Percy Lake
Encyclopedia
General
Sir Percy Henry Noel Lake, KCB
, KCMG (29 June 1855-17 November 1940) was a senior commander of the British Indian Army
, serving during World War I
, and a Canadian
soldier.
Having joined the 59th Foot regiment
of the British Army
in 1873, Lake fought in the Second Afghan War
of 1878-1879 and in Sudan
1885. He was promoted from Sub-Lieutenant
to Lieutenant
on 9 August 1873.
Graduating subsequently from the General Staff College
1887, he took up a position in the War Office
's Intelligence Department
.
On 22 August 1902 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath
(CB).
Lake started his military career as an officer of infantry
(1873), then promoted Brigadier-General
, Major-General
, Lieutenant-General
(1911) and General
.
Prior to the outbreak of war in 1914, Lake served mainly in India
and in Canada
. He is known as the first Chief of the Canadian General Staff
(1904–1908), then acting as chief military advisor to the Canadian government (1908–1910). In 1911, he was appointed to command the 7th Indian Division and served as Chief of the Indian General Staff (1912–1915).
to Mesopotamia
to protect Britain's all-important oil pipelines, which were critical in supplying the Royal Navy
. With Sir John Nixon's illness and subsequent retirement as Commander-in-Chief of British operations in Mespotoamia in January 1916, Lake was assigned as his replacement.
Lake was afforded no honeymoon period in his new command: he was promptly ordered to launch a second operation directed at relieving Sir Charles Townshend's
besieged forces at Kut
.
Lake dispatched the relief force, under the command of General Aylmer, then General George Gorringe
in three attempts to relieve General Townshend
. However, all failed, and finally General Townshend
- who was subsequently accused of inactivity during the relief attempts - surrendered to the Turks in late April 1916, in what was perhaps the greatest humiliation to befall the British army to that date.
Following the failure to relieve the siege at Kut
, Lake was recalled to London
to testify before the newly-established Mesopotamia
Commission of Inquiry set-up to investigate the problems in the region. He was replaced as Commander-in-Chief by General Maude
.
He was created Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
(KCB) on 1 January 1916. At the time he was Colonel, The East Lancashire Regiment and Chief of the General Staff, India.
Holding no further active command in the war, he was assigned to the Ministry of Munitions
in May 1917.
.
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 Percy Henry Noel Lake, 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 (29 June 1855-17 November 1940) was a senior commander of the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
, serving 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...
, and a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
soldier.
Career
He was born to Lt-Col FG Lake who was stationed at Fulwood Barracks, Preston, Lancashire on 29 June 1855. He attended Preston Grammar School.Having joined the 59th Foot regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of 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...
in 1873, Lake fought in the Second Afghan War
Second Anglo-Afghan War
The Second Anglo-Afghan War was fought between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the nation was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dynasty, the son of former Emir Dost Mohammad Khan. This was the second time British India invaded Afghanistan. The war ended in a manner...
of 1878-1879 and in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
1885. He was promoted from Sub-Lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant is a military rank. It is normally a junior officer rank.In many navies, a sub-lieutenant is a naval commissioned or subordinate officer, ranking below a lieutenant. In the Royal Navy the rank of sub-lieutenant is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant in the British Army and of...
to Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
on 9 August 1873.
Graduating subsequently from the General Staff College
Staff college
Staff colleges train military officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career...
1887, he took up a position in the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
's Intelligence Department
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
.
On 22 August 1902 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath
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...
(CB).
Lake started his military career as an officer of infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
(1873), then promoted Brigadier-General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
, Major-General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
, Lieutenant-General
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....
(1911) and General
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....
.
Prior to the outbreak of war in 1914, Lake served mainly 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...
and in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He is known as the first Chief of the Canadian General Staff
Chief of the General Staff (Canada)
The Chief of the General Staff was the most senior member of the Canadian Army from 1904 until 1964 when the appointment became Commander, Mobile Command with the unification of Canada's military forces. The position was renamed Chief of the Land Staff in 1993....
(1904–1908), then acting as chief military advisor to the Canadian government (1908–1910). In 1911, he was appointed to command the 7th Indian Division and served as Chief of the Indian General Staff (1912–1915).
World War I
In 1915, Lake was dispatched by the War OfficeWar Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
to Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
to protect Britain's all-important oil pipelines, which were critical in supplying the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. With Sir John Nixon's illness and subsequent retirement as Commander-in-Chief of British operations in Mespotoamia in January 1916, Lake was assigned as his replacement.
Lake was afforded no honeymoon period in his new command: he was promptly ordered to launch a second operation directed at relieving Sir Charles Townshend's
Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend
Major General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend KCB, DSO was a British Indian Army officer who led the ultimately disastrous first British Expedition against Baghdad during World War I, and was later elected to Parliament....
besieged forces at Kut
Siege of Kut
The siege of Kut Al Amara , was the besieging of 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut, 100 miles south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. Its known also as 1st Battle of Kut. In 1915, its population was around 6,500...
.
Lake dispatched the relief force, under the command of General Aylmer, then General George Gorringe
GF Gorringe
Lieutenant General Sir George Frederick Gorringe KCB, KCMG, DSO served as an active field commander in the British Army during the Anglo-Boer War, World War I, on the Palestine and Western Fronts.-Early life:...
in three attempts to relieve General Townshend
Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend
Major General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend KCB, DSO was a British Indian Army officer who led the ultimately disastrous first British Expedition against Baghdad during World War I, and was later elected to Parliament....
. However, all failed, and finally General Townshend
Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend
Major General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend KCB, DSO was a British Indian Army officer who led the ultimately disastrous first British Expedition against Baghdad during World War I, and was later elected to Parliament....
- who was subsequently accused of inactivity during the relief attempts - surrendered to the Turks in late April 1916, in what was perhaps the greatest humiliation to befall the British army to that date.
Following the failure to relieve the siege at Kut
Siege of Kut
The siege of Kut Al Amara , was the besieging of 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut, 100 miles south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. Its known also as 1st Battle of Kut. In 1915, its population was around 6,500...
, Lake was recalled to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to testify before the newly-established Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
Commission of Inquiry set-up to investigate the problems in the region. He was replaced as Commander-in-Chief by General Maude
Frederick Stanley Maude
Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Stanley Maude KCB, CMG, DSO was a British commander, most famous for his efforts in Mesopotamia during World War I and for conquering Baghdad in 1917.-Family:...
.
He was created Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
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...
(KCB) on 1 January 1916. At the time he was Colonel, The East Lancashire Regiment and Chief of the General Staff, India.
Holding no further active command in the war, he was assigned to the Ministry of Munitions
Minister of Munitions
The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort...
in May 1917.
Later life
Following the war he formally retired in November 1919. He died on 17 November 1940 in Victoria, British ColumbiaVictoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
.