In 1913 he was appointed to the command of the 5th Division, with which he proceeded to France with the original Expeditionary Force. The 5th Division fought on the left of the line at Mons, and on the morning of the 24th had need of all the skill of its commander to extricate it from being outflanked by the Germans. In August, 1914, he was promoted Lieutenant-General, and from January, 1915, he commanded the II, which took a prominent part in the capture of Hill 60, and subsequently the XVII Army Corps. His war honours include mention in despatches and his creation as Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. He has also received the Order of the Crown (Second Class).
V
LIEUT.-GENERAL SIR GEORGE HENRY FOWKE, K.C.B., K.C.M.G.
LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR GEORGE HENRY FOWKE, K.C.B., was born September 10th, 1864. He entered the Royal Engineers in 1884 and became Captain in 1892. In the South African War of 1899-1902 he gained his Brevets of Major and Lieutenant-Colonel, in addition to winning the Queen's Medal with three clasps, the King's Medal with two clasps, and being mentioned in despatches. He served in the Defence of Ladysmith, including the sortie of December 7th, 1899, and in the operations in Natal and the Transvaal, east of Pretoria.
From 1902 to 1904 he was employed under the Civil Government in the Transvaal as Director of Works and M.L.C. In 1905 he was attached to the Japanese Army in Manchuria, during the Russo-Japanese War. In this campaign the order of the Sacred Treasure (Third Class) was bestowed on him, and also the Japanese War Medal. In 1906 he became an Instructor at the school of military Engineering, holding this position until 1908, when he was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel, Royal Engineers, and appointed C.R.E., 1st Division. He became Colonel in 1910, going to the War Office as Assistant Adjutant-General of the Royal Engineers in the same year.
In 1913 he was promoted Brigadier-General (Temporary), Inspector of Royal Engineers, and at the outbreak of this war became Brigadier-General, Royal Engineers. His wide experience was of great value in the positional warfare which ensued after the first Battle of Ypres.
LIEUT.-GEN. SIR GEORGE FOWKE
In 1915 he was promoted to the rank of Major-General, and became Engineer-in-Chief, while in 1915 he became a Temporary Lieutenant-General, holding the office of Adjutant-General. Besides being mentioned in despatches ("I wish to particularly mention the services performed by my Chief Engineer, Brigadier-General G. H. Fowke"), Sir George Fowke has been during this war created first C.B., and then K.C.B., as well as K.C.M.G., and the Order of Leopold (Third Class) has been bestowed upon him by the King of Belgium, and Commander of the Legion of Honour.