Philip Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode

Sir Philip Chetwode, 7th Baronet, about 1930

Philip Walhouse Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode , GCB , OM , GCSI , KCMG , DSO , GCStJ (born September 21, 1869 in Westminster , London , † July 6, 1950 in Marylebone , London) was a British cavalry officer and general during the First World War , which played an important role in the conquest of Jerusalem in 1917. He was British Commander-in-Chief in India from 1930 to 1935 .

Life

Philip Chetwode was the son of Sir George Chetwode, 6th Baronet (1823-1905). In 1905 he inherited the Baronet , of Oakley in the County of Buckingham, created in 1700 . He joined the army in 1889 ( 19th Hussars, Queen Alexandra's Own Royal ) and was called "The Bart", an abbreviation for Baronet that is often used in correspondence, because of his aristocratic descent and his corresponding appearance. With his long amber cigarette holder and his stretched nasal speech, he embodied the image of the aristocratic British colonial officer like no other. Nevertheless, he was a serious and successful troop leader who achieved important successes for the Empire in the Middle East .

After the usual colonial assignments, Chetwode served in the Boer War ( South African War , 1899-1902) and led the 5th Cavalry Brigade as Brigadier General in the First World War and from July 15, 1915 as Major General the 2nd Cavalry Division (until November 1916) in France and Belgium . In March 1917 he was transferred to the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in Palestine as Commander of the Cavalry ( Mounted Desert Column ) , where Sir Archibald Murray was Commander in Chief and Sir Charles Dobell was his Deputy at that time .

With the Mounted Desert Column Chetwode took part in the first battle for Gaza (March 26-28, 1917), which was a failure as Dobell recalled the cavalry shortly before the decisive breakthrough. The second attack on Gaza (April 17-19) also ended unsuccessfully, whereupon Chetwode Dobell took over and Murray was replaced by Edmund Allenby .

In August 1917 Chetwode received the command of the XX. Corps, which he successfully led in the third battle for Gaza . He led the main assault on Jerusalem in December 1917 , which he captured within a day. The following year he led his corps at the Battle of Megiddo .

After the war, Chetwode became Military Secretary in the War Ministry (1919–1920), Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff (1920–1922), Adjutant-General to the Forces ; 1922–1923, Commander in Chief of the Aldershot Garrison (1923–1927), from 1928 to 1930 first Chief of Staff of the British Indian Army and since 1930 Commander in Chief in India. Appointed full general in 1926 and field marshal in 1933 , he retired from active service in 1935. In 1923 he hid Thomas Edward Lawrence in the Air Force to protect him from the press.

Chetwode was chairman of the British Red Cross Society from 1940 to 1947 and constable of the Tower from 1943 to 1948 . On July 10, 1945 he was raised as Baron Chetwode , of Chetwode in the County of Buckingham , to the higher nobility ( peer ) with seat in the House of Lords . His daughter had married the poet John Betjeman in 1933 .

Lord Chetwode died on July 6, 1950.

Web links

• Short biography and various documents (English)
• Philip Chetwode at Hansard (English)
• Field Marshal Philip Walhouse Chetwode, 1st Baron Chetwode on thepeerage.com , accessed August 20, 2015.

predecessor	Office	successor
George Chetwode	Baronet (of Oakley) 1905-1950	Philip Chetwode
William Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood	Commander in Chief of the British Armed Forces in India 1930–1935	Robert Cassels
New title created	Baron Chetwode 1945–1950	Philip Chetwode