Percy Sykes

2021-03-29T18:16:22Z

2603:6010:2F00:8362:F964:E0C:4E4D:D6E:

{{short description|British general}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2014}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Sir Percy Molesworth Sykes
| image = File:Sir Percy Sykes.jpg
| image_size =
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| birth_date = 28 February 1867
| death_date = {{d-da|11 June 1945|28 February 1867}}
| birth_place =
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| nickname =
| birth_name = Percy Molesworth Sykes
| allegiance = {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom]]
| branch = {{army|British India|23px}}
| serviceyears =
| rank = [[Brigadier General]]
| servicenumber =
| unit = 16th Lancers, [[2nd Dragoon Guards (Queens Bays)]], [[South Persia Rifles]] (commander-in-chief overall)
| commands = Consul-General Khuzestan,
| battles = [[Second Boer War]]
| battles_label =
| awards = [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]<br>[[Companion of the Order of the Bath]]<br>[[Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
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}}
[[Brigadier-General]] '''Sir Percy Molesworth Sykes''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|sep=,|KCIE|CB|CMG|FRGS}} (28 February 1867 – 11 June 1945) was a soldier, diplomat, and scholar with a considerable literary output. He wrote historical, geographical, and biographical works, as well as describing his travels in [[Iran|Persia]] and [[Central Asia]].

==Early life==

Percy Sykes was born in [[Brompton, Kent]], [[England]] the only son of Army chaplain Rev. William Sykes (b. 1829)<ref name="Foreign Parts 1900, p. 929">Two Hundred Years of the S.P.G.: An Historical Account of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, 1701-1900, Based on a Digest of the Society's Records, vol. I, Charles Frederick Pascoe, 1901, p. 929</ref> and his wife Mary, daughter of Captain Anthony Oliver Molesworth, of the [[Royal Artillery]], descended from [[Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth|Robert Molesworth]], 1st [[Viscount Molesworth]].<ref>Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 2003, vol. 2, p. 2720</ref><ref>Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, fortieth edition, Sir Bernard Burke, Harrison, Pall Mall, 1878, p. 835</ref> His sisters [[Ella Sykes]] and [[Ethel Sykes]] were both writers.<ref>{{Cite ODNB|title=Sykes, Ella Constance (1863–1939), traveller and writer|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-73441|access-date=2020-10-15|year = 2004|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/73441}}</ref> His father, William was the second son of Richard Sykes, of Edgeley House, [[Stockport]], owner of the [[Sykes Bleaching Company]]; Percy Sykes was thus the nephew of [[Richard Sykes (rugby union)|Richard Sykes]] the [[rugby football|rugby]] player who founded towns in America, and cousin of [[Sir Alan Sykes, 1st Baronet]] who was MP for [[Knutsford]], [[Cheshire]].<ref>Alumni Oxonienses: The Members of the University of Oxford 1715-1886, later series, S-Z, ed. Joseph Foster, Parker & Co., 1888, p. 1380</ref><ref name="Foreign Parts 1900, p. 929"/>

He was educated at [[Rugby School]] and the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]].<ref name="WDL"/>

==Military career==
[[File:Percy Sykes.jpg|thumb|Brigadier Sir Percy Sykes with officers of original [[Mission Bandar Abbas]], April 1916. (Standing) Major E Howell, Captain Durham, (Seated) Major G. Blair (Staff Officer) Brig General Sir Percy Sykes, Captain R.C. Ruck.]]
Sykes was commissioned into the [[16th Lancers]], but transferred to the [[2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays)|2nd Dragoon Guards]] in 1888. He was posted to India and made several journeys through Persia and [[Balochistan (region)|Baluchistan]]. When he was a second lieutenant, he was elected a Fellow of the [[Royal Geographical Society]] in November 1891.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Second Meeting, 23rd November, 1891. Election of Fellows|year=1891|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society |series=New Series|volume=13|page=731|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.32106015214775&view=1up&seq=773}}</ref> He was sent on a secret mission in November 1892 when he went to [[Uzbekistan]] on the [[Trans-Caspian Railway]].<ref name="WDL"/> Promotion to [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] followed on 26 April 1895, and to [[Captain (BARM)|captain]] on 8 December 1897. During the [[Second Boer War]] he served as second in command of the 9th Battalion, [[Imperial Yeomanry]] until September 1901.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27454|page=4511| date=15 July 1902}}</ref> He later served with the Intelligence Department<ref>''Percy Molesworth Sykes'', Y.M. Choueiri, '''A Global Encyclopedia of Historical Writing: A-J''', ed. Daniel R. Woolf, (Routledge, 1998), 871.</ref> and was wounded in the leg.<ref name="Leach">Hugh Leach and Susan Marie Farrington, ''Strolling About on the Roof of the World: The First Hundred Years of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs'', (Routledge, 2003), 185.</ref> He was appointed a Companion of the [[Order of St Michael and St George]] (CMG) in the [[1902 Coronation Honours]] list on 26 June 1902<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |articlename=The Coronation Honours |day_of_week=Thursday |date=26 June 1902 |page_number=5 |issue=36804| }}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27456 |date=22 July 1902 |page=4669 }}</ref> In late 1902 he transferred to the [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]], and was Consul at [[Kerman]] in Persia. Over the next few years he made extensive journeys in the Middle East and was appointed consul-general for [[Khūzestān Province|Khūzestān]] in 1906.
[[File:Sir George Macartney & Chinese Officials, Kashgar.jpg|thumb|Sykes' 1915 photograph of Chinese officials and [[George Macartney (British consul)|Sir George Macartney]] who served as Britain's Consul in Kashgar from 1890 until 1918]]
In 1915 Sykes was knighted.<ref name="Leach" /> In March 1915 he was charged as acting Consul-General in Chinese Turkestan, now [[Xinjiang]], in the [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]] Autonomous Region of China. Sykes traveled overland from England via Norway to the capital city of [[Kashgar]] accompanied by his sister, [[Ella Constance Sykes]], herself a Fellow of the Geographical Society and a well-regarded expert on Persia. The two recorded their journey in series of photographs [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Photographs_taken_by_Lt._Col._Sir_Percy_Sykes_to_illustrate_Chinese_Turkestan,_the_Russian_Pamirs_and_Osh_April-November,_1915] and later published ''Through deserts and oases of Central Asia'',<ref>''Through deserts and oases of central Asia'', by Sykes, Ella Constance, d. 1939; Sykes, Percy Molesworth, Sir, 1867-1945 , https://archive.org/details/cu31924023243391</ref> a book which documents their nine-month journey.

While stationed in Persia he was given the temporary rank of [[Brigadier-General]], he was placed in command of the [[South Persia Rifles]] that he raised himself.<ref name="Galbraith">''Bureaucracies at War:The British in the Middle East in the First World War'', [[John S. Galbraith]] and Robert A. Huttenback, '''National and International Politics in the Middle East: Essays in Honour of Elie Kedourie''', ed. Edward Ingram, (Routledge, 2013), 117-119.</ref> His forces, consisting of some four hundred and fifty men, supported the Russians at [[Isfahan]] against Bakhtiaras and restored some order to the country. Once stationed at Isfahan, Sykes used numerous excuses to remain, including a supposed Russian request that the South Persia rifles be used as a garrison for Isfahan.<ref name="Galbraith" /> By 1917 numerous British authorities were calling for his removal save Lord Curzon. Despite this, Sykes was finally recalled in 1918.<ref name="Galbraith"/>

==Later life==
Sykes retired from the army in 1924, retaining the honorary rank of Brigadier-General. From 1932 until his death he was honorary secretary of the Royal Central Asian Society, now known as the [[Royal Society for Asian Affairs]]. The society has in its gift an award called The Sir Percy Sykes Memorial Medal.<ref name="Award">{{cite web|url=http://www.rsaa.org.uk/page/awards|title=RSAA Awards|publisher=RSAA|access-date=3 June 2013}}</ref>

The [[Royal Geographical Society]] awarded him the [[Back Award|Back grant]] in 1899 and the [[Gold Medal (RGS)|Patron's Gold Medal]] in 1902.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |articlename=Royal Geographical Society |day_of_week=Saturday |date=15 March 1902 |page_number=12 |issue=36716| }}</ref>

==Family and legacy==
In 1902 he married Evelyn Seton, eldest daughter of [[Bruce Gordon Seton|Colonel Bruce Seton]] of the [[Royal Engineers]] and they had six children. His daughter Rachel married [[Patrick Reilly|Sir Patrick Reilly]] the diplomat.

Percy's family later introduced the "Sykes medal", awarded to those who contributed to the understanding of [[Persia]] and [[Central Asia]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=RamHormozi|first1=H.|title=Averting An Iranian Geopolitical Crisis: A Tale of Power Play for Dominance Between Colonial Powers, Tribal and Government Actors in the Pre and Post World War One Era|date=2016|publisher=FriesenPress|isbn=9781460280669|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qzUGDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT210|language=en}}</ref>

==Publications==
* {{cite book|first=Sir Percy|last=Sykes|title=Ten Thousand Miles in Persia|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.173893|publisher=[[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]]|date=1902}} <ref name="WDL">
* {{cite web |url = http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7307/ |title = A History of Persia |website = [[World Digital Library]] |year = 1921 |access-date = 2013-10-01 }}</ref>
* {{cite book|first=Sir Percy|last=Sykes|title=The Glory of the Shia World|url=https://archive.org/details/gloryofshiaworld00sykeuoft|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers]]|date=1910}}<ref name="WDL"/>
* {{cite book|first=Sir Percy|last=Sykes|title=Lectures delivered to the Persia Society, 1913–1914|publisher=Morrison & Gibb|date= 1914}}
* {{cite book|first=Sir Percy|last=Sykes|title=A History of Persia|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924088418466|publisher=MacMillan|date= 1915}}<ref name="WDL"/>
* {{cite web|title=Through Deserts and Oases of Central Asia|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924023243391|publisher=MacMillan|date=1920}}
* {{cite book|first=Sir Percy|last=Sykes|title=A History of Persia|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.279382|edition=2nd|publisher=MacMillan|date= 1921}}
* {{cite book|first=Sir Percy|last=Sykes|title=Persia|publisher=Oxford University Press|date= 1922}}
* {{cite book|first=Sir Percy|last=Sykes|title=The Right Honourable Sir Mortimer Durand|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.283682|publisher=[[Cassell & Co.]]|date=1926}}
* {{cite book|first=Sir Percy|last=Sykes|title=A History of Persia|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.544109|edition=3rd|publisher=MacMillan |date=1930}}
* {{cite book|first=Sir Percy|last=Sykes|title=A History of Exploration|publisher=George Routledge & Sons|date=1934}}
* {{cite book|first=Sir Percy|last=Sykes|title=The Quest for Cathay|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.59288|publisher=A. & C. Black|date= 1936}}
* {{cite book|first=Sir Percy|last=Sykes|title=À La Recherche du Cathay|place=Payot, Paris|date= 1938}}
* {{cite book|first=Sir Percy|last=Sykes|title=Explorers All, Famous Journeys in Asia|publisher=George Newnes|date=1939}}
* {{cite book|first=Sir Percy|last=Sykes|title=The Story of Exploration and Adventure|editor= Sir Percy Sykes|publisher=George Newnes|date=1939}}
* {{cite book|first=Sir Percy|last=Sykes|title=A History of Afghanistan|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.78529|publisher=MacMillan|date= 1940}}
* {{cite book|first=Sir Percy|last=Sykes|title=A History of Exploration|publisher=[[Routledge & Kegan Paul]] |date=1949}}
* {{cite book|first=Sir Percy|last=Sykes|title=A History of Persia|edition= 3rd edition, with supplementary essays|publisher=MacMillan|date=1958}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* ''[[Who's Who (UK)|Who’s Who]]''
* {{cite book|author=[[Karl E. Meyer|Meyer, Karl E.]] and [[Shareen Blair Brysac]]|title=Kingmakers: the Invention of the Modern Middle East|publisher=W.W. Norton|date=2008}}
* {{cite book|first=Wynn|last=Anthony|title=Persia in the Great Game – Sir Percy Sykes: Explorer, Consul, Soldier|publisher=[[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]]|date=2003}}

==External links==
*[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/sykes-percy SYKES, Sir Percy Molesworth], Encyclopædia Iranica
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927203837/http://www.rsaa.org.uk/Sykes%20-%20post-proof.pdf Royal society for Asian Affairs]
*[http://www.jadidonline.com/story/09042009/frnk/percy_sykes_eng A report on the mission of Percy Sykes in Kashghar in 1915, and his photos from there]
* {{Gutenberg author |id=Sykes,+Percy+Molesworth,+Sir}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Percy Molesworth Sykes |sopt=t}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sykes, Percy Molesworth}}
[[Category:English explorers]]
[[Category:1945 deaths]]
[[Category:1867 births]]
[[Category:16th The Queen's Lancers officers]]
[[Category:2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) officers]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Second Boer War]]
[[Category:British Indian Army generals]]
[[Category:Iranologists]]
[[Category:English travel writers]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
[[Category:Indian Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:People educated at Rugby School]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George]]

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Percy Sykes