Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe

Who was Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe?

Lieutenant-General Sir Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe, KCB, KCMG, was a British Army general of the First World War, who commanded V Corps on the Western Front and the 18th Indian Division in the Mesopotamian Campaign. He was one of three brothers who all rose to command divisions or corps during the war.

Fanshawe joined the 19th Hussars in 1882, and after seeing active duty in North Africa became the aide-de-camp to Sir Evelyn Wood VC, a prominent senior officer; he would later marry Wood's eldest daughter. He served with his regiment during the Boer War, and then commanded a cavalry regiment, followed by brigades in the Home Forces and in India.

Following the outbreak of the First World War, Fanshawe commanded a cavalry division and then the Cavalry Corps in France, before assuming command of V Corps in late 1915. He was removed from command in mid-1916, however, as a result of political manoeuvering following the attempt to find a scapegoat for the failed attack on St. Eloi in March 1916. He later commanded the 18th Indian Division in Mesopotamia, and was with it at the end of the war in the Middle East.