Ronald Charles

Lieutenant-General Sir James Ronald Edmondston Charles, KCB, CMG, DSO (26 June 1875 – 24 December 1955) was a British officer in the Royal Engineers.[1]

Sir Ronald Charles
Born	26 June 1875[1] Calcutta, British India
Died	24 December 1955 (aged 80) Somerset, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	25th Division Royal Military Academy, Woolwich
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order

Military career

Charles was born in Calcutta, British India, the son of Thomas Edmondston Charles FRCP, honorary physician to King Edward VII.[2][3] He was educated at Winchester College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.[1] was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1894.[4] He served in the Second Boer War (1899-1901), was mentioned in despatches (31 March 1900[5]), and received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in November 1900.[6] He was part of the Bazar Valley and Mohmand Field Forces in 1908.[4]

He spent most of the First World War in the General Staff until being promoted to command a re-constituted 25th Division in August 1918.[7]

He was appointed Commander of the Waziristan Force in India in 1923 and then became Commandant of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich in 1924.[4] He was Director of Military Operations and Intelligence at the War Office from 1926 and Master-General of the Ordnance from 1931.[8] He retired in 1934.[4]

His nickname among the troops was 'Don Carlos', deriving from his commanding personality and his height of 6’ 4".[7] He was also Commandant of the Royal Engineers from 1931 to 1945 and Chief Royal Engineer from 1940 to 1946.[4]

References

1. "Obituary: Lt.-Gen. Sir Ronald Charles". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 28 December 1955. p. 11.
2. Addison, Henry Robert; Oakes, Charles Henry; Lawson, William John; Sladen, Douglas Brooke Wheelton (1906). Who's who. A. & C. Black. p. 317. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
3. "Deaths in the Services". The Lancet. J. Onwhyn: 702. 10 March 1906. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(01)80307-x.
4. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
5. "No. 27282". The London Gazette. 8 February 1901. pp. 844–846.
6. "No. 27359". The London Gazette. 27 September 1901. p. 6309.
7. Centre for First World War Studies
8. "No. 33785". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1931. p. 3.