Walter Pitt-Taylor

General Sir Walter William Pitt-Taylor KCB CMG DSO (30 August 1878 – 22 November 1950) was a British Army officer who commanded the 3rd Infantry Division.

Sir Walter Pitt-Taylor
Pitt-Taylor in 1920
Birth nameWalter William Pitt-Taylor
Born(1878-08-30)30 August 1878
Kensington, London, England
Died22 November 1950(1950-11-22) (aged 72)
Barscobe, Castle Douglas, Scotland
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1895–1939
RankGeneral
Commands held
Battles/warsFirst World War
Awards

Military career

Pitt-Taylor was commissioned into the Army Militia as a second lieutenant in the 5th battalion of the Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) on 4 December 1895.[1] He transferred to the regular army as a second lieutenant in the 1st Battalion on 18 October 1899, as the Battalion was sent to South Africa to serve in the Second Boer War. They were part of the force sent to relieve Ladysmith, and as such he took part in the battles of Colenso (December 1899), Vaal Krantz and the Tugela Heights (February 1900). He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 August 1900, and served in Natal and in the Transvaal, staying in South Africa throughout the hostilities, which ended with the Peace of Vereeniging on 31 May 1902.[2] For his service in the war, he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).[3] Following the end of the war, Pitt-Taylor left Cape Town with other men of the battalion on the SS Orissa, which arrived at Southampton in late October 1902, when the battalion was stationed at Portsmouth.[4]

He fought in World War I latterly as Commander of 145th Infantry Brigade and then as Chief of Staff for XIV Corps.[5] After the War he became Military Assistant to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff.[5][6] He was appointed Director of Military Operations in India in 1920, Commander of 17th Indian Infantry Brigade in c.1922 and Commander of 5th Infantry Brigade in 1925.[5] He went on to be Director of Recruiting & Organisation at the War Office in 1929,[6] General Officer Commanding 3rd Division in 1932 and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Western Command, India in 1936 before retiring in 1939.[5]

Family

In 1920 he married Daphne Helen Stronge, daughter of Sir James Stronge, 5th Baronet.[7] Pitt-Taylor did on 22 November 1950 at Barscobe, Castle Douglas, Scotland, aged 72.[8]

gollark: Also, Vulkan is the trendy thing now.
gollark: Most of that is at least somewhat specific to 3D-type stuff, which isn't that useful if you just want to do compute.
gollark: https://futhark-lang.org/ is a cool functionalish language for GPU programming.
gollark: Or go to spæce.
gollark: Or just make a giant floating platform.

References
  1. "No. 26685". The London Gazette. 3 December 1895. p. 6993.
  2. Hart′s Army list, 1903
  3. "No. 27490". The London Gazette. 31 October 1902. p. 6905.
  4. "The Army in South Africa - Troops returning home". The Times (36900). London. 16 October 1902. p. 8.
  5. Obituary: General Sir Walter Pitt-Taylor, The Times, 20 November 1950 and different notifications
  6. War Office
  7. Stronge of Tynan Abbey, County Armah
  8. "Was A.D.C to the King". Sheffield Daily Telegraph. 23 November 1950. p. 5.
Military offices
Preceded by
Harry Knox		 General Officer Commanding the 3rd Division
1932–1934		 Succeeded by
Robert Gordon-Finlayson
Preceded by
Sir Ivo Vesey		 GOC-in-C, Western Command, India
1936–1938		 Succeeded by
Edward Quinan
as GOC, Western Independent District


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