Ronald Charles

Sir

Ronald Charles

KCB CMG DSO
Sir; Ronald Charles; KCB CMG DSO
	Sir Ronald Charles by Bassano Ltd, 1930
Born	26 June 1875; Calcutta, British India
Died	24 December 1955 (aged 80); Somerset, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	British Army
Years of service	1894–1934
Rank	Lieutenant General
Unit	Royal Engineers
Commands	Royal Military Academy, Woolwich; Waziristan Force; 25th Division
Battles / wars	Second Boer War; First World War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath; Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George; Distinguished Service Order; Mentioned in Despatches

Lieutenant General Sir James Ronald Edmondston Charles, KCB, CMG, DSO (26 June 1875 – 24 December 1955) was a senior British Army officer in the Royal Engineers.^[1]

Family

Charles was born in Calcutta, British India, the son of Thomas Edmondston Charles, later honorary physician to King Edward VII,^[2]^[3] and Ada Henrietta Charles.^[4] He had two older sisters, Bessie and Ethel, who both studied architecture and became the first women members of the Royal Institute of British Architects.^[5]

Military career

Charles was educated at Winchester College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst,^[1] and was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1894.^[6] He served in the Second Boer War (1899–1901), was mentioned in despatches (31 March 1900),^[7] and received the Distinguished Service Order in November 1900.^[8] He was part of the Bazar Valley and Mohmand Field Forces in 1908.^[6]

Charles spent most of the First World War in the General Staff until being promoted to command a re-constituted 25th Division in August 1918.^[9] He was appointed commander of the Waziristan Force in India in 1923 and then became commandant of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich in 1924.^[6] He was Director of Military Operations and Intelligence at the War Office from 1926 and Master-General of the Ordnance from 1931.^[10] He retired in 1934.^[6]

Charles' nickname among the troops was 'Don Carlos', deriving from his commanding personality and his height of 6’ 4".^[9] He was also commandant of the Royal Engineers from 1931 to 1945 and Chief Royal Engineer from 1940 to 1946.^[6]

Civilian roles

From 1934 to 1953, Charles was a director of British Aluminium Company,^[11] appointed for his high level connections and knowledge of defence procurement procedures gained at the War Office and as Master General of the Ordnance.^[12]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Obituary: Lt.-Gen. Sir Ronald Charles". The Times. 28 December 1955. p. 11.
^ Addison, Henry Robert; Oakes, Charles Henry; Lawson, William John; Sladen, Douglas Brooke Wheelton (1906). Who's who. A. & C. Black. p. 317. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
^ "Deaths in the Services". The Lancet. J. Onwhyn: 702. 10 March 1906. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(01)80307-x.
^ Walker, Lynne (2004). "Charles, Ethel Mary (1871–1962), architect". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/63129. Retrieved 23 August 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ "Ethel Charles nomination papers". Architecture.com. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
^ "No. 27282". The London Gazette. 8 February 1901. pp. 844–846.
^ "No. 27359". The London Gazette. 27 September 1901. p. 6309.
^ ^a ^b Centre for First World War Studies
^ "No. 33785". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1931. p. 3.
^ "Appendix: Background of key BACo Top Management Team" (PDF). Glasgow University. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
^ Perchard, Andrew (2010) Land and Empire: Politics and the British Aluminium Company. University of Strathclyde. Retrieved: 17 September 2021.

Military offices
Preceded by Webb Gillman	Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Woolwich 1924–1926	Succeeded by Hugo de Pree
Preceded by John Burnett-Stuart	Director of Military Operations and Intelligence 1926–1931	Succeeded by William Bartholomew
Preceded by Sir Webb Gillman	Master-General of the Ordnance 1931–1934	Succeeded by Sir Hugh Elles
Honorary titles
Preceded by Sir Bindon Blood	Chief Royal Engineer 1946–1951	Succeeded by Sir Guy Williams

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[times-1] "Obituary: Lt.-Gen. Sir Ronald Charles". The Times. 28 December 1955. p. 11.

[2] Addison, Henry Robert; Oakes, Charles Henry; Lawson, William John; Sladen, Douglas Brooke Wheelton (1906). Who's who. A. & C. Black. p. 317. Retrieved 7 May 2019.

[3] "Deaths in the Services". The Lancet. J. Onwhyn: 702. 10 March 1906. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(01)80307-x.

[:1-4] Walker, Lynne (2004). "Charles, Ethel Mary (1871–1962), architect". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/63129. Retrieved 23 August 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

[Ethel-5] "Ethel Charles nomination papers". Architecture.com. Retrieved 17 September 2021.

[lh-6] Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives

[7] "No. 27282". The London Gazette. 8 February 1901. pp. 844–846.

[8] "No. 27359". The London Gazette. 27 September 1901. p. 6309.

[birm-9] Centre for First World War Studies

[10] "No. 33785". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1931. p. 3.

[BACo-11] "Appendix: Background of key BACo Top Management Team" (PDF). Glasgow University. Retrieved 17 September 2021.

[Perchard-12] Perchard, Andrew (2010) Land and Empire: Politics and the British Aluminium Company. University of Strathclyde. Retrieved: 17 September 2021.

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