James_Bevan_Edwards

James Bevan Edwards

James Bevan Edwards

British Army officer and politician

Lieutenant General Sir James Bevan Edwards KCB, KCMG (5 November 1834 – 8 July 1922) was a senior British Army officer and politician.

Quick Facts Sir, Born ...

Military career

Edwards was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1852.[1] He served with the Royal Engineers in the Crimean War in 1853 and the Indian Mutiny of 1857.[2]

He transferred to the Indian Staff Corps in 1882,[3] and, during the Mahdist War, became Commanding Royal Engineer for the Suakin Expeditionary Force in 1885.[4] He was mentioned in despatches for his role in this Expedition.[5]

On return to the United Kingdom, Edwards became Commandant of the Royal School of Military Engineering.[6] He was then appointed Commander of British Troops in China and Hong Kong in 1889.[7]

Edwards was also selected by the British Government to inspect the forces of the Australian colonies in 1889 and to advise on their organisation. He recommended a structure to enable the colonies to combine for mutual defence, uniform organisation and armament, a common Defence Act, a military college to train officers and a uniform gauge for railways.[2]

At the 1895 general election, he was elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament (MP) for Hythe in Kent,[8] but he made his resignation from the British House of Commons in February 1899.[9]

Funerary monument, Brompton Cemetery, London

He became colonel-commandant of the Royal Engineers in 1903.[2]

Edwards died in 1922 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.[10]

Family

Edwards married three times: in 1868 to Alice Brocklebank, daughter of Ralph Brocklebank; in 1901 to Nina Balfour, daughter of John Balfour; and, in 1918, Amy Ann Harding.[2] He had several children, including:

  • Isabel Sybil Edwards (died 1956), who married in 1902 Colonel Edward Charles Walthall Delves Walthall, CMG, DSO, (1874–1961), an officer in the Royal Artillery.[11]

References

  1. [1]
    "No. 21397". The London Gazette. 31 December 1852. p. 3941.
  2. [2]
    "Edwards, Sir James Bevan (1834–1922)". Biography - Sir James Bevan Edwards. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 31 July 2017. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  3. [3]
    "No. 25104". The London Gazette. 5 May 1882. p. 2076.
  4. [4]
    "No. 25444". The London Gazette. 20 February 1885. p. 759.
  5. [5]
    "No. 25505". The London Gazette. 25 August 1885. p. 4042.
  6. [6]
    "No. 25793". The London Gazette. 6 March 1888. p. 1428.
  7. [7]
    "No. 25940". The London Gazette. 28 May 1889. p. 2879.
  8. [8]
    "No. 26651". The London Gazette. 2 August 1895. p. 4481.
  9. [9]
    "No. 27055". The London Gazette. 21 February 1899. p. 1116.
  10. [10]
    Brompton Cemetery site Archived 2006-08-23 at the Wayback Machine
  11. [11]
    "Marriages". The Times. No. 36926. London. 15 November 1902. p. 1.
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