Leslie Rundle

Sir Leslie Rundle
Rundle in 1916
Born	6 January 1856 Newton Abbot, Devon[1]
Died	19 November 1934 (aged 78)
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1876–1916
Rank	General
Commands held	Eastern Command Home Army Northern Command 5th Division South-Eastern District
Battles/wars	Zulu War First Boer War Anglo-Egyptian War Mahdist War Second Boer War First World War
Awards	Knight 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 Distinguished Service Order

General Sir Henry Macleod Leslie Rundle GCB, GCMG, GCVO, DSO (6 January 1856 – 19 November 1934) was a British Army general during the First World War.

Military career

Born in Newton Abbot, Devon,^[2] to Captain Joseph Sparkhall Rundle, a Royal Navy officer, and his wife Renira Cathrine (née Leslie, who was the daughter of Commander W. W. Leslie of the Royal Navy), Leslie Rundle was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1876.^[3] He fought in the Zulu War in 1879, the First Boer War of 1881 and the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882.^[3] He was involved in the Nile expedition between 1884 and 1885 and served in the Sudan Frontier Field Force from 1885 to 1887.^[3] In 1889 he went to the Sudan Frontier, and he was involved in the Khartoum expedition in 1898.^[3] He led a column up the Blue Nile to relieve Gedaref that year.^[4]

Rundle became General Officer commanding South-Eastern District in December 1898.^[5] The Second Boer War started in late 1899, however, and Rundle was in January 1900 appointed to the command of the 8th Division of the South African Field Force, with the temporary rank of lieutenant general.^[6] The appointment was described as "the most remarkable instance of advancement to high military office which has occurred in the recent history of [the] Army" by a contemporary issue of The Times.^[7] He served as commander until early March 1902, when he returned to the United Kingdom on board the SS Carisbrook Castle.^[8] He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (for his war-time services (dated 29 November 1900 in the gazette),^[9] and was invested by King Edward VII at St James's Palace on 2 June 1902.^[10]

Following his return, he went on to command 5th Division from 14 May 1902^[11] as General Officer Commanding South-Eastern District.^[5]

He became General Officer Commanding North Eastern District in November 1903, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command in 1905 and Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Malta in 1909.^[3] He went on to be General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Command in 1915 and retired in 1916.^[3]

Family

He married in 1887 Eleanor Georgina Campbell, daughter of Captain H. J. M. Campbell, Royal Artillery, but they had no children.^[12][13]

References

1. Faces & facts
2. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
3. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
4. Leslie Rundle at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
5. "Army Commands" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
6. The London Gazette: no. 27156. p. 430. 23 January 1900.
7. "The Commander of the Eight Division". The Times (36046). London. 23 January 1900. p. 9.
8. "The War – return of Officers". The Times (36714). London. 13 March 1902. p. 10.
9. The London Gazette: no. 27306. p. 2698. 19 April 1901.
10. "The King´s Levee and Investiture". The Times (36784). London. 3 June 1902. p. 10.
11. The London Gazette: no. 27436. p. 3384. 23 May 1902.
12. Who´s Who
13. Obituary: General Sir Leslie Rundle The Argus, 21 November 1934