Ernest Makins

Sir

Ernest Makins
Makins in 1938
Born(1869-10-14)14 October 1869
Died18 May 1959(1959-05-18) (aged 89)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1892–1946
RankBrigadier-General
Unit1st (Royal) Dragoons
Commands6th Cavalry Brigade
Battles / warsSecond Boer War
First World War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order
Member of Parliament
for Knutsford
In office
15 November 1922 – 15 June 1945
Preceded byAlan Sykes
Succeeded byWalter Bromley-Davenport

Brigadier-General Sir Ernest Makins, KBE, CB, DSO (14 October 1869 – 18 May 1959) was a British military officer, statesman and Conservative Party politician.

Military career

Making was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 1st (Royal) Dragoons on 23 January 1892,[1] was promoted to lieutenant on 31 August 1893,[2] and to captain on 2 February 1898.[3]

He fought in the Second Boer War between 1899 and 1902, where he took part in the Relief of Ladysmith, including the battles of Colenso (15 December 1899), Spion Kop (20–24 January 1900), Vaal Krantz (5–7 February 1900), and the Tugela Heights and Pieter's Hill (14–27 February 1900). In the following months he took part in operations in Natal March to June, and in the Orange River Colony until November 1900.[4] He was mentioned in despatches on 10 September 1901,[5] and appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his service during the war.[6] After peace was declared in May 1902, Makins left South Africa on board the SS Bavarian and arrived in the United Kingdom the following month.[7] He was promoted to major on 3 September 1902,[8] and received the insignia of the DSO from King Edward VII following troop inspections on 4 November 1902.[9]

Makins, who in February 1910 was promoted to lieutenant colonel,[10] and June 1913 to colonel,[11] fought in the First World War, where he was also mentioned in despatches. He was appointed commander of the 6th Cavalry Brigade in September 1914.[12] On 11 May 1915 he was promoted to temporary brigadier general[13] and succeeded Charles James Briggs as commander of the 1st Cavalry Brigade.[14]

He was colonel of the 1st Royal Dragoons between 1931[15] and 1946.[16]

Honours

Political career

He was elected at the 1922 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Knutsford division of Cheshire,[19] and held the seat until he retired from the House of Commons at the 1945 general election.[20]

Family

He married Maria Florence Mellor (ca. 1877 – 11 August 1972) on 31 January 1903. Their children were:[21]

One of Sir Ernest Makins' grandsons, by his eldest son, was Christopher J. Makins (1942—2006), a British-American diplomat[22]

References

  1. ^ "No. 26249". The London Gazette. 22 January 1892. p. 371.
  2. ^ "No. 26443". The London Gazette. 22 September 1893. p. 5382.
  3. ^ "Hart's Army List 1910". p. 156. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  4. ^ Hart´s Army list, 1903
  5. ^ "No. 27353". The London Gazette. 10 September 1901. p. 5928.
  6. ^ a b "No. 27490". The London Gazette. 31 October 1902. p. 6898.
  7. ^ "The Army in South Africa – the Coronation contingent". The Times. No. 36791. London. 11 June 1902. p. 14.
  8. ^ "No. 27470". The London Gazette. 2 September 1902. p. 5681.
  9. ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36917. London. 5 November 1902. p. 10.
  10. ^ "No. 28335". The London Gazette. 1 February 1910. p. 782.
  11. ^ "No. 28819". The London Gazette. 7 April 1914. p. 3003.
  12. ^ Becke 1935, p. 18.
  13. ^ "No. 29177". The London Gazette. 1 June 1915. p. 5215.
  14. ^ Becke 1935, p. 2.
  15. ^ "No. 33690". The London Gazette. 17 February 1931. p. 1127.
  16. ^ "No. 37788". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 November 1946. p. 5611.
  17. ^ "No. 30111". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1917. p. 5454.
  18. ^ "No. 34518". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 June 1938. p. 3697.
  19. ^ "No. 32775". The London Gazette. 8 December 1922. p. 8703.
  20. ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 305. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  21. ^ "Sir Ernest Makins". The Peerage. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  22. ^ "Christopher J. Makins, 63, Expert on Foreign Relations". New York Times. 2 February 2006. Retrieved 7 October 2017.

Sources

  • Becke, Major A.F. (1935). Order of Battle of Divisions Part 1. The Regular British Divisions. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 1-871167-09-4.
Honorary titles
Preceded by Colonel of 1st The Royal Dragoons
1931–1946 		Succeeded by
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Knutsford
1922 – 1945 		Succeeded by