Alfred Codrington

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British Army general (1854–1945)

title: "Alfred Codrington" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1854-births", "1945-deaths", "british-army-lieutenant-generals", "coldstream-guards-officers", "people-educated-at-harrow-school", "british-army-personnel-of-the-anglo-egyptian-war", "british-army-personnel-of-the-second-boer-war", "british-army-generals-of-world-war-i", "knights-grand-cross-of-the-royal-victorian-order", "knights-commander-of-the-order-of-the-bath"] description: "British Army general (1854–1945)" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Codrington" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary British Army general (1854–1945) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox military person"]

FieldValue
honorific_prefixLieutenant-General
nameSir Alfred Codrington
honorific_suffix
imageColonel Codrington Dress Uniform.png
captionCodrington in dress uniform, 1900
birth_date
death_date
allegianceUnited Kingdom
branchBritish Army
serviceyears1873–1918
rankLieutenant-General
unitColdstream Guards
3rd Army Corps
commandsThird Army
London District
1st London Division
1st Battalion Coldstream Guards
battles
awardsKnight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Mentioned in Despatches
relationsGeneral Sir William Codrington (father)
William Codrington (son)
John Codrington (son)
spouse
children3
::

| honorific_prefix = Lieutenant-General | name = Sir Alfred Codrington | honorific_suffix = | image = Colonel Codrington Dress Uniform.png | caption = Codrington in dress uniform, 1900 | nickname = | birth_date = | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | placeofburial = | allegiance = United Kingdom | branch = British Army | serviceyears = 1873–1918 | rank = Lieutenant-General | unit = Coldstream Guards 3rd Army Corps | commands = Third Army London District 1st London Division 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards | battles =

Military career

Born in 1854, the second son of General Sir William Codrington, he was educated at Harrow and entered the Coldstream Guards as a lieutenant on 1 February 1873. He first saw active service during the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882, where he was mentioned in despatches. He was promoted to captain on 18 April 1885, to major on 4 December 1889, and to lieutenant-colonel on 29 September 1898.

He commanded the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards in the Second Boer War between 1899 and 1902, where he was wounded twice. He took part in the Battle of Magersfontein on 11 December 1899, in which the defending Boer force defeated the advancing British forces amongst heavy casualties for the latter. Codrington was mentioned in the despatch from Lord Methuen describing the battle and how he "though wounded, insisted on remaining in command of his battalion till nightfall". In March 1900 he was stationed at the British camp at Modder River, when he was reported to be with a small party of officers foraging at farms north of Bloemfontein. They were caught by Boer troops, and he was wounded in the leg. He was mentioned in despatches later in the war, and given a brevet promotion as colonel dated 29 November 1900. For his service, he received the Queen's medal with three clasps, and the King's medal with two clasps. After his return to the United Kingdom, he was placed on half-pay as he resigned his command of a battalion on 28 October 1902.

In early 1903 he was appointed assistant adjutant-general in the 3rd Army Corps, stationed in Ireland. He did not stay there long, however, as on 21 August 1903 he was appointed in command of the Coldstream Guards. He was promoted to major general in February 1907. He commanded the 1st London Division of the Territorial Force from March 1908 to 1909, when he was appointed Major-General commanding the Brigade of Guards and general officer commanding (GOC) London District, retiring from this post in 1913.

He returned to duty after the outbreak of the First World War, serving as the Military Secretary to Lord Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War, from August until October 1914. He was then appointed to command Third Army in the Home Forces; this was based around Luton, and contained four Territorial divisions and two Territorial cavalry brigades. He relinquished command in 1916. He was appointed to sit on a Pensions Appeal Tribunal in the summer of 1917, which dealt with appeals against governmental decisions on military pensions, and later published a book on War Pensions: Past and Present, co-authored with Edward Abbott Parry, another member of the Tribunal.

His final military position was the ceremonial colonelcy of the Coldstream Guards, to which he was appointed in 1918. Unusually, this had been a position previously occupied by his father. He was appointed chairman of the Society of Miniature Rifle Clubs in 1917, and President of the Association in 1932. He also served as the Commissioner for London Boy Scouts from 1917 to 1923.

Family

He married Adela Harriet Portal, the niece of the Earl of Minto, in 1885; she died in 1935. The couple had three sons, Geoffrey, William, and John, and one daughter, Mary. Colonel Sir Geoffrey Codrington became the High Sheriff of Wiltshire and was an usher to both King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II, while William was the Chief Security Officer to the War Cabinet during the Second World War and later High Sheriff of Rutland.

Notes

References

  • "CODRINGTON, Lieut-Gen. Sir Alfred Edward ". (2008). In Who Was Who 1897–2007. Online edition.
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References

  1. {{London Gazette. (2 November 1882)
  2. Hart′ Army list, 1904
  3. {{London Gazette. (16 March 1900)
  4. (26 March 1900). "Latest Intelligence – The War".
  5. ''Who Was Who''.
  6. {{London Gazette. (28 October 1902)
  7. (22 January 1903). "Naval & Military intelligence".
  8. {{London Gazette. (8 September 1903)
  9. {{London Gazette. (1 February 1907)
  10. {{London Gazette. (24 April 1908)
  11. {{London Gazette. (24 August 1914)
  12. Rinaldi, p. 26.
  13. {{London Gazette. (6 November 1914)
  14. [https://archive.org/details/warpensionspastp00parruoft Digitised copy]
  15. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/5800 William Codrington at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]
  16. [http://www.nsra.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=65&limit=1&limitstart=5 Brief History], National Smallbore Rifle Association.
  17. Nevill, Percy Bantock. (1966). "Scouting in London, 1908–1965". London Scout Council.
  18. "High Sheriffs of Rutland 1129–2012".
  19. {{London Gazette. (28 November 1700)

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1854-births1945-deathsbritish-army-lieutenant-generalscoldstream-guards-officerspeople-educated-at-harrow-schoolbritish-army-personnel-of-the-anglo-egyptian-warbritish-army-personnel-of-the-second-boer-warbritish-army-generals-of-world-war-iknights-grand-cross-of-the-royal-victorian-orderknights-commander-of-the-order-of-the-bath