Beauchamp Doran
Beauchamp John Colclough Doran | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 September 1860 |
| Died | 23 November 1943 (aged 83) Ely House, Wexford |
| Allegiance |  Companion of the Order of the Bath |
| Relations | General Sir John Doran (father) |
New Armies, and promoted to the 25th Division before it was sent to France in 1915; he led it on the Western Front
until June 1916, when he was relieved and sent home. From 1916 to 1918 he commanded the Army forces in southern Ireland, and then held an administrative post in France before retiring in 1920.
Early career
The eldest son of General Sir
North-West Frontier of India.[1] The following year he was back in Sudan, where he was in charge of the 9th Sudanese Battalion during operations leading to the defeat of the Khalifa in the Battle of Umm Diwaykarat in November 1899 (mentioned in despatches 25 November 1899[3]
).
During the
lieutenant-colonel on 29 November 1900, was twice mentioned in despatches, and was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB).[2] Following the end of the war in June 1902, he returned to the United Kingdom in the SS Dunottar Castle, which arrived at Southampton in July 1902.[4]
Senior command
On his return, he married Mary MacGeough Bond, a widow; the couple would be married for thirty years before Mary's death, but with no children. In 1904, he was posted to command his battalion, the 1st Royal Irish Regiment, with a brevet promotion to colonel in 1905. He moved to staff duties in 1908, as assistant adjutant-general of
Irish Command, but returned to a field position in 1912, when he was appointed to command 8th Infantry Brigade, a regular unit on home service.[2]
Doran was in command of the 8th Brigade when the
Retreat from Mons, the Battle of the Marne and the First Battle of the Aisne.[1] On 20 October, one of his battalions – the 2nd Royal Irish Regiment – was surrounded during the Battle of La Bassée and effectively destroyed for lack of support;[6] on 23 October, he was relieved of command of 8th Brigade and sent home.[7]
The following month, Doran was assigned to command the
Vimy Ridge, and was involved in defending against a German attack.[8] Doran was relieved of command the following month, and transferred to home service as the commander of the Southern District in Ireland.[1] In 1919 he was appointed to command No. 5 Area in France as part of the demobilisation of the Army, and retired in 1920. Through the War, he had been mentioned in despatches four times.[2]
Retirement
In retirement, Doran was appointed the
Provisional Government.[9] After Mary's death in 1932, he remarried an American, Florence Fairchild. He died in 1943, aged 83.[2]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Obituary in The Times
- ^ a b c d e Who Was Who
- ^ "No. 27159". The London Gazette. 30 January 1900. pp. 597–600.
- ^ "The Army in South Africa - Troops returning home". The Times. No. 36814. London. 8 July 1902. p. 11.
- ^ French, chapter 2
- ^ Edmonds, pp.85-86
- ^ The date is given by French (chapter 2) and by Bourne, John. "William Hely Bowes". Centre for First World War Studies.
- ^ Summary of Archived 2011-08-12 at the Wayback Machine Kincaid-Smith, M. (1920). 25th Division in France and Flanders.
- ^ Discussion in Hansard, 30 May 1922 vol 154 cc1888-90
References
- "DORAN, Major-General Beauchamp John Colclough". (2007). In Who Was Who. Online edition
- Obituary in The Times, 26 November 1943, p. 7
- Edmonds, J. E. (1925). History of the Great War: Military Operations, France and Belgium 1914 (volume II). Macmillan & Co.
- French, John (1919). 1914. London: Constable.
External links
- . . Dublin: Alexander Thom and Son Ltd. 1923. p. – via Wikisource.