Frederick Forestier-Walker

Sir Frederick Forestier-Walker
Gen. Sir Frederick Forestier-Walker
Born	14 April 1844 Bushey, Hertfordshire
Died	30 August 1910 Tenby, Pembrokeshire
Buried at	Bushey, Hertfordshire
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	General
Commands held	Western District
Battles/wars	Cape Frontier Wars Anglo-Zulu War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath

General Sir Frederick William Edward Forestier Forestier-Walker GCMG KCB (17 April 1844 – 30 August 1910) was a British senior military officer and Governor of Gibraltar.

Military career

Forestier-Walker was the eldest son of General Sir Edward Forestier-Walker (previously Walker), by his wife Lady Jane Ogilvy-Grant, daughter of the 6th Earl of Seafield. Educated at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Forestier-Walker was commissioned into the Scots Guards as Ensign and Lieutenant, by purchase, 5 September 1862,^[1][2] and was appointed a Lieutenant and Captain, by purchase, 11 July 1865.^[3]

In 1873 he was appointed Military Secretary to the General Officer Commanding Cape Colony and 15 October 1878 was promoted Colonel.^[4] Forestier-Walker saw action in the Cape Frontier Wars, for which he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in November 1878,^[5] and in the Anglo-Zulu War.^[2] He was promoted to Captain and Lieutenant-Colonel of the Scots Guards 20 March 1880.^[6] In 1882 he was appointed Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster-General^[7] for the Home District but shortly after returned to South Africa.^[2] From 1884 he served in Bechuanaland, and in January 1886 was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG)^[8] for services in that protectorate.

He was appointed a Brigadier at Aldershot in 1889 and Commander of British Troops in Egypt in 1890, during which he was knighted and promoted to a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.^[9] Upon returning from Egypt in 1895, he was appointed General Officer Commanding Western District, serving until 1890.^[2]

In 1899 he again returned to Africa, becoming GOC Cape Colony and acting as Lieutenant-General in command of Lines of Communication, South Africa Field Force, 1899–1901. He was thus responsible for disembarkation of troops and military stores, and sending them to the front. In a dispatch dated 31 March 1900, the Commander-in-Chief in South Africa, Lord Roberts, wrote how Forestier-Walker carried out his duties "with credit to himself and with advantage to the public service".^[10] He was promoted to a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in November 1900 for his services in South Africa.^[11]

He was Governor of Gibraltar from 1905 until shortly before his death in 1910, and also acted as General Officer Commanding Mediterranean in 1909.^[12]

In retirement he became a Director of the Cold Storage Company.^[13]

He was a Knight of Grace of the Order of St John from 1901.^[14]

Family

In 1887 he married Mabel Louisa Ross and they had one son.^[2]

References

1. The London Gazette: no. 27659. p. 4372. 5 September 1862.
2. Frederick Forestier-Walker at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
3. The London Gazette: no. 22990. p. 3486. 11 July 1865.
4. The London Gazette: no. 24668. p. 172. 14 January 1879.
5. The London Gazette: no. 27650. p. 66838. 28 November 1878.
6. The London Gazette: no. 24832. p. 2439. 9 April 1880.
7. The London Gazette: no. 25140. p. 3919. 22 August 1882.
8. The London Gazette: no. 25554. p. 440. 29 January 1886.
9. The London Gazette: no. 26516. p. 3116. 26 May 1894.
10. The London Gazette: no. 27282. p. 845. 8 February 1901.
11. The London Gazette: no. 27306. p. 2698. 19 April 1901.
12. Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008
13. Army Estimates Hansard, 4 August 1902
14. The London Gazette: no. 27293. p. 1763. 12 March 1901.

Sources

•  Vibart, Henry Meredith (1912). "Forestier-Walker, Frederick William Edward Forestier". In Lee, Sidney. Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement​. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 40–41.