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Charles Kavanagh

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For the baseball player, see Charlie Kavanagh.

Sir Charles Kavanagh
Pictured as adjutant to the 6th Yeomanry Brigade in 1899
Born(1864-03-25)25 March 1864
Borris, County Carlow, Ireland[1]
Died11 October 1950(1950-10-11) (aged 86)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1884–1920
RankLieutenant General
Unit3rd Dragoon Guards
10th Royal Hussars
Commands10th Royal Hussars
1st Cavalry Brigade
7th Cavalry Brigade
2nd Cavalry Division
5th Infantry Division
Cavalry Corps
Battles / warsSecond Boer War
First World War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Distinguished Service Order
Mentioned in Despatches
Legion of Honour

Lieutenant General Sir Charles Toler MacMorrough Kavanagh, KCB, KCMG, CVO, DSO (25 March 1864 – 11 October 1950) was a British Army officer who commanded the Cavalry Corps during the First World War, most notably at the Battle of Amiens in 1918.

Military career

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Lieutenant-General Charles Kavanagh, GOC of the Cavalry Corps, pictured here with members of his staff in November 1918.

Kavanagh was born in March 1864 in Borris, County Carlow, the son of Arthur MacMorrough Kavanagh, The MacMorrough and Mary Frances Forde-Leathley. He received his education at Harrow School before going on to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst in 1882, from where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the 3rd Dragoon Guards of the British Army in February 1884,[2] although he transferred to the 10th Hussars just two weeks later.[3] In 1889 he was sent to Jamaica where he served for a time as aide-de-camp to the Governor of Jamaica, Henry Arthur Blake. In 1890 he returned to the 10th Hussars to assume command of a troop and was promoted to captain in April 1891.[1][4]

Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig (centre front) with his senior commanders and staff officers at Cambrai, France November 1918. Stood in the third row, second on the left, is Lieutenant-General Kavanagh, GOC Cavalry Corps.

In June 1895 he was appointed adjutant to the 6th Yeomanry Brigade (Prince Albert's Own Leicestershire Yeomanry Cavalry and Derbyshire Yeomanry Cavalry).[5]

He served in the Second Boer War, which began in October 1899, as commanding officer (CO) of the 10th Hussars, and was promoted to major in January 1900,[6] and then to the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel in November of that year.[7] While in command of a mobile column, Kavanagh vigorously pursued Jan Smuts, who later admitted that Kavanagh had in fact come closer than anyone else in capturing him.[1]

Following the end of the war in May 1902, Kavanagh, now nicknamed Major Push-Along by the men under his command,[1] returned to the United Kingdom in the "SS Dunottar Castle", which arrived at Southampton in July 1902.[8] He was mentioned in dispatches by Lord Kitchener in his final despatch, dated 23 June 1902,[9] and received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his exemplary services in the war.[10]

Lieutenant General Charles Kavanagh watching the 2nd Cavalry Brigade passing through Spa, Belgium, 29 November 1918.

He was made second-in-command of the 10th Hussars, now commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Lord Byng, which was sent to India. While there, Kavanagh played polo for his regiment. In 1904 he took command of the regiment, remaining in this appointment until 1908,[1] during which time he was promoted to brevet colonel in August 1905.[11] The next year saw him promoted to colonel and made commander of the 1st Cavalry Brigade, then stationed in Aldershot, Hampshire, as part of Aldershot Command.[1] His next assignment came in December 1913 in India as commander of the Fyzabad Brigade of the 8th (Lucknow) Division.[1]

The British entry into World War I eight months later found Kavanagh on leave in England. Shortly afterwards he took over the 7th Cavalry Brigade and departed with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) for service in France, where he would serve with distinction, most notably at the First Battle of Ypres. It was here that his skills in leadership made a difference and brought his brigade up to a high standard. He led a counterattack in early November and which many people believe saved Ypres and the BEF.[1]

In February 1915 Kavanagh was promoted to major-general[12] and three months later he was made the general officer commanding (GOC) of the 2nd Cavalry Division. His time with the division was short, however, and, after playing a distinctive role in the Second Battle of Ypres, Kavanagh became GOC of the 5th Division, one of the original Regular Army divisions of the BEF.[1] Holding this post until March 1916, where he was very active in the front lines and frequently seeing to the wellbeing of his men, he then received promotion to temporary lieutenant-general in April[13] and took command of I Corps from Sir Hubert Gough. Again, however, his period in command was destined to be short, lasting only until July, although in his fairly short time with the corps he managed to irritate many of his division commanders with his interferences into the front lines.[1]

In August Kavanagh was asked to reform the Cavalry Corps which had been broken up earlier in the year. He was to remain as its GOC until after the end of the war, which came to an end on 11 November 1918. He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in January 1917[14] and in 1919 a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, and was also granted the French Legion of Honour that year as well.[15]

He retired from the army in March 1920, with the honorary rank of lieutenant general,[16] after well over thirty-five years of continuous service.[1] In retirement he became Governor of the Military Knights of Windsor.[17]

Family

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In 1895 he married Mary Perry; they had two daughters.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Luscombe, Stephen. "10th Hussars". www.britishempire.co.uk.
  2. ^ "No. 25315". The London Gazette. 5 February 1884. p. 532.
  3. ^ a b "Boer War".
  4. ^ "No. 26156". The London Gazette. 28 April 1891. p. 2310.
  5. ^ "No. 26633". The London Gazette. 11 June 1895. p. 3319.
  6. ^ "No. 27154". The London Gazette. 16 January 1900. p. 287.
  7. ^ "No. 27359". The London Gazette. 27 September 1901. p. 6305.
  8. ^ "The Army in South Africa – Troops returning home". The Times. No. 36814. London. 8 July 1902. col c, p. 11.
  9. ^ "No. 27459". The London Gazette. 29 July 1902. pp. 4835–4838.
  10. ^ "No. 27490". The London Gazette. 31 October 1902. p. 6898.
  11. ^ "No. 27830". The London Gazette. 25 August 1905. p. 5842.
  12. ^ "No. 29074". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 February 1915. p. 1685.
  13. ^ "No. 29566". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 May 1916. p. 4435.
  14. ^ "No. 29886". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1916. p. 2.
  15. ^ "No. 31150". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 January 1919. p. 1445.
  16. ^ "No. 31838". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 March 1920. p. 3735.
  17. ^ Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. Burke's Irish Family Records. London, U.K.: Burkes Peerage Ltd, 1976.
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Military offices
Preceded by GOC 5th Division
1915–1916 		Succeeded by
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