Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby

The Viscount Allenby
Field Marshal Viscount Allenby
High Commissioner in Egypt
In office
1919–1925
MonarchGeorge V
Preceded byReginald Wingate
Succeeded byGeorge Lloyd
Personal details
Born(1861-04-23)23 April 1861
Brackenhurst, Nottinghamshire, England
Died14 May 1936(1936-05-14) (aged 75)
Kensington, London, England
Resting placeWestminster Abbey
Spouse(s)Adelaide Mabel Chapman, Viscountess Allenby of Megiddo
NicknameThe Bloody Bull or The Bull
Military service
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch/serviceBritish Army
Years of service1880–1925
RankField Marshal
CommandsEgyptian Expeditionary Force
British Third Army
V Corps
Cavalry Corps
1st Cavalry Division
4th Cavalry Brigade
5th Royal Irish Lancers
6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons
Battles/wars
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Full list

Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, KStJ (23 April 1861 – 14 May 1936) was a senior British Army officer and Imperial Governor. He fought in the Second Boer War and also in World War I, in which he led the British Empire's Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the conquest of Palestine.

The British succeeded in capturing Beersheba, Jaffa, and Jerusalem from October to December 1917. His forces occupied the Jordan Valley during the summer of 1918, then went on to capture northern Palestine and defeat the Ottoman Yildirim Army Group's Eighth Army at the Battle of Megiddo, forcing the Fourth and Seventh Army to retreat towards Damascus. Subsequently, the EEF Pursuit by Desert Mounted Corps captured Damascus and advanced into northern Syria.

During this pursuit, he commanded T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"), whose campaign with Faisal's Arab Sherifial Forces assisted the EEF's capture of Ottoman Empire territory and fought the Battle of Aleppo, five days before the Armistice of Mudros ended the campaign on 30 October 1918. He continued to serve in the region as High Commissioner in Egypt from 1919 until 1925, a position that meant he effectively ruled Egypt during this period.[1]

  1. ^ A. D. Roberts, The Cambridge History of Africa, 1986, ISBN 0521225051, 7:742