Major-General Sir William Julius Gascoigne KCMG (29 May 1844 – 9 September 1926) was a British Army officer and served as General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada from 1895 to 1898.
Major-General Sir William Gascoigne | |
---|---|
Born | London, England | 29 May 1844
Died | 9 September 1926 Boscombe, England | (aged 82)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Rank | Major-General |
Commands held | General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada Commander of British Troops in China and Hong Kong |
Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George |
Spouse(s) |
Helen Smith (m. 1875) |
William Julius Gascoigne was born in London on 29 May 1844.[1] He was commissioned into the Scots Fusilier Guards in 1863.[2] He was appointed Adjutant in 1867,[3] served in Egypt in 1882 and in Sudan in 1885.[4]
In 1895 he was promoted to major-general[4] and appointed General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada.[5] In 1898 he was appointed Commander of British Troops in China and Hong Kong.[6]
Gascoigne was also the last Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong (serving from 1898 to 1902), but the role was ceremonial and in lapsed use since the 1870s.
He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1899, and knighted as a Knight Commander (KCMG) of the same order in November 1900 in recognition of services during the Boxer Rebellion in China.[7]
He died in Boscombe on 9 September 1926.[8]
Gascoigne Road in Kowloon, Hong Kong is named after him.[9]
In 1875, he married Helen Smith, daughter of Martin T. Smith, and widow of Hon. Arthur F. Egerton.[4]