Henry Wilson in United Kingdom

Sir Henry Wilson History

General on the Western Front in the First World War, becoming a close advisor to Lloyd George in the last year of the war. As the British military advisor at Versailles, he increasingly disagreed with Lloyd George. Resigned and was elected as a Conservative MP. Assassinated in 1922 by IRA volunteers in London.

History of the Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson (1864-1922)

The following commentary about Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson (1864-1922) in the Churchill Era is produced by the Churchill College (Cambridge): British General. Director of Military Operations, 1910-14.

Wilson was a keen advocate of working closely with the French, and although he sympathised with the “westerner” point of view (concentrating on the Western Front), he was much more prepared than Sir Douglas Haig and Sir William Robertson to work alongside Lloyd Georgeand the War Cabinet (the group responsible for overall strategy and policy in time of war).

Wilson entered the Army in 1884, serving in Burma and (with particular distinction), South Africa, in the Boer War. He acted as Assistant Director Staff Duties, War Office, 1904-1906 and Commandant Staff College, 1907-1910. From 1910-1914 he served as Director of Military Operations at Army Headquarters and also as Assistant Chief of General Staff to Field Marshal French, 1914. He acted as Liaison Officer with the French forces, and was a British Military Representative at Versailles, in 1917. In February 1918 he replaced Robertson as Chief of the Imperial General Staff (responsible for co-ordinating the armed forces of Britain and the Empire). In 1922 he was assassinated by the IRA.