2 August 1956(1956-08-02) (aged 94) Sherborne, England
Allegiance
United Kingdom
Service/branch
British Army
Rank
Brigadier-General
Commands held
Secret Service Bureau Chief of Staff, 4th Division (1914) Historical Section, Committee of Imperial Defence
Battles/wars
Second Boer War Russo-Japanese War First World War
Awards
Knight Bachelor Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Mentioned in Despatches
Brigadier-General Sir James Edward EdmondsCB CMG (25 December 1861 – 2 August 1956) was an officer of the Royal Engineers in the late-Victorian era British Army who worked in the Intelligence Division, took part in the creation of the forerunner of MI5 and promoted several spy scares, which failed to impress Richard Haldane, the Secretary of State for War (1905–1912). Viscount Esher said that Edmonds was
...a silly witness from the War Office [who saw] rats everywhere - behind every arras.
In 1911, Edmonds returned to soldiering as the chief of staff of the 4th Division, despite being advised that it was a bad career move. In the manoeuvres of 1912, with the 3rd Division, the 4th Division took part in the defeat of I Corps, commanded by Douglas Haig and the only permanent corps headquarters in the army. The 4th Division training emphasised the retreat despite such tactics being barred by the War Office. When the First World War began, Edmonds thought that the division was well trained but lacking much of the equipment provided to German divisions.
The 4th Division fought at the Battle of Le Cateau on 26 August and then participated in the Great Retreat, an ordeal which Edmonds, 53 years old, found most trying, buoyed up only be his pre-war training and belief that it would end in a counter-offensive. Edmonds found that once there was time to rest, that he could not and was transferred to GHQ, the headquarters of the British Expeditionary Force, where he feared being sent home. Edmonds spent the rest of the war at GHQ and in 1918 was made deputy engineer-in-chief. Edmonds retired from the army in 1919 with the honorary rank of Brigadier-General.
Edmonds became the Director of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence on 1 April 1919 and was responsible for the post-war compilation of the 28-volume Military Operations section of the History of the Great War. Edmonds wrote eleven of the fourteen volumes titled Military Operations, France and Belgium, dealing with the Western Front. "Military Operations: Italy 1915–1919", the final volume of the series, was published in 1949, just after Edmonds retired. Edmonds spent his retirement at Brecon House, Long Street, Sherborne, Dorset, where he died on 2 August 1956.
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Brigadier-General Sir JamesEdwardEdmonds CB CMG (25 December 1861 – 2 August 1956) was an officer of the Royal Engineers in the late-Victorian era British...
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wounded, gassed, or captured. British official historian Brigadier JamesEdwardEdmonds, in 1925, recorded that "The British Army of 1914 was the best trained...
the battle drew near". Wynne later wrote to the Official Historian JamesEdwardEdmonds (in 1930) that even after the disaster on the northern part of the...
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Irish Div 1916; the papers of Brig Sir JamesEdwardEdmonds include 12 letters from Haldane 1905–1935 (ref: Edmonds) BRITISH LIBRARY, ORIENTAL AND INDIA...
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Semaj 2013, p. 98. Edmonds 2012, p. 28. King 2002, p. 120. Edmonds 2012, p. 29. Edmonds 2012, pp. 29–30. Edmonds 2012, p. 30. Edmonds 2012, pp. 30–31. Barnett...
146–168. Edmonds 1928, p. 194. Edmonds 1928, p. 205. Edmonds 1928, p. 214. Edmonds 1928, p. 231. Edmonds 1928, p. 261. Edmonds 1928, p. 264. Edmonds 1928...
Brigadier-General JamesEdwardEdmonds CB CMG Director of the Military Branch, Historical Section, Committee of Imperial Defence Sydney James Gammell. For...
Edward Winter, Chess Note 6428 (citing Chess Life, February 5, 1958). Edward Winter, Chess Note 6436 (citing FIDE Revue, April 1958, p. 106). Edmonds...
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Global Information
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