Lieutenant General Sir George F. Gorringe
Lieutenant General Sir George F. Gorringe
Gorringe initially served at Chatham and Aldershot, and was promoted to Lieutenant on 17 February 1891. He was attached to the Egyptian Army in 1892-1899 and served with the Dongola Expedition of 1896 and with the Nile Expeditions of 1897-1899. He was promoted to Captain on 17 February 1899, and brevet Major the following day. In late November 1899 he commanded a Battalion of Irregular Sudanese troops during the operations leading to the defeat of the Khalifa (mentioned in despatches 25 November 1899, and for his services in the Sudan he received the brevet rank of lieutenant-colonel on 14 March 1900. He then served in the South African War of 1899-1901, and was in November 1900 appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for his services. Gorringe again served in the Egyptian Army in the Sudan 1902-1904.
Knighted in 1915, his distinguished service during the First World War included command of the 3rd Indian Army Corps during operations up the Tigris in March to July 1916, and of the 47th Division British Expeditionary Force in France in September 1916 to March 1919. In his despatch, to the Chief of the General Staff at British Indian Army Headquarters in Simla, on the operations in Mesopotamia from 19 January to 30 April 1916, Lt-Genl Sir Percy Lake, KCB reported the following: "Major-General (temporary Lieut.-General) Sir G. F. Gorringe has rendered valuable service to the State. As Chief of the Staff to the Tigris Column from 28 January, and in command of the Column from 12 March onwards, he has shown untiring energy, ability and devotion in dealing with the many difficult situations which he had to face. He is a Commander of proved ability in the field." After the War, he commanded the 10th Division in Egypt from 1919 to 1921, rising to Lieutenant-General in 1921. He retired in 1924. Gorringe acted as Colonel Commandant of the Royal Engineers from 1927 to 1938. |