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Arthur Aitken: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|British Army officer (1861–1924)}} | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}} | ||
{{Infobox military person | {{Infobox military person | ||
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|caption= | |caption= | ||
|nickname= | |nickname= | ||
|allegiance= | |allegiance= [[United Kingdom]] | ||
|serviceyears= | |serviceyears= 1880−1918 | ||
|rank= [[Brigadier-General]] | |rank= [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier-General]] | ||
| | |unit= [[Worcestershire Regiment]]<br>[[119th Infantry (The Mooltan Regiment)]] | ||
|commands=[[Indian Expeditionary Force]] | |commands=[[Indian Expeditionary Force]] | ||
| | |branch= [[British Army]]<br>[[British Indian Army]] | ||
|battles= | |battles= | ||
|awards= | |awards= | ||
|laterwork= | |laterwork= | ||
}} | }} | ||
Brigadier-General '''Arthur Edward Aitken''' (25 May 1861 – 29 March 1924) was a | Brigadier-General '''Arthur Edward Aitken''' (25 May 1861 – 29 March 1924) was a British [[military commander]]. | ||
==Career== | ==Career== | ||
Born in [[Rochford]]<ref name="birth" /> in [[Essex]], by the time of the 1871 Census he was a 9-year-old pupil at a school in [[Brighton]], [[Sussex]].<ref name="Census1871">[[Census in the United Kingdom|1871 Census of Brighton]], RG10/1087, Folio 92, Page 50, Arthur E Aitken, pupil, 13, 14, 15 Sillwood Place, Brighton.</ref> | Born in [[Rochford]]<ref name="birth" /> in [[Essex]], by the time of the 1871 Census he was a 9-year-old pupil at a school in [[Brighton]], [[Sussex]].<ref name="Census1871">[[Census in the United Kingdom|1871 Census of Brighton]], RG10/1087, Folio 92, Page 50, Arthur E Aitken, pupil, 13, 14, 15 Sillwood Place, Brighton.</ref> | ||
Aitken was commissioned from RMC Sandhurst in 1880 and saw active service in the Sudan in 1885.<ref name=Paice40>Paice | Aitken was commissioned from RMC Sandhurst in 1880 and saw active service in the Sudan in 1885.<ref name=Paice40>{{cite book|last=Paice|first=Edward|title=Tip & Run: The Untold Tragedy of the Great War in Africa|year=2008|publisher=Phoenix|location=London|isbn=978-0-7538-2349-1|page=40}}</ref> He was attached to the [[Indian Staff Corps]], where he was promoted [[Major (British Army and Royal Marines)|major]] on 14 January 1900.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27173| page=1714|date=13 March 1900}}</ref> While in India, he was promoted full colonel in 1911 and afterwards held the temporary rank of brigadier-general. | ||
Following the outbreak of the [[World War I|First World War]], Aitken, as a temporary major-general, led the first notable incursion into [[German East Africa]] at the head of [[Indian Army during World War I#Indian Expeditionary Force B|Indian Expeditionary Force]] B,<ref name=Paice40/> and was defeated at the [[Battle of Tanga]] in early November 1914.<ref name=Chappell12>Chappell | Following the outbreak of the [[World War I|First World War]], Aitken, as a temporary major-general, led the first notable incursion into [[German East Africa]] at the head of [[Indian Army during World War I#Indian Expeditionary Force B|Indian Expeditionary Force]] B,<ref name=Paice40/> and was defeated at the [[Battle of Tanga]] in early November 1914.<ref name=Chappell12>{{cite book|last=Chappell|first=Mike|year=2005|title=The British Army in World War I: The Eastern Fronts|series=The British Army in World War I, Volume 3|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=1-84176-401-9|page=12}}</ref> | ||
The battle is often known as the "Battle of the Bees" for the swarms of bees that repeatedly interrupted fighting,<ref>Farwell | The battle is often known as the "Battle of the Bees" for the swarms of bees that repeatedly interrupted fighting,<ref>{{cite book|last=Farwell|first=Byron|authorlink=Byron Farwell|title=The Great War in Africa, 1914–1918|year=1989|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|location=New York|isbn=0-393-30564-3|page=171}}</ref> with both sides fleeing for cover. Aitken was said to have been overconfident and not to have attempted any [[reconnaissance]] work in the area. | ||
The German defence forces were led by [[Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck]],<ref name=Chappell12/> who held out until the end of the war. | The German defence forces were led by [[Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck]],<ref name=Chappell12/> who held out until the end of the war. | ||
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During his final years General Aitken was a prominent local figure in Bath. Because of poor health he spent his final months in Italy and died there suddenly of a heart attack. | During his final years General Aitken was a prominent local figure in Bath. Because of poor health he spent his final months in Italy and died there suddenly of a heart attack. | ||
== | ==References== | ||
{{Reflist}} | {{Reflist}} | ||
{{Authority control}} | {{Authority control}} | ||
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[[Category:People from Rochford]] | [[Category:People from Rochford]] | ||
[[Category:Worcestershire Regiment officers]] | [[Category:Worcestershire Regiment officers]] | ||
[[Category:Indian Staff Corps officers]] | |||
[[Category:Burials in the Protestant Cemetery, Rome]] | |||
[[Category:Military personnel from Essex]] | |||
[[Category:British Indian Army generals]] | |||
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]] | |||
[[Category:British military personnel of the Mahdist War]] | |||
[[Category:Bombay Staff Corps officers]] | [[Category:Bombay Staff Corps officers]] | ||
{{UK-mil-bio-stub}} | {{UK-mil-bio-stub}} | ||