Henry ap Rhys Pryce

General Sir Henry Edward ap Rhys Pryce, KCB, CMG, DSO (30 November 1874 – 21 June 1950) was a Welsh officer in the Indian Army who served Master-General of the Ordnance in British India.[1]

Sir Henry ap Rhys Pryce
Birth nameHenry Edward ap Rhys Pryce
Born30 November 1874
Cuttack, British India
Died21 June 1950(1950-06-21) (aged 75)
Bournemouth, Dorset, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Indian Army
RankGeneral
Commands heldSenior Officers’ School at Belgaum
Presidency and Assam District
Deccan District
Battles/warsWorld War I
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Distinguished Service Order

Early life and education

Rhys Pryce was born in Cuttack, British India, the son of Lt.-Col. Douglas Davidson Pryce and Georgie Hunter Carter. His younger brother was soldier of fortune Carol Ap Rhys Pryce. He was educated at Trinity College, Glenalmond, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.[1]

Military career

Rhys Pryce began his military career on the unattached list in 1895. He served his first year in India with the 1st Battalion, the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, followed by a posting to the 18th Infantry, the 10th/9th Jats, and the Supply and Transport Corps. As a master of transport, he commanded a mule corps in the British expedition to Tibet, 1903–04. He later authored Transport Training Notes, which served for many years as a valuable handbook to the corps. He then graduated from the Staff College, Quetta, and in 1912 began a distinguished career at Army Headquarters at Shimla.[1]

He served in the First World War during which he was awarded the DSO and mentioned in dispatches seven times.[2]

Rhys Pryce became Commandant of the Senior Officers' School, Belgaum in December 1920[3] and Director of Supplies and Transport in India in 1927.[4] He went on to be General Officer Commanding Presidency and Assam District in October 1929, General Officer Commanding Deccan District in December 1930 and Master-General of the Ordnance in India in April 1934.[3] He was promoted to full general in May 1936.[5]

He was appointed Honorary Colonel of 99th (London Welsh) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, when that Territorial Army unit was raised in 1939, and he regularly visited it during World War II.[6]

Personal life

Rhys Pryce married Alice Louise Pughe, daughter of Robertson Francis Home Pughe, in 1900. They had two sons, Meyrick Home ap Rhys Pryce (1902–1965) and Mervyn Aleck ap Rhys Pryce (1905–1940), who was killed in action in France while serving in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.[1][7]

References
  1. "Obituary: Gen. Sir H. Ap Rhys Pryce". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 27 June 1950. p. 8.
  2. "A sublime act of forgiveness". The Telegraph. 22 November 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  3. "Army Commands" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  4. "Private Papers of General Sir Henry Ap Rhys Pryce KCB CMG DSO". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  5. "No. 34284". The London Gazette. 15 May 1936. p. 3148.
  6. 99 HAA Rgt War Diary, 1939–41, The National Archives (TNA), Kew, file WO 166/2389.
  7. "Casualty Details: ap Rhys Pryce, Mervyn Aleck". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
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