Frederick Stopford

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Sir Frederick William Stopford, ca.1916

Sir Frederick William Stopford KCB , KCMG , KCVO (born February 22, 1854 in Dublin - † May 4, 1929 ) was a British Army officer , most recently Lieutenant-General , best known for his service on the Gelibolu Peninsula during the Battle of Gallipoli in world war I is.

Life

Stopford was born the second son of James Stopford, 4th Earl of Courtown from his second marriage to Dora Pennefather, daughter of Judge Edward Pennefather . He had an elder stepbrother who became 5th Earl of Courtown and two biological brothers.

Stopford was educated at Eton College . He was a Page of Honor to Queen Victoria from 1866 to 1870 . In 1871 he joined the Grenadier Guards . In 1882 he was aide-de-camp of Garnet Wolseley's chief of staff in the Egyptian expedition , John Miller Adye , and took part in the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir . In 1885 he was aide-de-camp of Arthur Lyon Fremantle , the commander of the Brigade of Guards in the Suakin expedition against Osman Digna . He then served until 1889 as a brigade major of this brigade in Crete and the 2nd Infantry Brigade in Aldershot . From 1892 to 1894 he was Deputy Assistant Adjutant General at the headquarters of the British Army and then in the Aldershot Command. In 1895/96 Stopford took part in the Fourth Ashanti War in what is now Ghana . In 1897 he became Assistant Adjutant General in the British Army.

Stopford took part in the Second Boer War in South Africa as military secretary to Redvers Bullers , the commander of the Natal Field Force . He was able to distinguish himself in several battles and was honored, among other things, with the inclusion in the personal nobility as Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George as well as the Queen's South Africa Medal with six clips. After his return to the mother country he became Deputy Adjutant General in Aldershot and in 1902 senior staff officer of the I Army Corps with the rank of Brigadier-General in the same position. From 1904 to 1906 he was in the rank of Major-General Director-General of Military Training in the War Office , after which he commanded the London Disctrict until 1909 . He then resigned from active service. From 1912 to 1914 he was a lieutenant in the Tower of London .

During the First World War he was reactivated and in 1915 he was given command of the newly formed IX Corps . This landed on August 6, 1915 in Suvla Bay on Gallipoli in a final British attempt to break the standstill of the fronts at Anzac Cove and Cape Helles. Stopford monitored the operations on board the sloop HMS Jonquil without realizing the seriousness of the situation on land. His inaction was quickly criticized, and Secretary of War Kitchener authorized the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force , Ian Hamilton , to change command on August 14, making Julian Byng, coming from the Western Front , available. On August 15, Stopford was relieved of his command and replaced by Byng.

Stopford returned to his old post of Lieutenant of the Tower of London, which he held until January 1917. In 1920 he was retired. Stopford died unmarried and childless.

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personal data
SURNAME Stopford, Frederick
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stopford, Sir Frederick William (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British Lieutenant General
DATE OF BIRTH February 22, 1854
PLACE OF BIRTH Dublin
DATE OF DEATH May 4, 1929