William Julius Gascoigne

Major-General Sir William Julius Gascoigne KCMG (29 May 1844 – 9 September 1926) was a British Army officer and served as General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada from 1895 to 1898.

Sir

William Gascoigne
In The Sketch, 11 July 1900
Born(1844-05-29)29 May 1844
London, England
Died9 September 1926(1926-09-09) (aged 82)
Boscombe, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
RankMajor-General
Commands heldGeneral Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada
Commander of British Troops in China and Hong Kong
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George
Spouse(s)
Helen Smith
(m. 1875)

Military career edit

William Julius Gascoigne was born in London on 29 May 1844.[1] He was commissioned into the Scots Fusilier Guards in 1863.[2] He was appointed Adjutant in 1867,[3] served in Egypt in 1882 and in Sudan in 1885.[4]

In 1895 he was promoted to major-general[4] and appointed General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada.[5] In 1898 he was appointed Commander of British Troops in China and Hong Kong.[6]

Gascoigne was also the last Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong (serving from 1898 to 1902), but the role was ceremonial and in lapsed use since the 1870s.

He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1899, and knighted as a Knight Commander (KCMG) of the same order in November 1900 in recognition of services during the Boxer Rebellion in China.[7]

He died in Boscombe on 9 September 1926.[8]

Gascoigne Road in Kowloon, Hong Kong is named after him.[9]

Family edit

In 1875, he married Helen Smith, daughter of Martin T. Smith, and widow of Hon. Arthur F. Egerton.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ Morgan, Henry James, ed. (1898). The Canadian Men and Women of the Time: A Handbook of Canadian Biography. Toronto: William Briggs. p. 368. Retrieved 10 November 2023 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "No. 22722". The London Gazette. 31 March 1863. p. 1822.
  3. ^ "No. 23336". The London Gazette. 24 December 1867. p. 7009.
  4. ^ a b c Who's Who. Vol. 58. A & C Black. 1906. p. 646. Retrieved 10 November 2023 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "No. 27038". The London Gazette. 2 January 1899. p. 2.
  6. ^ "No. 27025". The London Gazette. 22 November 1898. p. 6938.
  7. ^ "No. 27337". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 July 1901. p. 4915.
  8. ^ "Major-General Sir William Gascoigne". Gloucestershire Echo. 15 September 1926. p. 2. Retrieved 10 November 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Wordie, Jason (2007). Streets: Exploring Kowloon. Hong Kong University Press. p. 70. ISBN 9789622098138. Retrieved 10 November 2023 – via Google Books.
Military offices
Preceded by General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada
1895-1898
Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander of British Troops in China and Hong Kong
1898–1903
Succeeded by