Frederick Hammersley (British Army officer)

Frederick Hammersley CB
Born	1858
Died	1924
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Major-General
Commands held	11th (Northern) Division
Battles/wars	Nile Expedition Second Boer War First World War
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath

Major-General Frederick Hammersley, CB (1858 – 1924) was a senior British Army officer.

Hammersley was the son of Frederick Hammersley and Sarah Keating. He joined the army and was commissioned a lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers on 11 September 1876.^[1] He first saw service in the Nile Expedition of 1884-85 in the Sudan, was promoted to captain on 2 February 1885, received the brevet rank of major on 15 June 1885,^[2] and was confirmed in this rank on 9 September 1897. He fought at the Battle of Khartoum in 1898, and was present during the occupation of Crete later the same year, before being deployed to South Africa in 1899 to fight in the Second Boer War. He held a staff appointment as Deputy Assistant Adjutant General in Natal, and on 20 October 1899 was severely wounded at the Battle of Talana Hill. He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 3 February 1900,^[3] and at the same time appointed in command of the 4th battalion of his regiment, stationed at Chatham.

Between 1906 and 1911, Hammersley commanded the 3rd Brigade, Aldershot Command, but was relieved of his position due to repeatedly showing signs of shell shock.^[4] Despite this, upon the outbreak of the First World War, he was put in command of the newly formed 11th (Northern) Division, part of Kitchener's volunteer army. In this capacity, Hammersley commanded the Landing at Suvla Bay by his division during the Gallipoli Campaign. However, his ability to oversee such an operation has subsequently been called into question, and the Dardanelles Commission openly criticised his command. The orders given by General Hammersley were deemed to be confused and the work of his staff defective.^[5] On 23 August 1915, he was removed from the front-line in a state of collapse and was replaced by Major-General Edward Fanshawe.^[6] He was invalided back to England, suffering from battle fatigue.

He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 1908 Birthday Honours.^[7]

Hammersley married Edith Grant, and together they had two daughters.

References

1. The Edinburgh Gazette, 16 May 1899 http://www.edinburgh-gazette.co.uk/issues/11093/pages/486/page.pdf
2. The London Gazette: no. 25537. p. 5937. 8 December 1885. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
3. The London Gazette: no. 27164. p. 1001. 13 February 1900.
4. Col Michael Hickey, Gallipoli (John Murray Publishers Ltd, 1998), 263.
5. Paragraphs 108 and 109 of the Dardanelles Commission final report, 1919 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/firstworldwar/battles/p_dard_comm.htm
6. Alan Moorehead, Gallipoli (Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Reprint edition, 2002), 102.
7. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 28151. p. 4642. 26 June 1908. Retrieved 25 November 2015.