Havelock Hudson
Encyclopedia
General
Sir Havelock Hudson GCB
KCIE
(1862-1944) was a British Army
officer who was General Officer Commanding
8th Division during World War I
.
in 1881. He served on the North West Frontier
of India
1897, took part in the response to the Boxer Rebellion
in 1900 and went on the second Miranzai expedition in 1901. He was appointed Commandant of the Cavalry School at Sangor in India
in 1912 and became Brigadier-General on the General Staff of the Northern Army in 1912. He served in World War I
as Brigadier-General on the General Staff of the Indian Corps
from 1914, General Officer Commanding
8th Division on the Western Front
from 1915 (in which capacity he led the attack on Ovillers
losing 5,400 men) and as Adjutant General in India from 1917. Following the Amritsar massacre
in 1919 it fell to Hudson, in his capacity as Adjutant-General, to tell Brigadier Reginald Dyer
that he was relieved of his command. He went on to be General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Eastern Army in India in 1920 before retiring in 1924.
In retirement he was a member of the Council of India
.
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Sir Havelock Hudson GCB
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...
KCIE
Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...
(1862-1944) was a 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...
officer who was General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...
8th Division during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Military career
Hudson was commissioned into the Northamptonshire RegimentNorthamptonshire Regiment
The Northamptonshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1960. Its lineage is now continued by The Royal Anglian Regiment.-Formation:The regiment was formed as part of the reorganisation of the infantry by the Childers reforms...
in 1881. He served on the North West Frontier
North-West Frontier (military history)
The North-West Frontier was the most difficult area, from a military point of view, of the former British India in the Indian sub-continent. It remains the frontier of present-day Pakistan, extending from the Pamir Knot in the north to the Koh-i-Malik Siah in the west, and separating the...
of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
1897, took part in the response to the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
in 1900 and went on the second Miranzai expedition in 1901. He was appointed Commandant of the Cavalry School at Sangor in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1912 and became Brigadier-General on the General Staff of the Northern Army in 1912. He served in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as Brigadier-General on the General Staff of the Indian Corps
I Corps (British India)
for the current Indian Army formation see I Corps The I Indian Corps was an army corps of the British Indian Army in World War I. It was formed at the outbreak of war under the title Indian Corps from troops sent to the Western Front. The British Indian Army did not have a pre-war corps structure,...
from 1914, General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...
8th Division on the Western Front
Western Front
Western Front was a term used during the First and Second World Wars to describe the contested armed frontier between lands controlled by Germany to the east and the Allies to the west...
from 1915 (in which capacity he led the attack on Ovillers
Ovillers-la-Boisselle
Ovillers-la-Boisselle is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated on the D929 road, some northeast of Amiens.-Population:-History:...
losing 5,400 men) and as Adjutant General in India from 1917. Following the Amritsar massacre
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre , also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place in the Jallianwala Bagh public garden in the northern Indian city of Amritsar, and was ordered by Brigadier-General Reginald E.H. Dyer...
in 1919 it fell to Hudson, in his capacity as Adjutant-General, to tell Brigadier Reginald Dyer
Reginald Dyer
Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer CB was a British Indian Army officer who as a temporary Brigadier-General was responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar ....
that he was relieved of his command. He went on to be General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Eastern Army in India in 1920 before retiring in 1924.
In retirement he was a member of the Council of India
Council of India
The Council of India was the name given at different times to two separate bodies associated with British rule in India.The original Council of India was established by the Regulating Act of 1773 as a council of four formal advisors to the Governor-General at Fort William...
.