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William Rycroft

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Sir William Rycroft

KCB KCMG
Birth nameWilliam Henry Rycroft
Born(1861-02-17)17 February 1861
Died4 November 1925(1925-11-04) (aged 64)
Rosebank, Perthshire, Scotland
Buried
All Saints Church, Dummer, Hampshire, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1871–1922
RankMajor General
Alma materRoyal Military College, Sandhurst
Spouse(s)
Grace Menzies
​
(m. 1887)​
[1]
Children2

Major General Sir William Henry Rycroft KCB KCMG (17 February 1861 – 4 November 1925) was a British Army officer who rose to the rank of major general, and colonial governor of British North Borneo.

Military career

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Rycroft was the second of six children of Sir Nelson Rycroft, 4th Baronet, and his wife Juliana Ogilvy. His elder brother Richard became the 5th baronet.

Rycroft was educated at Eton College and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He enlisted in the British Army in 1871. In 1879 he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the 71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot[2] which became part of the Highland Light Infantry in 1881.

He took part in the Gordon Relief Expedition in 1884–85. He transferred as a captain to the 7th Dragoon Guards in April 1888,[3] attended the Staff College, Camberley, 1891–1892, was deputy assistant adjutant general at York 1895–1896, served on the North-West Frontier in India 1897–1898 and served on the staff during the South African War 1899–1900. While serving at York he was transferred to the 11th Hussars as a major in August 1896.[4]

He served in Somaliland from 1902 to 1905, was regimental commander of the 11th Hussars from 1904, when, in September, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel,[5] until 1908. He had been promoted to brevet rank of colonel in September 1907.[6] In July 1909, while serving on the half-pay list, he was promoted to full colonel.[7]

He was in South Africa again from 1911 to 1912 and he succeeded Brigadier General George Forestier-Walker as assistant quartermaster general (AQMG) in Southern Command from October 1912[8] to 1914.

He fought in the First World War, which began in the summer of 1914, and was mentioned in dispatches seven times for his service throughout the conflict. He was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general and succeeded William Hickie as a deputy adjutant and quartermaster general (DAQMG) in September.[9] Promoted to the permanent rank of major general in June 1915,[10] he was general officer commanding (GOC) of the 32nd Division 1915–16, a Kitchener's Army formation which he led during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. He was major general of Administration in the Army of the Black Sea 1918–20, then major general of the headquarters (HQ) Irish Command 1920–21, by which time the war was over.

A year later he retired from the army and served as governor of North Borneo from 1922 until his death in November 1925, at the age of 64. After his death, his predecessor Aylmer Cavendish Pearson took over the governorship for the second time.[11][12][13]

Honours

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Rycroft was appointed CB in the 1910 Birthday Honours,[14] CMG "in recognition of meritorious services during the war" in 1915,[15] and knighted KCMG "for services rendered in connection with Military Operations in the Field" in the 1918 New Year Honours.[16] After the war he was awarded the additional knighthood of KCB "for valuable services rendered in connection with Military Operations in the Balkans" in the 1919 Birthday Honours;[17] made Grand Commander of the Greek Order of the Redeemer[18] and awarded the Greek Medal of Military Merit;[19] awarded the Serbian Order of the White Eagle, 2nd Class (with Swords);[20] made commandeur of the French Legion of Honour;[21] and made a Grand Officer of the Order of the Star of Roumania.[22] He was a Knight of Grace of the Order of the Hospital of St John of JerusaJem.[23]

References

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  1. ^ Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. Vol. 1 (107th ed.). Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd. p. 114.
  2. ^ "No. 24761". The London Gazette. 12 September 1879. p. 5454.
  3. ^ "No. 25806". The London Gazette. 10 April 1888. p. 2069.
  4. ^ "No. 26769". The London Gazette. 18 August 1896. p. 4694.
  5. ^ "No. 27719". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 October 1904. p. 6365.
  6. ^ "No. 28070". The London Gazette. 18 October 1907. p. 6978.
  7. ^ "No. 28271". The London Gazette. 16 July 1909. p. 5465.
  8. ^ "No. 28663". The London Gazette. 15 November 1912. p. 8375.
  9. ^ "No. 28968". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 November 1914. p. 9109.
  10. ^ "No. 12824". The Edinburgh Gazette. 29 June 1915. p. 923.
  11. ^ "Rycroft, Sir William Henry (1861-1925), Major General". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College, London. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014.
  12. ^ Robinson, Peter (2017). A Welsh Response to the Great War: The 38th (Welsh) Division on the Western Front 1914 – 1919 (PDF) (Thesis). Cardiff University.
  13. ^ "British North Borneo". Sarawak Gazette. 1 February 1922. p. 43.
  14. ^ "No. 28388". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 June 1910. p. 4476.
  15. ^ "No. 29102". The London Gazette. 16 March 1915. pp. 2621–2622.
  16. ^ "No. 30450". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 1917. p. 3.
  17. ^ "No. 31395". The London Gazette. 6 June 1919. p. 7423.
  18. ^ "No. 30945". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 October 1918. p. 11951.
  19. ^ "No. 31736". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 January 1920. p. 704.
  20. ^ "No. 31393". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 June 1919. p. 7401.
  21. ^ "No. 31465". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 July 1919. p. 9225.
  22. ^ "No. 31560". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 September 1919. p. 11747.
  23. ^ "No. 31230". The London Gazette. 14 March 1919. p. 3479.
[edit]
Government offices
Preceded by Governor of North Borneo
1922–1925 		Succeeded by
Aylmer Cavendish Pearson (2nd term)
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