Charles Howard Foulkes
Encyclopedia
Major-General Charles Howard Foulkes (1 February 1875 – 6 May 1969) was a Royal Engineers
officer in the British Army
and also a British international field hockey
player who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics
in the bronze medal-winning team. He saw service in World War I
and, following the first German use of gas on 22 April 1915 at Ypres, became Britain's chief advisor on gas warfare. He also advised on the use of gas to suppress the uprisings in Afghanistan
(1919) and Waziristan
(1920), but gas was never actually deployed in these conflicts.
He received a commission in 1894 into the British Army
as a Second Lieutenant
in the Royal Engineers
.
Between 1902 and 1904 he was assistant commander on the Anglo-French Boundary Commission in the Northern Nigeria Protectorate
. During this period he was active in the Kano
-Sokoto
expedition which brought the Emirs under British control.
Returning to the British Isles, he took command of the Ordnance Survey of Scotland from 1904 to 1909.
. At the First Battle of Ypres
(1914) he was Commander, 11 (Field) Company RE. Appointed "Gas Adviser" in 1915.
In 1928 he was Aide-de-camp
to the King
.
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
officer in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and also a British international field hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
player who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...
in the bronze medal-winning team. He saw service in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and, following the first German use of gas on 22 April 1915 at Ypres, became Britain's chief advisor on gas warfare. He also advised on the use of gas to suppress the uprisings in Afghanistan
Third Anglo-Afghan War
The Third Anglo-Afghan War began on 6 May 1919 and ended with an armistice on 8 August 1919. It was a minor tactical victory for the British. For the British, the Durand Line was reaffirmed as the political boundary between the Emirate of Afghanistan and British India and the Afghans agreed not to...
(1919) and Waziristan
Waziristan
Waziristan is a mountainous region near the Northwest of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . The area is entirely populated by ethnic Pashtuns . The language spoken in the valley is Pashto/Pakhto...
(1920), but gas was never actually deployed in these conflicts.
Biography
Foukles was born in British India in 1875.He received a commission in 1894 into the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
as a Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
.
- Sierra LeoneSierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, West Africa, 1897–1899 - Boer WarSecond Boer WarThe Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, 1899–1900
Between 1902 and 1904 he was assistant commander on the Anglo-French Boundary Commission in the Northern Nigeria Protectorate
Northern Nigeria Protectorate
Northern Nigeria was a British protectorate formed in 1900. The basis of the protectorate was the 1885 Treaty of Berlin which broadly granted Northern Nigeria to Britain, on the basis of their protectorates in Southern Nigeria...
. During this period he was active in the Kano
Kano
Kano is a city in Nigeria and the capital of Kano State in Northern Nigeria. Its metropolitan population is the second largest in Nigeria after Lagos. The Kano Urban area covers 137 sq.km and comprises six Local Government Area - Kano Municipal, Fagge, Dala, Gwale, Tarauni and Nassarawa - with a...
-Sokoto
Sokoto
Sokoto is a city located in the extreme northwest of Nigeria, near to the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006 it has a population of 427,760...
expedition which brought the Emirs under British control.
- Appointed Capt and married Dorothea Oakey, 1904
Returning to the British Isles, he took command of the Ordnance Survey of Scotland from 1904 to 1909.
- Command of 31 (Fortress) Company, Ceylon, 1909–1912
- Command of 'L' Company, Royal Engineers' Depot, Chatham, 1913
First World War
Foulkes was appointed Major in 1914 and spent the war on the Western FrontWestern Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
. At the First Battle of Ypres
First Battle of Ypres
The First Battle of Ypres, also called the First Battle of Flanders , was a First World War battle fought for the strategic town of Ypres in western Belgium...
(1914) he was Commander, 11 (Field) Company RE. Appointed "Gas Adviser" in 1915.
-
- Command of Special BrigadeSpecial BrigadeThe Special Brigade is the main and the most elite special forces unit of the Serbian Land Forces. It consist from counter-terrorist, recon units, commando units, paratroopers and diving units....
, and Director of Gas Services, 1917 - President of the Chemical WarfareChemical warfareChemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...
Committee, 1918
- Command of Special Brigade
- North-West Frontier ProvinceNorth-West Frontier ProvinceKhyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...
, India, 1919–1920- Afghan WarThird Anglo-Afghan WarThe Third Anglo-Afghan War began on 6 May 1919 and ended with an armistice on 8 August 1919. It was a minor tactical victory for the British. For the British, the Durand Line was reaffirmed as the political boundary between the Emirate of Afghanistan and British India and the Afghans agreed not to...
1919 - WaziristanWaziristanWaziristan is a mountainous region near the Northwest of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . The area is entirely populated by ethnic Pashtuns . The language spoken in the valley is Pashto/Pakhto...
1919-1920
- Afghan War
- Appointed Lt Col, Commander, Royal Engineers in FermoyFermoyFermoy is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is situated on the River Blackwater in the south of Ireland. Its population is some 5,800 inhabitants, environs included ....
, Ireland and Director of Irish Propaganda, 1921 - Commander, Royal EngineersRoyal EngineersThe Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
in Northumbria, 1922 - Appointed Col and Deputy Chief Engineer, Southern Command, 1924
- Chief Engineer, Aldershot Command, 1926–1930
In 1928 he was Aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to the King
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
.
- Appointed Maj Gen, 1930
- Retired, 1930
- Publication of Gas! The Story of the Special Brigade, 1934
- Colonel Commandant, Royal EngineersRoyal EngineersThe Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
, 1937–1945 - Publication of Commonsense and ARP, a practical guide for householders and business managers, 1939
- Awarded Gold Medal of the Institution of Royal Engineers, 1964
- Died in HampshireHampshireHampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, 1969
Publications
- Foulkes, C.H., Commonsense and ARP, a practical guide for householders and business managers (C Arthur Pearson, London, 1939)