Herbert Chermside
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant-General Sir Herbert Charles Chermside GCMG
, CB
(31 July 1850 – 24 September 1929) was a British
soldier who served as Governor of Queensland in Australia
from 1902 to 1904.
in Wiltshire
in 1850. He was a scholar at Eton College
and then attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich where he graduated at the top of his year and was commissioned in the Royal Engineers
in 1870.
during the Paris Commune
, and were accused of supporting the Communards
, narrowly escaping execution. After a posting in Ireland
, he joined Benjamin Leigh Smith
's expedition to the Arctic
in 1873.
In 1876, Chermside was sent to Turkey
to work with the Turkish forces after Serbia
and Montenegro
declared war on the country in July. He was working as a military attaché
to Turkey in 1877, when Russia
also declared war. After six months with the Turkish boundary commission, he was appointed Military Vice Consul
to Anatolia
in July 1879.
In 1882, Chermside was promoted to Captain
, and appointed to the British Army
's intelligence staff in Egypt
. He was given command of the Egyptian Army's 1st Battalion by the army's Sirdar
, Evelyn Wood, and spent four years in Egypt where he took part in the Suakin Expedition
of 1884, against Muhammad Ahmad
's Mahdi
st forces and served as governor-general of the Red Sea
littoral
. He was transferred to Wadi Halfa
in October 1886, and spent the next two years repelling Mahdist incursions at Sarras.
Although still a captain in the Royal Engineers, Chermside was brevetted
major (1883), lieutenant-colonel (1884) and colonel (1887). In 1888 he returned to consular duties, spending a year in Kurdistan and seven years as military attaché to Constantinople
. He then was assigned to reorganise the gendarmerie of the newly-autonomous Cretan State
, later taking command of the British troops there and serving as military commissioner.
In 1899, Chermside returned to Britain, briefly commanding the Curragh Camp
in Ireland
before commanding the 14th brigade and the 3rd division in South Africa
during the Second Boer War
. In 1901, he resumed command at the Curragh, but in that same year was appointed the first post-Federation
Governor of Queensland
.
on 24 March 1902 to find Queensland in the grip of a drought
and economic recession
. He immediately volunteered to forgo 15 per cent of his vice-regal salary, and his sacrifice and approachable nature made him a popular figure amongst the Queensland public. However, concerned by the parliamentary attitude to the role of governor, Chermside decided to resign in 1904, although he delayed the announcement until a political crisis had been dealt with by granting a dissolution of parliament
to Premier Sir Arthur Morgan
after several failed attempts to establish a stable government. Once he had opened the new parliament, Chermside announced his retirement and left Queensland on 8 October on pre-retirement leave.
Chermside was married twice: to Geraldine Katherine Webb whom he married in 1899, although she died in 1910; and to Clementine Maria Reuter (daughter of Paul Reuter
) from 1920. Both marriages were childless.
Sir Herbert retired from the British Army in 1907 at the rank of Lieutenant-General. He died in London, aged 79, on 24 September 1929.
in 1886. He was also made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
(CMG) in 1880, upgraded to Knight Commander (KCMG) in 1897 and Knight Grand Cross (GCMG) in 1899.
The Brisbane
suburb of Chermside
is named after him.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, CB
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...
(31 July 1850 – 24 September 1929) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
soldier who served as Governor of Queensland in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
from 1902 to 1904.
Early life and education
Chermside was born in the town of WiltonWilton, Wiltshire
Wilton is a town in Wiltshire, , England, with a rich heritage dating back to the Anglo-Saxons. Today it is dwarfed by its larger and more famous neighbour, Salisbury, but still has a range of notable shops and attractions, including Wilton House.The confluence of the rivers Wylye and Nadder is at...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
in 1850. He was a scholar at Eton College
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 then attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich where he graduated at the top of his year and was commissioned 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....
in 1870.
Military career
In 1871, Chermside and several other officers visited ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
during the Paris Commune
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...
, and were accused of supporting the Communards
Communards
The Communards were members and supporters of the short-lived 1871 Paris Commune formed in the wake of the Franco-Prussian War and France's defeat....
, narrowly escaping execution. After a posting in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, he joined Benjamin Leigh Smith
Benjamin Leigh Smith
Benjamin Leigh Smith, b. 1828 – d. 1913, was a British yachtsman and explorer. Between 1871 and 1882 Mr. Smith undertook no less than five scientific expeditions to Svalbard and Franz Josef Land. Benjamin Leigh Smith was shipwrecked at Cape Flora, Northbrook Island , in 1881. He discovered and...
's expedition to the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
in 1873.
In 1876, Chermside was sent to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
to work with the Turkish forces after Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
declared war on the country in July. He was working as a military attaché
Military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...
to Turkey in 1877, when Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
also declared war. After six months with the Turkish boundary commission, he was appointed Military Vice Consul
Vice Consul
A vice consul is a subordinate officer, authorized to exercise consular functions in some particular part of a district controlled by a consulate....
to Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
in July 1879.
In 1882, Chermside was promoted to Captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
, and appointed to 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...
's intelligence staff in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. He was given command of the Egyptian Army's 1st Battalion by the army's Sirdar
Sardar
Sardar is a title of Indo-Aryan origin that was originally used to denote feudal princes, noblemen, and other aristocrats. It was later applied to indicate a Head of State, a Commander-in-chief, and an Army military rank...
, Evelyn Wood, and spent four years in Egypt where he took part in 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, against Muhammad Ahmad
Muhammad Ahmad
Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah was a religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, on June 29, 1881, proclaimed himself as the Mahdi or messianic redeemer of the Islamic faith...
's Mahdi
Mahdi
In Islamic eschatology, the Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on Earth for seven, nine or nineteen years- before the Day of Judgment and, alongside Jesus, will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice and tyranny.In Shia Islam, the belief in the Mahdi is a "central religious...
st forces and served as governor-general of the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
littoral
Littoral
The littoral zone is that part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore. In coastal environments the littoral zone extends from the high water mark, which is rarely inundated, to shoreline areas that are permanently submerged. It always includes this intertidal zone and is often used to...
. He was transferred to Wadi Halfa
Wadi Halfa
Wadi Halfa is a city in the state of Northern, in northern Sudan, on the shores of Lake Nubia . It is the terminus of a rail line from Khartoum and the point where goods are transferred from rail to ferries going down the Lake Nasser...
in October 1886, and spent the next two years repelling Mahdist incursions at Sarras.
Although still a captain in the Royal Engineers, Chermside was brevetted
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
major (1883), lieutenant-colonel (1884) and colonel (1887). In 1888 he returned to consular duties, spending a year in Kurdistan and seven years as military attaché to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. He then was assigned to reorganise the gendarmerie of the newly-autonomous Cretan State
Cretan State
The Cretan State was established in 1898, following the intervention by the Great Powers on the island of Crete. In 1897 an insurrection in Crete led the Ottoman Empire to declare war on Greece, which led the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Russia to intervene on the grounds that the Ottoman...
, later taking command of the British troops there and serving as military commissioner.
In 1899, Chermside returned to Britain, briefly commanding the Curragh Camp
Curragh Camp
The Curragh Camp is an army base and military college located in The Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. It is the main training centre for the Irish Army.- Brief history of the Curragh's military heritage :...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
before commanding the 14th brigade and the 3rd division 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...
during the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The 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...
. In 1901, he resumed command at the Curragh, but in that same year was appointed the first post-Federation
Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
Governor of Queensland
Governors of the Australian states
The Governors of the Australian states are the representatives of the Queen of Australia in each of that country's six states. The Governors perform the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the Governor-General of Australia at the national level...
.
Governor of Queensland
Chermside arrived in BrisbaneBrisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
on 24 March 1902 to find Queensland in the grip of a drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
and economic recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
. He immediately volunteered to forgo 15 per cent of his vice-regal salary, and his sacrifice and approachable nature made him a popular figure amongst the Queensland public. However, concerned by the parliamentary attitude to the role of governor, Chermside decided to resign in 1904, although he delayed the announcement until a political crisis had been dealt with by granting a dissolution of parliament
Dissolution of parliament
In parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.Usually there is a maximum length of a legislature, and a dissolution must happen before the maximum time...
to Premier Sir Arthur Morgan
Arthur Morgan (Queensland politician)
Sir Arthur Morgan was the Premier of Queensland, Australia from 1903 to 1906.Morgan was born in Warwick, Queensland, the fourth son of James Morgan and his wife Kate, née Barton...
after several failed attempts to establish a stable government. Once he had opened the new parliament, Chermside announced his retirement and left Queensland on 8 October on pre-retirement leave.
Family and later life
Herbert Chermside was the second son of the rector of Wilton, Reverend Richard Seymour Conway Chermside, and his wife, Emily Dawson. His paternal grandfather was the military surgeon Sir Robert Chermside.Chermside was married twice: to Geraldine Katherine Webb whom he married in 1899, although she died in 1910; and to Clementine Maria Reuter (daughter of Paul Reuter
Paul Reuter
Paul Julius Freiherr von Reuter was a German entrepreneur and later naturalized British citizen...
) from 1920. Both marriages were childless.
Sir Herbert retired from the British Army in 1907 at the rank of Lieutenant-General. He died in London, aged 79, on 24 September 1929.
Honours and legacy
Chermside was made a Companion of the Order of the BathOrder 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...
in 1886. He was also made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(CMG) in 1880, upgraded to Knight Commander (KCMG) in 1897 and Knight Grand Cross (GCMG) in 1899.
The Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
suburb of Chermside
Chermside, Queensland
Chermside is a suburb on the north side of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.Chermside is a key destination along Queensland Transport's future Northern Busway...
is named after him.