Wyndham Childs
Encyclopedia
Major-General Sir Borlase Elward Wyndham Childs KCMG
KBE
CB
(15 December 1876–27 November 1946) was a British Army
officer who also served as Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
from 1921 to 1928.
, the son of a solicitor
. He initially entered the law himself, as an articled clerk
to his father. He was also a Captain
in the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
. When the Second Boer War
broke out he volunteered for overseas service, but was turned down. He decided to volunteer for regular service instead, intending to return to the law after the war, and in 1900 was commissioned into the regular DCLI, being immediately posted to the 1st Battalion in Dum Dum
, India
. Shortly afterwards, the battalion moved to Ceylon as a guard battalion for the Boer prisoner of war camp. After two years, the battalion was finally posted to South Africa
, where Childs was appointed adjutant
and quartermaster
of the rest camp at Stellenbosch. There he came to the attention of Colonel Nevil Macready
, then Chief Staff Officer at Cape Colony
, who appointed him garrison adjutant of Cape Town Castle. He was promoted Lieutenant
in April 1904 and returned to England in 1905, where he became adjutant of his battalion. He transferred to the Royal Irish Regiment as a Captain in 1910.
In February 1911 he was seconded to the War Office
as a Staff Captain. In November 1910 he accompanied his old friend, Macready, by then Director of Personal Services, as his staff officer to Tonypandy
in South Wales
, where rioting had broken out. In February 1912 he was promoted to the brevet rank of Major
. In April 1914 he was appointed Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General at the War Office and in September 1914 he was appointed Assistant Adjutant-General with the British Expeditionary Force and promoted to the temporary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and shortly afterwards to the temporary rank of Colonel
. While with the BEF, he instituted court martial reforms that increased the remission of death sentences for deserters to 89 per cent of all those sentenced to death by military courts.
In 1916 he returned to the War Office as Assistant Adjutant-General, mainly dealing with conscientious objector
s, and later the same year was appointed Director of Personal Services, in charge of Army discipline. In September 1915 he was given the substantive rank of Major in the DCLI, in 1916 he became a Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel, in 1917 a Brevet Colonel, and in 1919 a Temporary Major-General. In 1919 he also became a Deputy Adjutant-General.
He was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1916, Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1918, Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1919, and Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in February 1921.
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....
KBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
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...
(15 December 1876–27 November 1946) was a 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...
officer who also served as Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, usually just Assistant Commissioner , is the third highest rank in London's Metropolitan Police, ranking below Deputy Commissioner and above Deputy Assistant Commissioner. There are usually four officers in the rank...
from 1921 to 1928.
Military career
Childs was born in CornwallCornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, the son of a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
. He initially entered the law himself, as an articled clerk
Articled clerk
An articled clerk, also known as an articling student, is an apprentice in a professional firm in Commonwealth countries. Generally the term arises in the accountancy profession and in the legal profession. The articled clerk signs a contract, known as "articles of clerkship", committing to a...
to his father. He was also a 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...
in the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. Its lineage is continued today by The Rifles....
. When 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...
broke out he volunteered for overseas service, but was turned down. He decided to volunteer for regular service instead, intending to return to the law after the war, and in 1900 was commissioned into the regular DCLI, being immediately posted to the 1st Battalion in Dum Dum
Dum Dum
Dum Dum is a city and a municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is a neighbourhood in North-west Kolkata and the location of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, formerly Dum Dum Airport.Dum Dum is a well known place in greater Kolkata...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Shortly afterwards, the battalion moved to Ceylon as a guard battalion for the Boer prisoner of war camp. After two years, the battalion was finally posted to 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...
, where Childs was appointed adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
and quartermaster
Quartermaster
Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior...
of the rest camp at Stellenbosch. There he came to the attention of Colonel Nevil Macready
Nevil Macready
General Sir Cecil Frederick Nevil Macready, 1st Baronet, GCMG, KCB, PC , known as Sir Nevil Macready and affectionately as Make-Ready , was a British Army officer...
, then Chief Staff Officer at Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
, who appointed him garrison adjutant of Cape Town Castle. He was promoted Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in April 1904 and returned to England in 1905, where he became adjutant of his battalion. He transferred to the Royal Irish Regiment as a Captain in 1910.
In February 1911 he was seconded to the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
as a Staff Captain. In November 1910 he accompanied his old friend, Macready, by then Director of Personal Services, as his staff officer to Tonypandy
Tonypandy
Tonypandy is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. A former industrial coal mining town, today Tonypandy is best known as the site of the Tonypandy Riots....
in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, where rioting had broken out. In February 1912 he was promoted to the brevet rank of Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
. In April 1914 he was appointed Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General at the War Office and in September 1914 he was appointed Assistant Adjutant-General with the British Expeditionary Force and promoted to the temporary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and shortly afterwards to the temporary 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...
. While with the BEF, he instituted court martial reforms that increased the remission of death sentences for deserters to 89 per cent of all those sentenced to death by military courts.
In 1916 he returned to the War Office as Assistant Adjutant-General, mainly dealing with conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
s, and later the same year was appointed Director of Personal Services, in charge of Army discipline. In September 1915 he was given the substantive rank of Major in the DCLI, in 1916 he became a Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel, in 1917 a Brevet Colonel, and in 1919 a Temporary Major-General. In 1919 he also became a Deputy Adjutant-General.
Police career
Childs was appointed Assistant Commissioner "C" (Crime) in December 1921. He retired from the Army in December 1922 with the honorary rank of Major-General. While Assistant Commissioner he attempted with some success to stamp out the illegal arms trade. He resigned from the Metropolitan Police on 6 November 1928.He was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1916, Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1918, Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1919, and Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in February 1921.
Works
- Episodes and reflections: being some records from the life of Major-General Sir Wyndham Childs, K.C.M.G., K.B.E., C.B., one time second lieut., 2nd Volunteer Battalion, the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, Cassell, 1930
- John Bull's Book of Pitfalls, Pryor Publications, 1999, ISBN 0-946014-80-9
External links
- Obituary, The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, 30 November 1946 - Biography, Who Was Who
- Entry on Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives website