| Sir George Henry Fowke | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 September 1864 |
| Died | 8 February 1936 (aged 71) |
| Place of death | Dinard, France |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
 British Army |
| Years of service | 1884 – 1922 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands held |
Engineer-in-Chief, BEF Adjutant-General, BEF |
| Battles/wars | First World War |
| Awards |
Order of the Bath Order of St Michael and St George |
Lieutenant General Sir George Henry Fowke KCB, KCMG (1864–1936) was a British Army general, who served on the staff of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War.
Biography[]
Fowke joined the Royal Engineers in 1884, and saw service in the South African War at the Defence of Ladysmith, where he was mentioned in despatches.[1] After the end of the war, he was appointed as Director of Public Works in the Transvaal and was a member of the Transvaal Legislative Council from 1902 to 1904.[2] During the Russo-Japanese War he was an observer attached to the Japanese Army in Manchuria, and then lectured on fortifications at the School of Military Engineering.[2] He was appointed the Assistant Adjutant General for the Royal Engineers in 1910, and then the Inspector of the Royal Engineers in 1913.[2]
On the outbreak of the First World War, he was appointed to the post of Brigadier-General Royal Engineers in the BEF, the senior engineering advisor.[2] As the war settled into a stalemate it became apparent that the Royal Engineers would play a significant role in trench warfare, and the position was changed to Chief Engineer and then to Engineer-in-Chief in 1915. It was in this position, that he agreed the formation of the Royal Engineer tunnelling companies, after a proposal from John Norton-Griffiths.
In February 1916 he was promoted to hold the post of Adjutant-General of the Expeditionary Force.[2] He held this post until the end of the war, and retired from the Army in 1922.[2]
References[]
The original article can be found at George Henry Fowke and the edit history here.