from November 1915 to February 1916, and the 68th (2nd Welsh) Division for most of 1916 while the formation was under training in the UK.[6] He was the British representative on the Inter-Allied Military Mission to Greece in 1918, for which he was appointed a Commander of the Royal Order of George I and awarded the Medal of Military Merit, 1st Class from Greece.[7][8]
Family edit
Reade married Rose Frances Spencer, daughter of Colonel Almeric George Spencer and Alice Isabel Fraser, on 9 June 1894.[9]
References edit
- ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- ^ Tulchinsky, Gerald J. J. (1976). To Preserve & Defend. McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-7735-0214-7.
- ^ "No. 24800". The London Gazette. 13 January 1880. p. 146.
- ^ Preston, Richard Arthur Preston (1982) "Canada's RMC – A History of Royal Military College" Second Edition
- ^ Becke 1937, pp. 17 and 83
- ^ "No. 31659". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 November 1919. p. 14639.
- ^ "No. 13530". The Edinburgh Gazette. 28 November 1919. p. 3706.
- ^ Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles. "Armourial families: a directory of gentlemen of coat-armour (Volume 2)". Retrieved 14 June 2020.
Sources edit
- Becke, Major A.F. (1937). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 2B. The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th) with The Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 1-871167-00-0.