- George Tomkyns Chesney
Sir George Tomkyns Chesney, KCB, CSI, CIE (
April 30 1830 –March 31 1895 ),British Army general, brother ofColonel Charles Cornwallis Chesney , was born at Tiverton,Devon , onApril 30 1830 .Biograpy
Educated at
Blundell's School , Tiverton, and atAddiscombe , he entered theBengal Engineers assecond lieutenant in 1848. He was employed for some years in the public works department and, on the outbreak of theIndian rebellion of 1857 , joined theAmbala column, was field engineer at thebattle of Badli-ke-serai , brigade-major of engineers throughout thesiege of Delhi , and was severely wounded in the assault (he received a medal and clasp and a brevet majority).In 1860, he was appointed head of a new department in connection with the public works accounts. His work on "Indian Polity" (1868), dealing with the administration of the several departments of the
India n government, attracted wide attention and remains a permanent text-book. The originator of the Royal Indian Civil Engineering College at Coopers Hill,Englefield Green, Egham , he was also its first president (1871-1880).In 1871, he contributed to "Blackwoods Magazine" a highly influential short story called "The Battle of Dorking", a vivid account of a supposed invasion of England by the Germans after their victory over
France . This was republished in many editions and translations and is considered a founding piece of theinvasion literature genre. He was promoted toLieutenant Colonel in 1869,Colonel in 1877,Major General in 1886,Lieutenant General in 1887, colonel-commandant ofRoyal Engineers in 1890, and general in 1892. From 1881 to the government of India, and was made a Companion ofOrder of the Star of India (C.S.I.) and a Companion of theOrder of the Indian Empire (C.I.E.) From 1886 to 1892, as military member of the governor-generals council, he carried out many much-needed military reforms. He was made a Companion of theOrder of the Bath (C.B.) at the jubilee of 1887, and a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (K.C.B.) in the New Year's Honours list 1 January 1890 [ [http://www.londongazette.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=26008&geotype=London&gpn=1&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=&atleast=&similar= London Gazette issue 26008, 2 January 1890] ] . On leaving India in 1892, he was elected to theParliament of the United Kingdom as a Conservative Party candidate, as member for Oxford. He was chairman of the Committee of Service Members of the House of Commons until his death on31 March 1895 . He wrote novels, including "The Dilemma", "The Private Secretary", and "The Lesters", and was a frequent contributor to periodical literature.Anthologies
*"" (1976)
Footnotes
References
*1911
External links
*George Tomkyns Chesney (1871). [http://www.archive.org/details/battleofdorking00chesrich "The Battle of Dorking"] . London, G. Richards ltd., 1914, introduction by
G. H. Powell . FromInternet Archive .
*Book Review: [http://www.readingbooks.info/BattleofDorking.htm The Battle of Dorking]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.