Penn Symons
Sir William Penn Symons KCB (born July 17, 1843 in Hatt, Cornwall , † October 23, 1899 in Dundee , South Africa ) was a British general.
Life
Born on July 17, 1843 as the eldest son of William Symons (1818-1883) in Hatt near Saltash , Cornwall, he entered on March 6, 1863 as an ensign in the 24th Infantry Regiment (renamed in South Wales Borderers in 1881 ). He served in this regiment for the next 30 years.
As a captain (February 16, 1878) and junior major , he took part in the campaign against the Zulu (→ Zulu War ) and the operations against the Galeka (a sub-group of the Xhosa ) from 1877-79 . On July 1, 1881, he was promoted to major in the South Wales Borderers and in 1882 took over a staff assignment as Assistant Adjutant-General for Musketry in Madras . He gave up this in 1885 to take part as Deputy Assistant and Quartermaster General in Sir George White's campaign in Burma (until 1889). There he organized and led the mounted infantry . He was mentioned several times for his leadership in the war report and received two brevet promotions , the last one to Brigadier General in the Chin Field Force .
In 1889/90 he took part in the Chin Lushai expedition as leader of the Burma column , for which he was appointed Companion (CB) of the Order of the Bath on November 14, 1890 .
Since January 31, 1891 lieutenant colonel and commander of a battalion of the South Wales Borderers , he was put on half pay on April 8, 1893 and went, again as Assistant Adjutant-General for Musketry , to Bengal for two years . During this time he took part in the campaign against the Waziri led by General Sir William Lockhart from 1894-95 as commander of the 2nd Infantry Brigade .
From March 25, 1895 to his transfer to South Africa in May 1899, he was in the local rank of Brigadier General Commander in the Sirhind district in the Punjab with the headquarters in Umbala (Ambala). When the Tochi Field Force was set up in June 1897 to carry out the punitive action against the village of Maizar on the Indian-Afghan border, Symons commanded the 2nd Brigade. In 1898/99 he commanded the 1st Division of the Tirah Expeditionary Force on the Indian north-west border with the rank of Major General . For his exploration of the Bazar Valley he was knighted as Knight Commander (KCB) of the Order of the Bath on May 20, 1898 .
On May 15, 1899 he was transferred to Natal , South Africa, with the local rank of brigadier general as commander . Since September 20, 1899 temporary Major General , he took over command of the fourth division of the South Africa Field Force on October 3, 1899 with simultaneous promotion to Lieutenant General .
He was fatally wounded in the Battle of Talana Hill on October 20, 1899 and died three days later in Dundee. Queen Victoria posthumously promoted Colonel Symons to patented Major General 'still on the battlefield' .
literature
- The Times, October 27, 1899, p. 6
- Boase, Frederic: Modern English Biography. - Truro: Netherton & Worth, 1892-1921.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Symons, Penn |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Symons, William Penn; Symons, Sir William Penn |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British general |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 17, 1843 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hatt, Cornwall |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 23, 1899 |
| Place of death | Dundee , South Africa |