William Pulteney Pulteney
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant-General Sir William Pulteney Pulteney, GCVO
, KCB
, KCMG
, DSO
(18 May 1861 – 14 November 1941) was a British
general during the First World War.
, Pulteney was commissioned into the Oxford Militia in 1878. In 1881 he transferred to the Scots Guards
and served in various campaigns in Africa including the Anglo-Egyptian War and the Second Boer War
. He was given command of 1st Bn Scots Guards in 1900, 16th Brigade in Southern Ireland
on 1908 and the 6th Division in Southern Ireland in 1910.
Pulteney commanded III Corps from 5 August 1914 to 19 February 1918. He then headed 23rd Army Corps from 20 February 1918 to 15 April 1919. He was not highly regarded as an officer, being described by one of his subordinates as "the most completely ignorant general I served during the war". After World War I he was specially employed by the British Military Mission to Japan until retired in 1920.
He then served as Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod
for over twenty years from 1920 until 1941.
He was created a KCB, 1915; a KCMG, 1917, and a KCVO, 1918. Pulteney was married in 1917 to Jessie, daughter of Sir John Arnott
, Baronet.
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
, KCB
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...
, KCMG
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....
, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
(18 May 1861 – 14 November 1941) 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...
general during the First World War.
Military career
Educated at Eton CollegeEton 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"....
, Pulteney was commissioned into the Oxford Militia in 1878. In 1881 he transferred to the Scots Guards
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
and served in various campaigns in Africa including the Anglo-Egyptian War and 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...
. He was given command of 1st Bn Scots Guards in 1900, 16th Brigade in Southern 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...
on 1908 and the 6th Division in Southern Ireland in 1910.
Pulteney commanded III Corps from 5 August 1914 to 19 February 1918. He then headed 23rd Army Corps from 20 February 1918 to 15 April 1919. He was not highly regarded as an officer, being described by one of his subordinates as "the most completely ignorant general I served during the war". After World War I he was specially employed by the British Military Mission to Japan until retired in 1920.
He then served as Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod
Black Rod
The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, generally shortened to just Black Rod, is an official in the parliaments of several Commonwealth countries. The position originates in the House of Lords of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
for over twenty years from 1920 until 1941.
He was created a KCB, 1915; a KCMG, 1917, and a KCVO, 1918. Pulteney was married in 1917 to Jessie, daughter of Sir John Arnott
Arnott Baronets
The Arnott Baronetcy, of Woodlands St Anne in Shandon in the County of Cork, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 12 February 1896 for the Irish entrepreneur and philanthropist John Arnott....
, Baronet.