Robert Biddulph (British Army officer)

General Sir Robert Biddulph, GCB, GCMG (26 August 1835 – 18 November 1918) was a senior British Army officer. He served as Quartermaster-General to the Forces in 1893, and was then Governor of Gibraltar until 1900.

Sir Robert Biddulph
General Sir Robert Biddulph, photographed 12 June 1906
Born(1835-08-26)26 August 1835
London, England
Died18 November 1918(1918-11-18) (aged 83)
Cornwall Gardens, Kensington, England
Buried
Charlton cemetery, London
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1850–1904
RankGeneral
Commands heldGibraltar
Cyprus
Battles/warsCrimean War
Indian Mutiny
Second Opium War
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George

Military career

Educated at Twyford School and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Biddulph was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1853.[1] He served in the Crimean War and was present at the Siege of Sevastopol in 1854.[1] He then served in the Indian Mutiny, and was Brigade Major during the Siege of Lucknow in 1857.[1]

In 1871 he was selected to be Assistant Adjutant-General at the War Office and then in 1879 he succeeded Sir Garnet Wolseley as High Commissioner and Commander-in-Chief of Cyprus.[1] In 1886, he returned to London to be Inspector-General of Recruiting and two years later became Director-General of Military Education.[1] In 1893 he was briefly Quartermaster-General to the Forces.[2] Later that year he became Governor of Gibraltar, serving as such until 1900.[1] He was Colonel Commandant of Royal Artillery, and was placed on retired pay on 26 August 1902.[3]

His final appointment, in 1904, was as Army Purchase Commissioner: in that capacity he abolished the purchase of commissions.[1]

He was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the 1899 Birthday Honours.[4] Biddulph's Gate in Famagusta in Cyprus is named after him.[5]

Family

Biddulph was the son of Robert Biddulph, MP. In 1864 he married Sophia Lambert and together they went on to have four sons and six daughters.[6]

References
  1. Robert Biddulph at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  2. "Sitter: General Sir Robert Biddulph (1835–1918)". Lafayette Negative Archive.
  3. "No. 27468". The London Gazette. 26 August 1902. p. 5537.
  4. "No. 27086". The London Gazette. 3 June 1899. p. 3585.
  5. Italian Renaissance House and Biddulph Gate Famagusta, North Cyprus
  6. The Peerage.com
Military offices
Preceded by
Sir Thomas Baker		 Quartermaster-General to the Forces
1893		 Succeeded by
Sir Evelyn Wood
Government offices
Preceded by
Sir Lothian Nicholson		 Governor of Gibraltar
1893–1900		 Succeeded by
Sir George Stuart White
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Lord Roberts		 Master Gunner, St James's Park
1914–1918		 Succeeded by
Francis Ward
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