William Pulteney (British Army officer)

Sir William Pulteney
Sir William Pulteney Pulteney by Philip de László, 1917
Born	(1861-05-18)18 May 1861 Ashley, Northamptonshire, England
Died	14 May 1941(1941-05-14) (aged 79) Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom/British Empire
Service / branch	British Army
Years of service	1878–1920
Rank	Lieutenant-General
Unit	Oxford Militia Scots Guards
Commands	XXIII Corps III Corps 6th Division 16th Brigade 1st Battalion, Scots Guards
Battles / wars	Anglo-Egyptian War Second Boer War First World War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order
Spouse(s)	Jessie Arnott

Lieutenant-General Sir William Pulteney Pulteney, GCVO, KCB, KCMG, DSO (18 May 1861 – 14 May 1941)^[1] was a British general during the First World War.

Early military career

Educated at Eton College, Pulteney was commissioned into the Oxfordshire Militia in October 1878.^[2][1][3] He transferred to the Scots Guards where he was commissioned a second lieutenant on 23 April 1881.^[4][5]

Anglo-Egyptian War

The following year he served in the Anglo-Egyptian War, where he was present at the Battle of Tell El Kebir (September 1882). On 4 May 1892 he was promoted to captain, and in 1895 he served with the Bunyoro expedition and the Nandi expedition, for which he was mentioned in despatches and was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). Promotion to major followed on 1 May 1897.^[6]

Second Boer War

The Second Boer War broke out in October 1899, and Pulteney served with the 1st Battalion of his regiment in South Africa from late 1899, attached to the Guards Brigade, with the brevet appointment as lieutenant colonel from 11 November 1899. He was present at the battles of Belmont, Enslin and Modder River (November 1899), and the battle of Magersfontein (December 1899). The following year he was appointed second in command of his regiment in April, took part in the march to Bloemfontein and Pretoria, and the battles of Diamond Hill (June 1900), Belfast (August 1900) and the advance to Komatipoort in September. For his service in the war, he received the brevet promotion as colonel on 29 November 1900.^[7][8] He stayed with his regiment in South Africa until the war ended in May 1902, and left for the United Kingdom on the SS Briton two months later.^[9][10]

Between wars

After the war, he was promoted in February 1908 to temporary brigadier general^[11] and took command of the 16th Infantry Brigade in Ireland from 1908^[12] and the 6th Division, the brigade's parent formation, in Ireland in 1910.^[1] He was promoted again, this time to major general, in January 1909.^[13] In July 1910 he took command of the 6th Division, taking over from Major General Charles Metcalfe,^[14] a position he held until the outbreak of the First World War some four years later.^[15]

First World War

Main article: World War I

King George V visiting the ruins of Peronne, 13 July 1917. With him are Lieutenant-General William Pulteney, GOC III Corps, and Brigadier-General Percy Hambro, the Quartermaster General of III Corps.

Pulteney had an extensive operational career during the First World War, receiving a promotion to temporary lieutenant general on 5 August,^[16] the day after the British entry into World War I, and being made general officer commanding (GOC) of the III Corps, serving on the Western Front continuously from 31 August 1914 through to 19 February 1918.^[1] Pulteney commanded XXIII Corps in the United Kingdom from 20 February 1918 to 15 April 1919.^[1]

After the First World War he served with the British Military Mission to Japan, until his retirement in 1920.^[1]

Later life

He held the office of 'Black Rod' in the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1920 to 1941.^[17]

Honours

He was created a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1915; a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1917, and a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1918.^[18]

Personal life

Pulteney was married in 1917 to Jessie, daughter of Sir John Arnott, Baronet.^[1]

References

1. Stearn, Roger T. (22 September 2011). "Pulteney, Sir William Pulteney (1861–1941), army officer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/96949. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 21 August 2019. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
2. "No. 24629". The London Gazette. 1 October 1878. p. 5373.
3. Leask 2015, p. 53.
4. "No. 24964". The London Gazette. 22 April 1881. p. 1958.
5. Leask 2015, p. 55.
6. "No. 26870". The London Gazette. 6 July 1897. p. 3700.
7. Hart´s Army list, 1903
8. "No. 11343". The Edinburgh Gazette. 1 October 1901. p. 1078.
9. "The Army in South Africa - Troops returning home". The Times. No. 36821. London. 16 July 1902. p. 11.
10. Leask 2015, pp. 105–158.
11. "No. 28109". The London Gazette. 14 February 1908. p. 1049.
12. Leask 2015, pp. 169–174.
13. "No. 28221". The London Gazette. 5 February 1909. p. 947.
14. "No. 28400". The London Gazette. 26 July 1910. p. 5397.
15. Leask 2015, pp. 174–186.
16. "No. 28873". The London Gazette. 18 August 1914. p. 6499.
17. "Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod". Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
18. "No. 30947". The London Gazette. 11 October 1918. p. 11969.

Bibliography

• Leask, Anthony (2015). Putty: From Tel-el-Kebir to Cambrai: The Life and Letters of Lieutenant General Sir William Pulteney 1861-1941. Helion and Company. ISBN 978-1910294956.

External links

• Centre for First World War Studies: William Pulteney Pulteney
• Profile at Anglo-Boer War

Military offices
Preceded by Charles Metcalfe	GOC 6th Division 1910–1914	Succeeded by John Keir
Preceded by New post	GOC III Corps 1914–1918	Succeeded by Richard Butler
Government offices
Preceded by Sir Henry Stephenson	Black Rod 1920–1941	Succeeded by Sir William Mitchell