Frederick Wing

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Frederick Wing
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Mentioned in dispatches

Major-General Frederick Drummond Vincent Wing,

aide de camp to Lord Roberts
in 1903.

Military career

Frederick Wing was born in Christchurch, Hampshire[1] in November 1860, the son of Major Vincent Wing and Gertrude Elizabeth Wing (née Vane). In May 1880 aged nineteen , Wing joined the Royal Horse Artillery after graduating from the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.[2] Wing rose in prominence in the regiment, and was promoted to captain on 12 September 1888 (or 13 October 1893?),[3] 

and major on 31 March 1898.[4]

He served in

despatch dated 23 June 1902, Lord Kitchener wrote that Wing had "high reputation for boldness and dash" and had "rendered good service."[7] He left Cape Town on board the SS Dunvegan Castle in late June 1902,[8] and arrived at Southampton the next month. For his service in the war, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the October 1902 South Africa Honours list.[9]

Following his return to the United Kingdom, Wing was appointed in command of the Z Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, stationed at Newbridge.[10] He did not stay there long, however, as he was seconded to the staff of Lord Roberts, whom he served as aide-de-camp in 1903.[5]

In 1905, Wing married Mary FitzClarence, sister of

Earl of Clonmell.[11] In November 1905 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.[12] After serving as a staff officer for the Royal Horse Artillery and the RFA, Wing was promoted to colonel became an assistant adjutant-general at the War Office in September 1910.[13]

In January 1913, Wing was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general

First World War. Wing, promoted to major general in October 1914,[15] served at all the major battles of 1914 and was wounded on 22 September 1915 by a shrapnel bullet in the calf, but returned to duty the next day. Wing also had a close escape early in 1915, when a German shell burst directly over his car during a tour of his artillery positions. Wing was unhurt in the blast, but his chauffeur was wounded in the arm.[16]

Later in 1915, Wing took overall command of the newly raised New Army 12th (Eastern) Division. In the September 1915 Battle of Loos, generals George Thesiger and Thompson Capper were killed, and less than a week later, on 2 October 1915, a shell exploded in the road outside the 12th Division's forward report centre at Mazingarbe and killed Wing and his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant C. C. Tower of the Essex Yeomanry, outright at 3:45pm.[17] Both were buried in the nearby Noeux-les-Mines Communal Cemetery which is now maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.[18][19]

Time for his men

In the diaries of Lieut A A de Jongh of the 7th Battalion, Suffolks who fought at Loos under Major General Wing, he described meeting him on 5 June 1915 while marching to Campagne. "On the way we passed Major General Wing our Divisional Commander, a simply topping man. He stopped his car and I had quite a long chat with him." On 8 July 1915, he inspected the trenches just outside Plugstreet (Ploegsteert) where Lieut. de Jongh was based. "He was please with everything and spent a long time with me."[citation needed]

References

  1. ^
    Lives of the First World War
  2. ^ "No. 24848". The London Gazette. 28 May 1880. p. 3221.
  3. ^ "No. 26451". The London Gazette. 20 October 1893. p. 5894.
  4. ^ "No. 26956". The London Gazette. 12 April 1898. p. 2350.
  5. ^ a b Davies 1997, p. 107.
  6. ^ "The War - Officers discharged to duty". The Times. No. 36764. London. 10 May 1902. p. 12.
  7. ^ "No. 27459". The London Gazette. 29 July 1902. pp. 4835–4837.
  8. ^ "The Army in South Africa - Troops returning home". The Times. No. 36804. London. 26 June 1902. p. 10.
  9. ^ "No. 27490". The London Gazette. 31 October 1902. p. 6899.
  10. ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36926. London. 15 November 1902. p. 12.
  11. ^ Maj.-Gen Frederick Drummond Vincent Wing, peerage.com, Daryl Lundy, Retrieved 5 July 2008
  12. ^ "No. 27854". The London Gazette. 14 November 1905. p. 7598.
  13. ^ "No. 28419". The London Gazette. 27 September 1910. p. 6842.
  14. ^ "No. 28684". The London Gazette. 24 January 1913. p. 589.
  15. ^ "No. 28961". The London Gazette. 3 November 1914. p. 8881.
  16. ^ Davies 1997, pp. 107–108.
  17. ^ Davies 1997, p. 108.
  18. ^ Wing, Frederick Drummond Vincent, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Retrieved 5 July 2008
  19. ^ Davies 1997, pp. 34, 108.

Bibliography

  • Davies, Frank (1997). Bloody Red Tabs: General Officer Casualties of the Great War 1914–1918. London: Pen & Sword Books.
    ISBN 978-0-85052-463-5
    .
Military offices
Preceded by GOC 12th (Eastern) Division
March−October 1915 		Succeeded by
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