Edward Charles (Williams) Ingouville-Williams CB DSO (1861 - 1916)

Born 13 Dec 1861 in Purbrook, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom

Died 22 Jul 1916 at age 54 in Somme, Picardie, France

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Biography

Edward (Williams) Ingouville-Williams CB DSO is Notable.

Major General Edward Ingouville-Williams CB DSO was a senior British Army officer of the First World War. He had earlier served in the Nile Expedition and Second Boer War. He was killed in action while serving as commander of the 34th Division.

Edward Charles Williams was born on 13th December 1861 in Purbrook, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom. He was the son of (later General Sir) John William Collman Williams, Royal Marines officer, and Georgiana Ingouville, the daughter of a wealthy landowner. ^[1] His mother passed away in early 1867.

Edward was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the East Kent Regiment (3rd Regiment of Foot; known as 'the Buffs') on 23rd April 1881. He participated in the Nile Expedition (1884–1885) and served as adjutant to the regiment from 1894 to 1898 after promotion to Captain. He was seconded to the Egyptian Army in 1898 and 1899, during which time he took part in the Battle of Atbara and the Battle of Khartoum, for which he was Mentioned in Despatches.

From 1899 to 1902, Edward served under Sir Charles Warren in the Second Boer War. He was present at the Relief of Ladysmith and was twice Mentioned in Despatches during the war. His brother George, a Major in the South Staffordshire Regiment was killed in action during the conflict. By the end of the war, he had been awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal, King's South Africa Medal, appointed Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), and promoted to local Lieutenant Colonel.

He changed his name to Ingouville-Williams in 1902, in memory of his mother, whose maiden name was Ingouville.

In 1903, Edward was given command of 2nd Battalion, the Worcestershire Regiment, with whom he spent much of the following five years in India. After completing his tour as a battalion commander, he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1910 ^[2] and went on to serve as commandant of the School of Mounted Infantry and then to command the 16th Infantry Brigade from 1912 until the outbreak of the First World War, with the rank of Brigadier General.

His father passed away in 1911, aged almost 88 years.

Edward and his brigade were ordered to France on the outbreak of the (First World) War and he remained in command of the 16th Brigade until 1915, when he was promoted to Major General and given command of the newly formed 34th Division, a Kitchener's Army formation. After training, he took the 34th to the Western Front in January 1916 and led the division at the beginning of the Battle of the Somme in Summer 1916. He earned another four Mentions in Despatches during those early stages of the war.

On 22nd July 1916, Edward and his aide-de-camp personally inspected the ground on which the division was expected to fight the following week. On his way back, he was caught in an artillery barrage and killed instantly after being struck by a piece of shrapnel. He was buried in Warloy-Baillon Communal Cemetery extension in France. He was posthumously awarded the 1914 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

Sources

1. ↑ UK FreeBMD Mar qtr 1862, vol 2c, page 45; registered at South Stoneham
2. ↑ London Gazette; accessed 16 Feb 2023

See also

• main=inc/o_ingouville_williams Worcestershire Regiment: Major-General Edward Charles Ingouville-Williams, C.B., D.S.O.; accessed 16 Feb 2023.
• Wikipedia: Edward Ingouville-Williams; accessed 16 Feb 2023.