Henry Edward Colville
Encyclopedia
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(10 July 1852 – 25 November 1907) was an English soldier.
Biography
Colville was born at Kirkby Hall, Leicestershire. He was the son of Charles Robert Colville and Hon. Katherine Sarah Georgina Russell.Colville was educated at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, and entered the Grenadier Guards
Grenadier Guards
The Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...
in 1870. He was appointed A.D.C. to General the Hon. Sir Leicester Smyth
Leicester Smyth
Lieutenant General Sir Leicester Smyth KCB KCMG was Governor of Gibraltar.-Military career:...
, commanding the forces in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, in 1880. He served on the Intelligence Department of the Suakin Expedition
Suakin Expedition
The Suakin Expedition refers to two military expeditions led by Major-General Sir Gerald Graham V.C. to Suakin in Sudan with the intention of destroying the power of Osman Digna, the first in February 1884 and the second in March 1885.-The first expedition:...
of 1884, was present at the Battles of El Teb
Battles of El Teb
The Battles of El Teb took place during the British Sudan Campaign where a force of Sudanese under Osman Digna won a victory over an 3500 strong Egyptian force under the command of General Valentine Baker which was marching to relieve Tokar on the 4th...
and the Battle of Tamai
Battle of Tamai
The Battle of Tamai took place on March 13, 1884 between a British force under Sir Gerald Graham and a Mahdist Sudanese army led by Osman Digna....
, mentioned in despatches, and received the bronze star, medal, and clasp. He was employed on special service in the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
prior to the Nile Expedition of 1884-85, and during that Expedition served as D.A.A.G. ; was mentioned in despatches ; received the clasp, and was created C.B. At the close of the Expedition he was Chief of the Intelligence Department of the Frontier Force ; was present at the Battle of Ginnis
Battle of Ginnis
The Battle of Ginnis was a minor battle of the Mahdist War that was fought on December 30, 1885, between soldiers of the Anglo-Egyptian Army and Mahdist Sudanese warriors of the Dervish State. The battle was caused by the Mahdist blockade of the Ginnis-Kosha fort, which British commanders hoped...
; was mentioned in despatches, and was promoted to the rank of Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
. He was then attached to the Intelligence Department at headquarters, and wrote the official history of the Sudan Campaign. In 1893 he succeeded the late Sir Gerald Portal
Gerald Portal
Sir Gerald Herbert Portal was a British diplomat, who was the Consul General for British East Africa and British Special Commissioner to Uganda, and a main figure in the establishment of the Uganda Protectorate.-Diplomatic career:...
as Commissioner (Acting) for Uganda, commanded the Unyoro Expedition, which resulted in the inclusion of that country into the Protectorate ; received the Central African medal, was created K.C.M.G., and received the second-class Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar
Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar
The Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar was a decoration awarded by the Sultan of Zanzibar. It was in use from its inception on 22 December 1875 to the overthrow of the Sultanate on 12 January 1964. The decoration had two grades, the first of which was usually awarded to foreign heads of...
. He was selected for promotion to the rank of Major-General, 12 April 1898.
Later, he became commander, Infantry Bde, Gibraltar 1899; Guards Bde and 9 Div, South Africa 1899-1900; and retired 1901.
He married, firstly, Alice Rosa Daly, daughter of Hon. Robert Daly and Hon. Cecilia Maria A'Court, on 6 August 1878. He married, secondly, Zelie Isabelle Richard de Preville on 30 December 1886. He died after his motorcycle collided with Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson
Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson
General Henry Seymour Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson, GCB, GCSI, GCVO, KCMG , known as Sir Henry Rawlinson, Bt between 1895 and 1919, was a British First World War general most famous for his roles in the Battle of the Somme of 1916 and the Battle of Amiens in 1918.-Military career:Rawlinson was...
's car at Bisley.
Works
- A ride in petticoats and slippers: an account of a journey through Morocco (Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, London, 1884)
- The accursed land, or, first steps on the water-way of Edom (Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, London, 1884)
- History of the Sudan campaign (HMSO, London, 1889)
- The land of the Nile springs; being chiefly an account of how we fought Kabarega (Edward Arnold, London, 1895)
- The nick of time: a musical romance in 3 acts (Lamley & Co, London, 1896)
- The work of the 9th Division in South Africa, 1900 (Edward Arnold, London, 1901)
- The ALLIES, ie England and Japan (Hutchinson & Co, London, 1907)
- Henry Charles Shelley, Colvile's Case (W Tarrant, London, 1901)
- The scapegoat: being a selection from a series of articles which have appeared in the review of the week on the case of Sir Henry Colville (London, 1901)