View source for George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys (British Army officer)

{{Short description|British general (1878–1960)}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix =
| name          = The Lord Jeffreys
| honorific_suffix =
| image         = George Jeffreys in 1920.jpg
| caption       = George Jeffreys, pictured here when he was a major general in 1920.
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1878|03|08|df=yes}}
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1960|12|19|1878|03|08|df=yes}}
| birth_place  = [[Mayfair]], [[Middlesex]], England
| death_place  = [[Burkham House]], [[Alton, Hampshire]], England
| placeofburial =
| nickname      =
| allegiance    = United Kingdom
| branch        = [[British Army]]
| serviceyears  = 1897–1938
| servicenumber = 12252
| rank          = [[General (United Kingdom)|General]]
| unit          = [[Grenadier Guards]]
| commands      = [[Southern Command (India)|Southern Command, India]]<br />[[43rd (Wessex) Division]]<br />[[London District (British Army)|London District]]<br />[[Light Division]]<br />[[30th Division (United Kingdom)|30th Division]]<br />[[19th (Western) Division]]<br />[[1st Guards Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Guards Brigade]]<br />[[57th Brigade (United Kingdom)|57th Brigade]]<br />[[58th Brigade (United Kingdom)|58th Brigade]]<br />2nd Battalion [[Grenadier Guards]]
| battles       = [[Mahdist War]]<br />[[Second Boer War]]<br />[[First World War]]
| awards        = Knight Commander of the [[Order of the Bath]]<br />[[Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order]]<br />[[Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George]]<br />[[Mentioned in Despatches]] (9)
| relations     =
| laterwork     =
}}
'''George Darell Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KCB|KCVO|CMG|DL}} (8 March 1878 – 19 December 1960) was a [[British Army]] officer and [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]].
Jeffreys attended [[Eton College|Eton]] and [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst|Sandhurst]] before being commissioned into the [[Grenadier Guards]]. He saw action in Africa and in the [[Second Boer War]] as a young officer, and went to France with his battalion at the start of the [[First World War]]. He served on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] throughout the war, rising to command the 2nd Grenadier Guards, then a series of infantry brigades, before being promoted to command the [[19th (Western) Division]] from September 1917 until the end of the war. Following the armistice, he commanded a division in the forces occupying Germany, and then held various commands until he retired from the army in 1938.
From 1925 onwards he served as a magistrate and county councillor in Hampshire, and after retirement increased his involvement with local administration. He chaired a series of local bodies, and in 1941 was elected to the House of Commons for the constituency of [[Petersfield (UK Parliament constituency)|Petersfield]]. He retired from Parliament at the 1951 election, and was created a peer the following year, as '''Baron Jeffreys'''. He continued to sit in the House of Lords until his death in 1960.
==Early life and family==
George Darrell Jeffreys was born in [[Mayfair]], then part of [[Middlesex]], on 8 March 1878.<ref name="WWW">''Who Was Who''</ref> His father, [[Arthur Frederick Jeffreys]], was a rural landowner, with an estate at [[Burkham]], near [[Alton, Hampshire]]; he was later elected to Parliament, as a Conservative, and held the seat for almost thirty years. He married Amy Fenwick in 1877; they had four children, George and his three younger sisters.<ref>*"JEFFREYS, Rt Hon. Arthur Frederick". (2007). In ''Who Was Who''. [http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U187566 Online edition]</ref>
Jeffreys was educated at [[Eton College]] before entering the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst|Royal Military College at Sandhurst]].<ref name="WWW"/> He passed out of Sandhurst in 1897, and was commissioned as a [[second lieutenant]] in the [[Grenadier Guards]] of the [[British Army]] on 3 March 1897.<ref name="AL">''Quarterly Army List, 1919'', p. 54''b''.</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26828|page=1256|date=2 March 1897}}</ref>
In 1905, he married Dorothy, Viscountess Cantelupe. She was the widow of Lionel Sackville, Viscount Cantelupe, the eldest son of the [[Reginald Sackville, 7th Earl De La Warr|Earl De La Warr]], an officer in the [[Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment]], who had died a few months after their marriage in 1890. The two had one son, Christopher, a captain in the Grenadier Guards, who was killed in the [[Battle of France]] in 1940.<ref name=burke>Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003.</ref>
==Military career==
With his regiment, Jeffreys took part in the Sudan expedition of 1898, and saw action at the [[Battle of Omdurman]].<ref name="WWW"/> He was promoted to [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] later that year, on 28 November 1898,<ref name="AL"/> and later served two stints in the [[Second Boer War]], in 1900–1901, and again from April 1902.<ref name="WWW"/><ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The War – The Guards Reinforcements |date= 14 April 1902 |page=10 |issue=36741}}</ref> Following the end of the war two months later, he returned with most of the men of the guards regiments on board the SS ''Lake Michigan'', which arrived in Southampton in October 1902.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Army in South Africa – Troops returning home|date=18 September 1902 |page=5 |issue=36876}}</ref> He remained on regimental service, promoted to [[Captain (BARM)|captain]] in October 1903 and [[Major (British Army and Royal Marines)|major]] in October 1910, until he was promoted to command the Guards Depot in June 1911.<ref name="AL"/>
On the outbreak of the [[First World War]] in August 1914, Jeffreys rejoined his regiment, and went overseas with the [[British Expeditionary Force (1914)|British Expeditionary Force]]. He saw service at the [[Battle of Mons]] with the 2nd Battalion,<ref name="WWW"/> and was promoted to command it in June 1915, with the temporary rank of [[lieutenant colonel]].<ref name="AL"/> He remained with the battalion until January 1916, when he was promoted to command the [[58th Brigade (United Kingdom)|58th Infantry Brigade]] in the [[19th (Western) Division]], with the temporary rank of [[Brigadier general (United Kingdom)|brigadier general]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29478|page=1810|date=18 February 1916}}</ref> He relinquished command of the brigade on 3 May, but was re-appointed to command the [[57th Brigade (United Kingdom)|57th Infantry Brigade]], in the same division, on 21 July, in the middle of the [[Battle of the Somme]]. On 30 December he again was transferred to command the [[1st Guards Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Guards Brigade]], holding command through most of 1917 until he returned to the 19th Division as its new commander in September, with a corresponding promotion to temporary [[major general]].<ref name="AL"/> He commanded the division until the end of the war, during which time it fought at the [[Third Battle of Ypres]], in the [[German spring offensive]], and during the final [[Hundred Days Offensive]].<ref name="Division-19">{{cite web|url=http://www.1914-1918.net/19div.htm|title=History of the 19th (Western) Division, 1914–1918|accessdate=3 December 2011|work=The Long, Long Trail|year=2010|last=Baker|first=Chris}}</ref>
During the war, Jeffreys was severely wounded, [[mentioned in despatches]] nine times, and appointed a [[Companion of St. Michael and St. George]] (in [[1916 Birthday Honours|1916]]) and a [[Companion of the Bath]] (in 1918). He was also awarded a series of foreign decorations; the [[Order of St Stanislaus]] (2nd Class) from Russia; a [[Order of the Crown (Belgium)|Commander of the Order of the Crown]], [[Order of Leopold (Belgium)|Grand Officer Order of Leopold]], and [[Croix de Guerre (Belgium)|Croix de Guerre]] from the Belgian government; a [[Legion of Honour|Commander of the Legion of Honour]] and [[Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (France)|Croix de Guerre]] from the French; a [[Order of St. Olaf|Knight of the Norwegian Order of St. Olav]]; the Japanese [[Order of the Rising Sun]] (2nd Class); and a [[Order of the Crown (Romania)|Grand Cross of the Romanian Order of the Crown]].<ref name="WWW"/>
After the armistice in November 1918, the division received orders to demobilise in December,<ref name="Division-19"/> and in February 1919 Jeffreys was transferred to [[30th Division (United Kingdom)|30th Division]].<ref name="AL"/> The 30th Division was assigned to the rear area ports, and was correspondingly later to demobilise.<ref name="Division-30">{{cite web|url=http://www.1914-1918.net/19div.htm|title=History of the 30th Division, 1914–1918|accessdate=3 December 2011|work=The Long, Long Trail|year=2010|last=Baker|first=Chris}}</ref> He was then transferred to command the Light Division in the [[British Army of the Rhine]], the occupation forces in Germany, and in 1920 returned to England as [[Major-General commanding the Household Division|Major-General commanding the Brigade of Guards]] and General Officer Commanding [[London District (British Army)|London District]].<ref name="WWW"/>
He relinquished command of London District in 1924, and spent two years on half pay until appointed to the [[43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division]] in the [[Territorial Army (United Kingdom)|Territorial Army]] in 1926. He was promoted to lieutenant general in 1930, and again placed on half-pay, but was appointed to the [[Southern Command (India)|Southern Command]] in India in 1932. This was his final active role and he held it until 1936, having been promoted to full general in 1935.<ref name="WWW"/>
From 1936 to 1938 he held the ceremonial position of [[Aide-de-Camp General|ADC to the King]], and finally retired from the Army in 1938. In retirement, he was the honorary colonel of 48th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery (later 583rd (Hampshire) Heavy AA Regiment) from 1938 to 1948, the Colonel of the [[Royal Hampshire Regiment]] from 1945 to 1948, and of the [[Grenadier Guards]] from 1952 to his death.<ref name="WWW"/>
==Political career==
Jeffreys' political career began in 1926, when he was elected as a councillor to [[Hampshire County Council]]. He left the council in 1932, during his posting to India, but was re-elected following his return in 1937; in 1941, he was appointed as an [[alderman]]. From 1938 he was appointed chair of the Hampshire Territorial Army Association and the County Civil Defence Committee, and in 1940, on the formation of the [[British Home Guard|Home Guard]], became its County Organizer. He also worked as a [[magistrate]], becoming Chair of the Basingstoke County Bench in 1925, and continuing to sit until 1952, with the exception of a four-year gap during his Indian posting.<ref name="WWW"/>
In a [[1941 Petersfield by-election|1941]] wartime by-election, he was elected as a [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] to the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] for [[Petersfield (UK Parliament constituency)|Petersfield]] in [[Hampshire]]; he held the seat until his retirement in 1951.<ref name="WWW"/>
The following year he was raised to the peerage as '''Baron Jeffreys''', of Burkham in the County of Southampton. In December 1960, he died aged 82, and was succeeded in the barony by his grandson [[Mark George Christopher Jeffreys, 2nd Baron Jeffreys|Mark]], his son Christopher having been killed in action in May 1940.<ref name=burke/>
==Arms==
{{Infobox COA wide
|image = Jeffreys Achievement.png
|escutcheon = Ermine a lion rampant Sable and a canton Sable.
|crest = On a wreath Ermine and Sable a demi-lion Or grasping with the dexter claw a wreath of laurel Vert.
|supporters = On either side a lion regardant Sable crowned with an ancient crown Or and charged on the shoulder with two swords in saltire point upwards Gold.
|motto = Pod dawn o Dduw (Every Gift From God)<ref>{{cite book|title=Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage |date=2000}}</ref>}}
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
==References==
*"JEFFREYS, 1st Baron". (2007). In ''Who Was Who''. [http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U239138 Online edition]
*{{cite book|title=Quarterly Army List for the quarter ending 30th June 1919|year=1919|url=https://archive.org/details/armylistjulpart11919grea|place=London|publisher=HMSO}}
*{{cite book|first1=Frank|last1=Davies|first2=Graham|last2=Maddocks|title=Bloody Red Tabs: General Officer Casualties of the Great War 1914–1918|location=[[Barnsley]], [[South Yorkshire]]|publisher=[[Pen and Sword Books]]|year=2014|orig-year=1995|isbn=978-1-78346-237-7}}
==External links==
*{{Hansard-contribs | general-sir-george-jeffreys | George Jeffreys }}
{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Geoffrey Feilding|Sir Geoffrey Feilding]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Major-General commanding the Household Division|General Officer Commanding London District]]|years=1920–1924}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Walter Hore-Ruthven, 10th Lord Ruthven of Freeland|Lord Ruthven]]}}
|-
{{S-bef|before=[[Edward Northey (British Army officer)|Sir Edward Northey]]}}
{{S-ttl|title=General Officer Commanding the [[43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division]]|years=1926–1930}}
{{S-aft|after=[[Reginald Hildyard]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[William Heneker|Sir William Heneker]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Southern Command (India)|GOC-in-C, Southern Command, India]]|years=1932–1936}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ivo Vesey|Sir Ivo Vesey]]}}
|-
{{S-par|uk}}
{{Succession box
| title  = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Petersfield (UK Parliament constituency)|Petersfield]]
| years  = [[1941 Petersfield by-election|1941]]–[[1951 United Kingdom general election|1951]]
| before = Sir [[Reginald Dorman-Smith]]
| after  = [[Peter Richard Legh, 4th Baron Newton|Peter Legh]]
}}
{{S-reg|uk}}
{{S-new | creation }}
{{s-ttl
| title = [[Baron Jeffreys]]
| years = 1952–1960
}}
{{s-aft | after=[[Mark Jeffreys, 2nd Baron Jeffreys|Mark Jeffreys]]}}
{{S-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffreys, George Jeffreys, 1st Baron}}
[[Category:1878 births]]
[[Category:1960 deaths]]
[[Category:British Army generals]]
[[Category:People educated at Eton College]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies|Jeffreys, George]]
[[Category:Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Mahdist War]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Second Boer War]]
[[Category:British Army generals of World War I]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1945–1950|Jeffreys, George]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1950–1951|Jeffreys, George]]
[[Category:UK MPs who were granted peerages|Jeffreys, George]]
[[Category:People from Petersfield]]
[[Category:Grenadier Guards officers]]
[[Category:Deputy lieutenants of Hampshire]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Members of Hampshire County Council]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Hereditary barons created by Elizabeth II]]
[[Category:Military personnel from the City of Westminster]]
[[Category:People from Mayfair]]