Richard Pope-Hennessy | |
---|---|
Born | 18 August 1875 London, England, United Kingdom |
Died | 1 March 1942 (aged 66) London, England United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Rank | Major-General |
Commands held | 4th Battalion,
King's African Rifles 1st Bn, the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry 50th (Northumbrian) Division |
Known for | Sotik Massacre |
Battles/wars |
Second Boer War First World War |
Awards |
Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order |
Major-General Ladislaus Herbert Richard Pope-Hennessy CB DSO (18 August 1875 – 1 March 1942) was a British Army officer of Irish Catholic descent who served in both the Second Boer War and First World War. [1] In 1905, he led a punitive expedition which resulted in the killings of 1,850 men, women and children of the Kipsigis tribe.
Pope-Hennessy was the eldest son of Sir John Pope-Hennessy MP, of Rostellan Castle, County Cork and Catherine Elizabeth Low. He was educated at Beaumont College. [2]
Pope-Hennessy was commissioned into the Oxfordshire Light Infantry in 1895. [2] He was deployed to South Africa and served with the West African Frontier Force during the Second Boer War. [2]
In June 1905, in response to attacks on native Maasai people by the Kipsigis people in the East Africa Protectorate, Pope-Hennessy led an expedition to subdue the latter. During the expedition, Pope-Hennessy's men raided the town of Sotik, resulting in a massacre which involved the deaths of 1,850 men, women and children. [3] [4]
Following the success of the expedition, Pope-Hennessy was made commandant of the 4th Battalion, King's African Rifles in 1906 for which service was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in 1908. [2]
During the First World War he became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in Mesopotamia in 1916 and then became a staff officer with the British Indian Army in 1917. [2] [5]
After the war he served as a staff officer at the War Office and then was Military Inter-Allied Commissioner of Control in Berlin. Subsequently, he spent three years as military attaché in Washington D.C. [6] He became General Officer Commanding 50th (Northumbrian) Division in 1931 before retiring in 1935. [7]
Pope-Hennessy published a number of books an articles on military matters and in one of them he predicted the technique of the German Blitzkrieg. [5]
He took particular interest in military matters and in issues affecting his native Ireland. In 1919 he had published 'The Irish Dominion: a Method of Approach to a Settlement'. [2] He was Liberal candidate for the Tonbridge Division of Kent at the 1935 General Election. Tonbridge was a safe Conservative seat that they had won at every election since it was created in 1918. The Liberal Party had not fielded a candidate at the previous general election and he was not expected to win and finished a poor third. [8]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Rt Hon. Herbert Henry Spender-Clay | 23,460 | 61.3 | ||
Labour | F M Landau | 9,405 | 24.6 | ||
Liberal | Ladislaus Herbert Richard Pope-Hennessy | 5,403 | 14.1 | ||
Majority | 14,055 | 36.7 | |||
Turnout | 68.2 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing |
He married, in 1910, Una Birch a writer, historian and biographer. They had two sons, [2] both of whom were gay: James, who became a writer, and Sir John, an art historian. [9]
Richard Pope-Hennessy | |
---|---|
Born | 18 August 1875 London, England, United Kingdom |
Died | 1 March 1942 (aged 66) London, England United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Rank | Major-General |
Commands held | 4th Battalion,
King's African Rifles 1st Bn, the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry 50th (Northumbrian) Division |
Known for | Sotik Massacre |
Battles/wars |
Second Boer War First World War |
Awards |
Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order |
Major-General Ladislaus Herbert Richard Pope-Hennessy CB DSO (18 August 1875 – 1 March 1942) was a British Army officer of Irish Catholic descent who served in both the Second Boer War and First World War. [1] In 1905, he led a punitive expedition which resulted in the killings of 1,850 men, women and children of the Kipsigis tribe.
Pope-Hennessy was the eldest son of Sir John Pope-Hennessy MP, of Rostellan Castle, County Cork and Catherine Elizabeth Low. He was educated at Beaumont College. [2]
Pope-Hennessy was commissioned into the Oxfordshire Light Infantry in 1895. [2] He was deployed to South Africa and served with the West African Frontier Force during the Second Boer War. [2]
In June 1905, in response to attacks on native Maasai people by the Kipsigis people in the East Africa Protectorate, Pope-Hennessy led an expedition to subdue the latter. During the expedition, Pope-Hennessy's men raided the town of Sotik, resulting in a massacre which involved the deaths of 1,850 men, women and children. [3] [4]
Following the success of the expedition, Pope-Hennessy was made commandant of the 4th Battalion, King's African Rifles in 1906 for which service was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in 1908. [2]
During the First World War he became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in Mesopotamia in 1916 and then became a staff officer with the British Indian Army in 1917. [2] [5]
After the war he served as a staff officer at the War Office and then was Military Inter-Allied Commissioner of Control in Berlin. Subsequently, he spent three years as military attaché in Washington D.C. [6] He became General Officer Commanding 50th (Northumbrian) Division in 1931 before retiring in 1935. [7]
Pope-Hennessy published a number of books an articles on military matters and in one of them he predicted the technique of the German Blitzkrieg. [5]
He took particular interest in military matters and in issues affecting his native Ireland. In 1919 he had published 'The Irish Dominion: a Method of Approach to a Settlement'. [2] He was Liberal candidate for the Tonbridge Division of Kent at the 1935 General Election. Tonbridge was a safe Conservative seat that they had won at every election since it was created in 1918. The Liberal Party had not fielded a candidate at the previous general election and he was not expected to win and finished a poor third. [8]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Rt Hon. Herbert Henry Spender-Clay | 23,460 | 61.3 | ||
Labour | F M Landau | 9,405 | 24.6 | ||
Liberal | Ladislaus Herbert Richard Pope-Hennessy | 5,403 | 14.1 | ||
Majority | 14,055 | 36.7 | |||
Turnout | 68.2 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing |
He married, in 1910, Una Birch a writer, historian and biographer. They had two sons, [2] both of whom were gay: James, who became a writer, and Sir John, an art historian. [9]