Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

Frederick Forestier-Walker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Frederick Forestier-Walker
Remove ads

General Sir Frederick William Edward Forestier-Walker, GCMG, KCB, KStJ (17 April 1844 – 30 August 1910) was a British senior military officer and Governor of Gibraltar.

Quick Facts Governor of Gibraltar, Preceded by ...
Remove ads

Early life

Forestier-Walker was born on 17 April 1844 in Bushey, Hertfordshire. He was the eldest son of General Sir Edward Forestier-Walker (previously Walker), by his first wife, Lady Jane Ogilvy-Grant, daughter of the 6th Earl of Seafield. He was educated at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.[1]

Career

Summarize
Perspective

Forestier-Walker was commissioned into the Scots Guards as ensign and lieutenant, by purchase, on 5 September 1862,[2][1] and was appointed a lieutenant and captain, by purchase, on 11 July 1865.[3]

Thumb
President Theodore Roosevelt at Gibraltar with Forestier-Walker and the American consul, 1909
Thumb
Caricature of General Sir Frederick Forestier-Walker, Vanity Fair, December 1902

In 1873 he was appointed Military Secretary to the General Officer Commanding Cape Colony and 15 October 1878 was promoted colonel.[4] Forestier-Walker saw action in the Cape Frontier Wars, for which he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in November 1878,[5] and in the Anglo-Zulu War.[1] He was promoted to captain and lieutenant colonel of the Scots Guards 20 March 1880.[6] In 1882 he was appointed Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster-General[7] for the Home District but shortly after returned to South Africa.[1] From 1884 he served in Bechuanaland, and in January 1886, for services in that protectorate, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George.[8]

He was appointed a brigadier at Aldershot in 1889 and Commander of British Troops in Egypt in 1890, during which he was knighted and promoted to a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.[9] Upon returning from Egypt in 1895, he was appointed General Officer Commanding Western District, serving until 1890.[1]

In 1899, he again returned to Africa, becoming GOC Cape Colony and acting as lieutenant general in command of Lines of Communication, South Africa Field Force, 1899–1901.[10] He was thus responsible for disembarkation of troops and military stores and sending them to the front. In a despatch dated 31 March 1900, the Commander-in-Chief in South Africa, Lord Roberts, wrote how Forestier-Walker carried out his duties "with credit to himself and with advantage to the public service".[11] He was promoted to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in November 1900 for his services in South Africa,[12] and was a Knight of Grace of the Order of St John from 1901.[13] Following the end of the war, Forestier-Walker was promoted to the rank of general on 6 July 1902.[14]

Later life

He was Governor of Gibraltar from 1905 until shortly before his death in 1910, and also acted as General Officer Commanding Mediterranean in 1909.[15]

In retirement, he became a Director of the Cold Storage Company.[16]

Remove ads

Personal life

In 1887 he married Mabel Louisa Ross, a daughter of Lt. Col. A. Ernest Ross.[1] Together, they had one son:[17][18]

  • Ian Frederick Walter Forestier-Walker (b. 1888), a Lieutenant in the Scots Guards.[19]

Sir Frederick died on 30 August 1910 at Tenby, Pembrokeshire.[20]

References

Sources

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads