William Douglas (British Army officer, born 1858)
Major-General Sir William Douglas, KCMG, CB, DSO (13 August 1858 – 1920) was a British Army officer. Military careerDouglas was commissioned into the Royal Scots on 30 January 1878.[2][3] He saw action in the Bechuanaland Expedition in 1884, and after attending the Staff College at Camberley in 1896,[4] saw action again in the Second Boer War for which he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).[5] He became a staff officer with Irish Command in March 1906[3] and was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in June 1908.[6] After having served as a GSO1 of the 6th Division, he was promoted to temporary brigadier general and became commander of the 14th Infantry Brigade in November 1909, taking over from Major General Alexander Thorneycroft.[7] Promoted to major general in August 1912,[8] he was made general officer commanding (GOC) East Lancashire Division in May 1913.[9] He deployed with his division to Egypt in September 1914, in the opening weeks of the First World War, and commanded it during the Gallipoli campaign in 1915 and for which he was later appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George.[10] He went on to command the division, numbered the 42nd in 1915, in the Middle Eastern theatre before returning to England in March 1917. He then commanded the Western Reserve Centre before retiring from the army in 1918.[3] FamilyDouglas married, in December 1885, Ellen Lytcott (a Lady of Grace of St John of Jerusalem), daughter of Samuel Taylor, Crown Solicitor, Barbados.[11] References
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