View source for Charles Arbuthnot British Army officer born 1824

{{Short description|British Army officer (1824–1889)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [[Lieutenant general (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant-General]]
| name             = Sir Charles Arbuthnot
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|GCB}}
| image            = Sir Charles George Arbuthnot.jpg
| caption          = 
| nickname         = 
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1824|5|19|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Killaloe, County Clare|Killaloe]], Ireland
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1899|4|14|1824|5|19|df=y}}
| death_place      = 
| burial_place     = 
| allegiance       = United Kingdom
| branch           = [[British Army]]
| service_years    = 
| rank             = [[Lieutenant general (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant-General]]
| unit             = 
| commands         = [[Bombay Army]]<br/>[[Madras Army]]
| battles          = [[Crimean War]]<br/>[[Second Anglo-Afghan War]]<br/>[[Third Anglo-Burmese War]]
| awards           = [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]
| relations        = [[Alexander Arbuthnot (bishop)|Alexander Arbuthnot]] (father)<br/>[[Alexander John Arbuthnot|Sir Alexander Arbuthnot]] (brother)<br/>[[Charles Crombie]] (grandson)
| other_work       = 
}}
[[Lieutenant general (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant-General]] '''Sir Charles George Arbuthnot''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100|GCB}} (19 May 1824 &ndash; 14 April 1899) was a [[British Army]] officer. He served in the [[Royal Artillery]] in the [[Crimean War]] and rose to become a senior officer in [[British India]].

==Early life==
Arbuthnot was born on 19 May 1824 and was a [[twin]], the son of [[Alexander Arbuthnot (bishop)|Alexander Arbuthnot]], [[Bishop of Killaloe]]. His older brother, [[Alexander John Arbuthnot]], became a senior [[civil servant]] in India. His half-brother, George Bingham Arbuthnot, was an honorary [[major general]] and Colonel of the Madras [[Light Cavalry]] in India. He was educated at [[Rugby school|Rugby]] and attended the [[Royal Military Academy, Woolwich]].

==Military career==
Arbuthnot was commissioned as a [[second lieutenant]] in the Royal Artillery on 17 June 1843. He served in the [[Crimean War]] as a captain in the 10th Battalion of the Royal Artillery. He was slightly wounded in minor actions near [[Sevastopol]] on 17 June 1855 and received a severe wound on 23 August 1855. He was appointed a [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]] (CB), later advanced to become a [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]] (KCB) and eventually made a [[Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]] (GCB) in May 1894.

Arbuthnot went to India in 1868, and was actively employed in the [[European influence in Afghanistan#Return of Dost Mohammad and The Second Anglo-Afghan War, 1843–1880|Anglo-Afghan War]]. In his personal life, he married Caroline Charlotte Clarke on 27 October 1868. She had been born in [[Barbados]] in 1845–6, where her father, William Clarke, was a doctor.

On his return to England in 1880, Arbuthnot was appointed deputy adjutant-general of artillery, then inspector-general of artillery, and finally president of the ordinance committee. According to his entry in the [[Dictionary of National Biography]], "his firmness and justice made him a highly respected administrator".<ref name=DNB>E. M. Lloyd, 'Arbuthnot, Sir Charles George (1824–1899)’, revised. by James Falkner, [[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]] (article 608). Oxford University Press, 2004 [https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-608?rskey=uUloir&result=1, Retrieved 11 May 2007 subscription access]</ref>

Arbuthnot returned to India in 1886, to serve from February as Commander-in-Chief of the [[Bombay Army]] and then from December as Commander-in-Chief of the [[Madras Army]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=3VQTAAAAYAAJ&dq=Major-General+McDowall+madras&pg=PA123 The India List and India Office List]</ref> He served as senior military adviser for the Madras Presidency until 1890. He was appointed Colonel Commandant, Royal Artillery in 1893.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26438|page=5058|date=5 September 1893}}</ref>

==Later life==
Arbuthnot died on 14 April 1899, survived by his wife and children. One son, [[Alexander George Arbuthnot (soldier)|Alexander George Arbuthnot]] (died 3 May 1961), served with the Field Artillery, rising to the rank of brigadier general. A grandson, [[Charles Crombie]], was a decorated [[flying ace]] of the [[Second World War]].<ref>{{Australian Dictionary of Biography|last=Stephens|first=Alan|year=1993|id=A130596b|title=Crombie, Charles Arbuthnot (1914–1945)|accessdate=13 September 2021}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* ''[[London Gazette]]'' (2 November 1855), (4 May 1880), (2 Sept 1887) as cited in DNB
* J. R. J. Jocelyn, ''History of the Royal Artillery'' (1911) as cited in DNB
* ''[[The Times]]'' (18 April 1899) as cited in DNB
* Mrs P S-M Arbuthnot ''Memories of the Arbuthnots'' (1920). George Allen & Unwin Ltd.

==External links==
{{DNB01 poster|Arbuthnot, Charles George|Charles George Arbuthnot}}
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20210823023546/http://www.kittybrewster.com/members/i.htm Arbuthnot family tree]}}

{{s-start}}
{{S-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Arthur Edward Hardinge|Sir Arthur Hardinge]]}} 
{{s-ttl|title=[[Bombay Army|C-in-C, Bombay Army]]|years=1886}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|The Duke of Connaught]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Herbert Taylor Macpherson|Sir Herbert Macpherson]]}} 
{{s-ttl|title=[[Madras Army|C-in-C, Madras Army]]|years=1886&ndash;1891}}
{{s-aft|after=[[James Charlemagne Dormer|Sir James Dormer]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Arbuthnot family}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arbuthnot, Charles}}
[[Category:1824 births]]
[[Category:1899 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from County Clare]]
[[Category:Arbuthnot family|Charles]]
[[Category:British Army lieutenant generals]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Crimean War]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Burmese War]]
[[Category:Commanders-in-chief of Madras]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:People educated at Rugby School]]
[[Category:Royal Artillery officers]]