Harry Pritchard (British Army officer)

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Harry Pritchard
Born(1871-11-16)16 November 1871
Died14 May 1953(1953-05-14) (aged 81)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1891–1933
RankMajor-General
Service number23202
Commands heldRoyal School of Military Engineering (1931–33)
Malaya Command (1929–31)
Battles/warsFourth Anglo-Ashanti War
Mahdist War
Second Boer War
First World War
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Distinguished Service Order
Mentioned in Despatches (7)
Order of the Medjidie, Fourth Class (Ottoman Empire)
Medal of Military Merit (Greece)

Major-General Harry Lionel Pritchard, CB, CMG, DSO (16 November 1871 – 14 May 1953) was a British Army officer who served as General Officer Commanding Malaya Command from 1929 to 1931.

Military career[edit]

Pritchard was the son of Colonel Hurlock Pritchard, of Camberley,[1] and was educated at Charterhouse School.[2] He was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1891.[3] He took part in the Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War in 1895 and was then transferred to the Egyptian Army in 1896, taking part in the Siege of Khartoum the following year.[3] He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for service in the Sudan.[4]

Pritchard served in the Second Boer War in 1899 and then became a Deputy Assistant Director at the War Office in 1904. He was appointed Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General in India in 1907.[3]

Pritchard served in the First World War, initially in France and Belgium and then in Egypt. He was made Chief Engineer for Middle East Forces in 1916,[3] and was severely wounded in 1917.[5]

After the war, he was appointed Chief Engineer at Northern Command in 1921 and then Assistant Director for Fortifications and Works at the War Office in 1923.[3]

In 1926, he was appointed Chief Engineer for Eastern Command and, in 1929, he became General Officer Commanding Malaya Command.[3] His final appointment was as Commandant of the Royal School of Military Engineering at Chatham in 1931; he retired in 1933.[3]

Family[edit]

Pritchard married Elizabeth Gilbert Furse, daughter of E. Furse, of Alphington, Frimley, at the parish church, Frimley, on 3 September 1902.[1]

Bibliography[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Marriages". The Times. No. 36866. London. 6 September 1902. p. 1.
  2. ^ Charterhouse Register 1872–1900
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  4. ^ Spink Medal Newsletter February 2005
  5. ^ Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals and Militaria Spink Auction, 28 April 2005.
Military offices
Preceded by GOC Malaya Command
1929–1931
Succeeded by
Preceded by Commandant of the School of Military Engineering
1931–1933
Succeeded by