Francis Ventris

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Francis Ventris
Born1857
Died1929
Allegiance 
Companion of the Order of the Bath

Major-General Francis Ventris CB (1857–1929) was Commander of British Forces in China
.

Military career

The son of Edward Favell Ventris, who was

44th Regiment of Foot in 1875.[2] He became an Adjutant of that Regiment in 1880.[3] In 1897, having served as an Assistant Adjutant-General in India, he was given command of a district in that country.[4] In 1903 he became a Brigadier commanding troops in North China.[5]

He retired in 1909

General Officer Commanding 25th Division in September 1914.[7] In 1915 he was appointed Commander of British Forces in China,[8] a post he relinquished in 1921.[9]

He was given the colonelcy of the Essex Regiment in 1904, a position he held until his death.[10]

He died in 1929. He had married Helen Maud Davies in 1883, and was father to three sons and two daughters. His eldest son Edward (1885-1938) was the father of Michael Ventris, who deciphered Linear B.[11] His youngest son Second Lieutenant Alan Favell Ventris of the South Lancashire Regiment was killed in action near Ypres on 14 September 1915, age 18 years, and is interred at Birr Crossroads Cemetery.[12]

References

  1. ^ Alumni Oxonienses: the members of the University of Oxford, 1891
  2. ^ "No. 24180". The London Gazette. 12 February 1875. p. 599.
  3. ^ "No. 24865". The London Gazette. 20 July 1880. p. 4043.
  4. ^ "No. 26906". The London Gazette. 2 November 1897. p. 5995.
  5. ^ "No. 27586". The London Gazette. 11 August 1903. p. 5074.
  6. ^ "No. 28270". The London Gazette. 13 July 1909. p. 5384.
  7. ^ Hong Kong Legislative Council
  8. ^ "No. 32381". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 July 1921. p. 5447.
  9. ^ "The Essex Regiment". regiments.org. Archived from the original on 25 December 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  10. ^ Unit Histories
  11. ^ "Ventris Family". Friends of Hastings Cemetery. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
Military offices
Preceded by
New formation
General Officer Commanding the 25th Division
September 1914–May 1915
Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander of British Forces in China
1915–1921
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Hon. John Jocelyn Bourke
Colonel of the Essex Regiment
1904–1929
Succeeded by
John Cartwright Harding-Newman