Edward Hutton (army)
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant General
Sir Edward Thomas Henry Hutton KCB
, KCMG (6 December 1848 – 4 August 1923) was a British
military commander
, who pioneered the use of mounted infantry
in the British Army
and later commanded the Canadian Militia
and the Australian Army
.
in December 1848, the only son of a middle-class family. He was taught at Eton College
, leaving in 1867 and taking a commission in the King's Royal Rifle Corps
.
He first saw active duty in Africa in 1879, when he served with his regiment in the Anglo-Zulu War
, being mentioned in despatches for his service at the Battle of Gingindlovu
. He served with the mounted infantry
force in the First Anglo-Boer War of 1880-81, and as a result was appointed to command the mounted infantry in the Anglo-Egyptian War
of 1882 as a brevet
major
. He fought around Alexandria and at the Battle of Tel el-Kebir, where he had a horse killed underneath him and was again mentioned in despatches. In the Nile Expedition
of 1884-85, he was appointed to the staff, again in command of the mounted infantry.
Hutton had become closely linked with the employment of mounted infantry in the African campaigns, and was the army's leading authority on its use; in 1886, he gave a public lecture calling for a widespread scheme of training and preparing mounted infantry units within the units stationed in Britain. He was supported by Sir Garnet Wolseley, a prominent Army moderniser, and Hutton was given command of the newly raised composite regiment of mounted infantry at Aldershot
in 1887. Wolseley's support of Hutton has led him to be named as a member of the influential "Wolseley ring
" by some biographers, but he was five to ten years younger than most members, and other sources often do not list him as a member of the group. His influence was strengthened by his marriage, in 1889, to Eleanor Mary Paulet; Eleanor was the niece of the Marquess of Winchester and of Field-Marshal Lord William Paulet
, his improved social connections led to him being appointed as an aide-de-camp
to Queen Victoria in 1892.
(Australia); he was recalled in 1896 for a year's service in Ireland
.
.
When South Africa
's Second Boer War
was on the horizon, Hutton lobbied Canada to participate. Without informing Canada's Prime Minister
, Sir Wilfrid Laurier
, Hutton published mobilization
plans in the Canadian Military Gazette. Laurier's government then received a letter of gratuity from Britain
for its decision to aid them in the Boer
region. Furious, Laurier announced Canada's refusal to send any contingents. In the end, political pressure was too great, and Canada played a role in the war. However, the row led to Hutton being recalled.
In 1900 Hutton went to South Africa
as Commander
of the 1st Mounted Infantry Brigade, a formation made up of Canadian, Australia
n, and New Zealand
troops.
. He was recommended by Field Marshal Lord Roberts
after several other officers had refused or were rejected by the government. His task in January 1902 became that of transforming six colonial forces into one national Australian Army
.
In 1904, Hutton promoted what was then a novel idea that Empire military attachés should be sent to witness the clash of Russian and Japanese forces in Manchuria. Australian sources reveal a nested array of factors affecting the mission of Colonel John Hoad
, who was detached by the Deakin government to serve with the Imperial Japanese Army
in 1904-1905. Along with other Western military attachés, Hoad had two complementary missions–to assist the Japanese and to observe the Japanese forces in the field during the Russo-Japanese War
.
Hutton resigned as GOC Australian Army
at the end of 1904.
. In November 1907 he was appointed Lieutenant-General, shortly before his retirement. In 1914, he was recalled from retirement to command the newly raised 21st Division in the New Armies
- the Australian government having turned down a suggestion he should be offered command of the Australian Imperial Force
- but fell ill early in 1915, after a riding accident, and was relieved of command in April.
In retirement, he wrote a history of the King's Royal Rifle Corps
, and a number of pamphlets on military affairs.
He died in 1923; he was survived by his wife; the couple had no children.
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
Sir Edward Thomas Henry Hutton KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, KCMG (6 December 1848 – 4 August 1923) was a British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
military commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
, who pioneered the use of mounted infantry
Mounted infantry
Mounted infantry were soldiers who rode horses instead of marching, but actually fought on foot . The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry...
in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and later commanded the Canadian Militia
Canadian Militia
The Canadian Militia was the traditional title for the land forces of Canada from before Confederation in 1867 to 1940 when it was renamed the Canadian Army.The Militia consisted of:* Permanent Active Militia* Non-Permanent Active Militia...
and the Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
.
Early career
Hutton was born in Torquay, DevonTorquay
Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...
in December 1848, the only son of a middle-class family. He was taught at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, leaving in 1867 and taking a commission in the King's Royal Rifle Corps
King's Royal Rifle Corps
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army infantry regiment, originally raised in colonial North America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists. Later ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire...
.
He first saw active duty in Africa in 1879, when he served with his regiment in the Anglo-Zulu War
Anglo-Zulu War
The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in 1879 between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom.Following the imperialist scheme by which Lord Carnarvon had successfully brought about federation in Canada, it was thought that a similar plan might succeed with the various African kingdoms, tribal areas and...
, being mentioned in despatches for his service at the Battle of Gingindlovu
Battle of Gingindlovu
The Battle of Gingindlovu was fought on 2 April 1879 between a British relief column sent to break the Siege of Eshowe and a Zulu impi of king Cetshwayo.-Prelude:...
. He served with the mounted infantry
Mounted infantry
Mounted infantry were soldiers who rode horses instead of marching, but actually fought on foot . The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry...
force in the First Anglo-Boer War of 1880-81, and as a result was appointed to command the mounted infantry in the Anglo-Egyptian War
Anglo-Egyptian War
The Anglo-Egyptian War occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed Orabi, and the United Kingdom.-Background:In 1881, an Egyptian army officer, Colonel Ahmed Orabi, initiated a coup against Tewfik Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan, because of grievances over disparities in...
of 1882 as a brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
. He fought around Alexandria and at the Battle of Tel el-Kebir, where he had a horse killed underneath him and was again mentioned in despatches. In the Nile Expedition
Nile Expedition
The Nile Expedition, sometimes called the Gordon Relief Expedition , was a British mission to relieve Major-General Charles George Gordon at Khartoum, Sudan. Gordon had been sent to the Sudan to help Egyptians evacuate from Sudan after Britain decided to abandon the country in the face of a...
of 1884-85, he was appointed to the staff, again in command of the mounted infantry.
Hutton had become closely linked with the employment of mounted infantry in the African campaigns, and was the army's leading authority on its use; in 1886, he gave a public lecture calling for a widespread scheme of training and preparing mounted infantry units within the units stationed in Britain. He was supported by Sir Garnet Wolseley, a prominent Army moderniser, and Hutton was given command of the newly raised composite regiment of mounted infantry at Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
in 1887. Wolseley's support of Hutton has led him to be named as a member of the influential "Wolseley ring
Wolseley ring
The Wolseley ring was a group of 19th century British army officers loyal to Garnet Wolseley and considered by him to be clever, brave, experienced and hard-working....
" by some biographers, but he was five to ten years younger than most members, and other sources often do not list him as a member of the group. His influence was strengthened by his marriage, in 1889, to Eleanor Mary Paulet; Eleanor was the niece of the Marquess of Winchester and of Field-Marshal Lord William Paulet
Lord William Paulet
Field Marshal Lord William Paulet, GCB was a British Army officer, the fourth son of Charles Paulet, 13th Marquess of Winchester.-Military career:...
, his improved social connections led to him being appointed as an aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to Queen Victoria in 1892.
New South Wales
In 1893, Hutton was named commandant of the military forces in New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
(Australia); he was recalled in 1896 for a year's service in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Canada and South Africa
In 1898, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General and made General Officer Commanding the Militia of CanadaGeneral Officer Commanding the Forces (Canada)
The General Officer Commanding the Forces was the most senior member of the Canadian Army from 1875 until 1904. With to the withdrawal of the majority of British forces in Canada in 1906, the position was replaced by the Chief of the General Staff which title was used until 1964 when the...
.
When South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
's Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
was on the horizon, Hutton lobbied Canada to participate. Without informing Canada's Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
, Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....
, Hutton published mobilization
Mobilization
Mobilization is the act of assembling and making both troops and supplies ready for war. The word mobilization was first used, in a military context, in order to describe the preparation of the Prussian army during the 1850s and 1860s. Mobilization theories and techniques have continuously changed...
plans in the Canadian Military Gazette. Laurier's government then received a letter of gratuity from Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
for its decision to aid them in the Boer
Boer
Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
region. Furious, Laurier announced Canada's refusal to send any contingents. In the end, political pressure was too great, and Canada played a role in the war. However, the row led to Hutton being recalled.
In 1900 Hutton went to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
as Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
of the 1st Mounted Infantry Brigade, a formation made up of Canadian, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n, and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
troops.
Australia
In 1902, Hutton became the first commander of the Australian ArmyAustralian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
. He was recommended by Field Marshal Lord Roberts
Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts
Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, Bt, VC, KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, KStJ, PC was a distinguished Indian born British soldier who regarded himself as Anglo-Irish and one of the most successful British commanders of the 19th century.-Early life:Born at Cawnpore, India, on...
after several other officers had refused or were rejected by the government. His task in January 1902 became that of transforming six colonial forces into one national Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
.
In 1904, Hutton promoted what was then a novel idea that Empire military attachés should be sent to witness the clash of Russian and Japanese forces in Manchuria. Australian sources reveal a nested array of factors affecting the mission of Colonel John Hoad
John Charles Hoad
Major General Sir John Charles Hoad KCMG was an Australian military leader, best known as the Australian Army's second Chief of the General Staff.-Family:...
, who was detached by the Deakin government to serve with the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
in 1904-1905. Along with other Western military attachés, Hoad had two complementary missions–to assist the Japanese and to observe the Japanese forces in the field during the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
.
Hutton resigned as GOC Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
at the end of 1904.
Later career
After his resignation, he was appointed commander of 3rd Division in 1905, holding the command until 1906, and given a post overseeing administration in Eastern CommandEastern Command (United Kingdom)
-History:The Command was established in 1905 from the Fourth Army Corps and was based in London. Among the formations raised under its supervision in World War I was the 12th Division. Its headquarters was initially located at Horseguards in London. During World War II the Command relocated to...
. In November 1907 he was appointed Lieutenant-General, shortly before his retirement. In 1914, he was recalled from retirement to command the newly raised 21st Division in the New Armies
Kitchener's Army
The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, Kitchener's Mob, was an all-volunteer army formed in the United Kingdom following the outbreak of hostilities in the First World War...
- the Australian government having turned down a suggestion he should be offered command of the Australian Imperial Force
Australian Imperial Force
The Australian Imperial Force was the name given to all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II.* First Australian Imperial Force * Second Australian Imperial Force...
- but fell ill early in 1915, after a riding accident, and was relieved of command in April.
In retirement, he wrote a history of the King's Royal Rifle Corps
King's Royal Rifle Corps
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army infantry regiment, originally raised in colonial North America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists. Later ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire...
, and a number of pamphlets on military affairs.
He died in 1923; he was survived by his wife; the couple had no children.