Horace Smith-Dorrien

Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien
Nickname(s)"Smith Doreen"
Smith D.
S.D.
Smithereens
Born(1858-05-26)26 May 1858
Haresfoot, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England
Died12 August 1930(1930-08-12) (aged 72)
Chippenham, Wiltshire, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service / branch British Army
Years of service1876–1923
RankGeneral
UnitSherwood Foresters
CommandsSecond Army
II Corps
Southern Command
19th Brigade
Battles / wars
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath[1]
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Distinguished Service Order
Mentioned in Despatches
Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour (France)[2]
Other workGovernor of Gibraltar

General Sir Horace Lockwood Smith-Dorrien, GCB, GCMG, DSO, ADC (26 May 1858 – 12 August 1930) was a British Army General. One of the few British survivors of the Battle of Isandlwana as a young officer, he also distinguished himself in the Second Boer War.

Smith-Dorrien held senior commands in the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) during the First World War. He commanded II Corps at the Battle of Mons, the first major action fought by the BEF, and the Battle of Le Cateau, where he fought a vigorous and successful defensive action contrary to the wishes of the Commander-in-Chief Sir John French, with whom he had had a personality clash dating back some years. In the spring of 1915 he commanded the Second Army at the Second Battle of Ypres. He was relieved of command by French for requesting permission to retreat from the Ypres Salient to a more defensible position.

  1. ^ "Supplement to The London Gazette of Friday, the 8th of November". London-gazette.co.uk. 8 November 1907. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  2. ^ "Supplement to The London Gazette of Friday, 14 May, 1915". London-gazette.co.uk. 14 May 1915. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.