KristiBruno654 at 20:12, 15 December 2025

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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{short description|British colonial military general}}
{{Infobox military person
|honorific_prefix = [[Major general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]]
|name=Sir George Younghusband
|honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KCMG|KCIE|CB}}
|birth_date=9 July 1859
|death_date={{death-date and age|30 September 1944|9 July 1859}}
|birth_place=[[Dharmasala]], India
|death_place=[[Crickhowell]], Wales
|placeofburial=
|image=George John Younghusband.png
|caption=
|alt=
|nickname=
|allegiance={{flag|British Empire}}
|branch=[[File:Flag of the British Army.svg|23px]] [[British Indian Army]]
|serviceyears=1878–1917
|rank=[[Major-General]]
|commands=Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides 3rd Battalion [[Imperial Yeomanry]] 26th (Younghusband's Horse) Battalion Imperial Yeomanry [[Fyzabad Brigade]] [[Derajat Brigade]] [[Aden Brigade]] [[28th Indian Brigade]] [[7th (Meerut) Division]]
|battles=[[Second Afghan War]] [[Mahdist War]] [[North West Frontier (military history)|North West Frontier]] [[Third Burmese War]] [[Chitral Expedition]] [[Spanish–American War]] [[Second Boer War]] [[Mohmand expedition of 1908]] [[First World War]]
|unit=[[17th Foot]] [[Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides (Frontier Force)|Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides]]
|awards=
|relations=[[John William Younghusband|John Younghusband]] (father) [[Francis Younghusband]] (brother) [[Charles Younghusband]] (uncle) [[George Edward Younghusband|George Younghusband]] (son) [[Eileen Younghusband (British social worker)|Eileen Younghusband]] (niece)
|laterwork=[[Master of the Jewel Office|Keeper of the Jewel House]] Author
}}

[[Major general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] '''Sir George John Younghusband''', {{Post-nominals|sep=,|size=100%|KCMG|KCIE|CB|country=GBR}} (9 July 1859 – 30 September 1944) was a [[cavalry]] officer and [[major-general]] in the [[British Indian Army]].

Younghusband was commissioned into the [[17th Foot]] in 1878. He later transferred to the British Indian Army's [[Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides (Frontier Force)|Guides Cavalry]] and served in several conflicts, including the [[Second Afghan War]], the [[Mahdist War]], the [[Third Burmese War]], the [[Second Boer War]] and finally in the [[First World War]]. Due to wounds received on the battlefield, he was forced to retire from the army in 1917.

In his later life he became a noted author of several books, and the [[Master of the Jewel Office|Keeper of the Jewel House]] at the [[Tower of London]], until his death on 30 September 1944, at [[Crickhowell]] in Wales.

==Early life==
George John Younghusband was born on 9 July 1859, at [[Dharamshala]] in India, the eldest son of [[Major-General]] [[John William Younghusband]] and Clara Jane Shaw, and the elder brother of [[Francis Younghusband]]. He was educated at [[Clifton College]] and the [[Royal Military College Sandhurst]]. In May 1878, after successfully passing out, he was commissioned, as a [[second-lieutenant]], into the [[17th Foot]], on probation for the India Staff Corps.<ref>{{London Gazette |date=30 May 1878 |issue=24577 |page=2775}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |access-date=23 December 2013 |publisher=Journeys to Keng Tung |title=G. J. Younghusband |url=http://journeystokengtung.com/travelers/g-j-younghusband/ |archive-date=24 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224112912/http://journeystokengtung.com/travelers/g-j-younghusband/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> He fought in the [[Second Afghan War]] and was promoted to [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] on 15 March 1880, before transferring to the India Staff Corps, in October 1883.<ref>{{London Gazette|date=30 October 1883|issue=25283|page=5148}}</ref><ref name=kcl>{{cite web |access-date=23 December 2013 |publisher=King's College London |title=George Younghusband |url= http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/YOUNGHUSBAND1.shtml}}</ref>

==Indian Army==
[[File:Staff College class 1890.png|thumb|left|The Staff College, Camberley, class in 1890. Stood in the second row, sixth from the left, is Captain G. J. Younghusband.]]

After joining the Indian Army he was involved in several conflicts in a short period of time. The 1885 [[Mahdist War]], operations on the [[North West Frontier (military history)|North West Frontier]] in 1886, and in the [[Third Burmese War]].<ref name=kcl/> His next promotion came on 1 May 1889, when he was promoted to [[captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]].<ref>{{London Gazette|date=19 July 1889|issue=25955|page=3896}}</ref> Six years later, in 1895, he was [[mentioned in dispatches]], while serving as the [[brigade major]] for the 4th Brigade, part of the [[Chitral Expedition|Chitral Relief Force]].<ref name=kcl/><ref>{{London Gazette|date=15 November 1895|issue=26680|page=6177}}</ref> He was further recognized by promotion to [[brevet (military)|brevet]] [[Major (British Army and Royal Marines)|major]] in January 1896.<ref>{{London Gazette|date=21 January 1896|issue=26701|page=358}}</ref> The following year, he was on 22 January 1897 appointed to a staff position as [[assistant adjutant-general|deputy assistant adjutant-general]] in [[Sirhind]], under the [[Punjab Army|Punjab Command]].<ref>Hart′s Army list, 1901</ref> In 1898 he was appointed as a military observer during the [[Spanish–American War]] in the [[Philippines]],<ref name=kcl /> and in May that year promoted to substantive major.<ref>{{London Gazette|date=15 July 1898|issue=26987|page=4275}}</ref>

==Command==
[[File:Memorial to George Younghusband, St Aidan's Church, Bamburgh.jpg|thumb|left|330px|Memorial to George Younghusband, St Aidan's Church, Bamburgh]]

Younghusband's first command came during the [[Second Boer War]], when he was promoted to temporary [[lieutenant-colonel]] and [[commanding officer]] of the 3rd Battalion, [[Imperial Yeomanry]], on 20 January 1900.<ref>{{London Gazette|date=26 January 1900|issue=27157|page=515}}</ref> The battalion comprised the [[9th (Yorkshire (Doncaster)) Company, Imperial Yeomanry|9th (Yorkshire (Doncaster))]], [[10th (Sherwood Rangers) Company, Imperial Yeomanry|10th (Sherwood Rangers)]], [[11th (Yorkshire Dragoons) Company, Imperial Yeomanry|11th (Yorkshire Dragoons)]] and [[12th (South Nottinghamshire) Company, Imperial Yeomanry|12th (South Nottinghamshire Hussars) Companies]], all recruited by [[Yeomanry]] regiments in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.<ref name = Roll>[http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Regiments/ImperialYeomanryCompaniesBoerBn.html IY Companies at Roll of Honour.]</ref> He left [[Liverpool]] with the battalion aboard {{SS|Winifredian||2}} in late January 1900,<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The War - The Imperial Yeomanry|date=30 January 1900 |page=5 |issue=36052}}</ref> arriving in [[South Africa]] the following month. While commanding the battalion he was [[mentioned in dispatches]] in 1901.<ref>{{London Gazette|date=16 April 1901|issue=27305|page=2604}}</ref> The same year he received a [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] promotion to lieutenant-colonel and was appointed a Companion of the [[Order of the Bath]] (CB).<ref>{{London Gazette|date=19 April 1901|issue=27306|page=2704}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|date=1 October 1901|city=e|issue=11343|page=1094}}</ref>

Younghusband left the 3rd to command the 26th (Younghusband's Horse) Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry, in December 1901.<ref>{{London Gazette|date=21 January 1902|issue=27399|page=452}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27434|page=3252|date=16 May 1902}}</ref> This battalion comprised the newly-raised 119th–122nd Companies.<ref name = Roll/> He was again mentioned in dispatches in June the following year.<ref>{{London Gazette|date=17 June 1902|issue=27443|page=3974}}</ref> He was wounded, and in late May 1902 left South Africa on the ''[[SS Roslin Castle]]'' which arrived at [[Southampton]] the following month.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Army in South Africa - Return of Troops|date=19 June 1902 |page=8 |issue=36798}}</ref> He relinquished the command of the 26th battalion on 30 August 1902.<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=27476 |page=6079 |date=23 September 1902}}</ref>

After that war he was promoted to [[colonel]] in April 1905.<ref>{{London Gazette|date=7 April 1905|issue=27782|page=2638}}</ref> He was then involved in the [[Mohmand expedition of 1908]].<ref name=kcl/> Then in February 1909, was promoted to temporary [[brigadier-general]] while serving on the General Staff.<ref>{{London Gazette|date=27 April 1909|issue=28245|page=320}}</ref> In 1909, he became commander of the [[Fyzabad Brigade]], part of the [[8th (Lucknow) Division]], and the [[Derajat Brigade]] from 1911. The same year he was promoted to [[major-general]].<ref>{{London Gazette|date=25 July 1911|issue=28516|page=5551}}</ref> He was still in command, when appointed a Knight Commander of the [[Order of St Michael and St George]] (KCMG) in 1913.<ref>{{London Gazette|date=3 January 1913|issue=12526|page=3}}</ref>

In October 1914, Younghusband was given command of the [[28th Indian Brigade]], part of the [[10th Indian Division]]. They were initially deployed to defend the [[Suez Canal]]. In July 1915, the brigade was detached to [[South Arabia during World War I|defence of Aden]]. where it fought a sharp action at Sheikh Othman on 20 July, before returning to Egypt in September.

In November 1915, the brigade left the division and moved to Mesopotamia to form part of the 7th (Meerut) Division from December 1915.
At this point Younghusband left the brigade and was appointed to command the [[7th (Meerut) Division]] on 10 December 1915 but he was forced to relinquish that position on 8 May 1916 due to wounds received.<ref name=kcl />

During the operations in Mespototamia Younghusband was again mentioned in dispatches.<ref>{{London Gazette|date=20 June 1916|issue=29632|supp=y|page=6174}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|date=9 May 1916|issue=29576|supp=y|page=4660}}</ref>

==Family and later life==
In March 1917, King [[George V]] appointed Younghusband as the [[Keeper of the Jewel House]] at the [[Tower of London]].<ref>{{London Gazette|date=24 March 1917|issue=13073|page=669|city=e}}</ref> Then in April 1919, the King approved his retirement from the army.<ref>{{London Gazette|date=11 May 1920|issue=31894|page=5367}}</ref> He was not entirely finished with the army however and in January 1928, he was appointed the Regimental Colonel of the [[10th Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides Cavalry (Frontier Force)]] and of the 5th Battalion, (Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides) [[12th Frontier Force Regiment]].<ref>{{London Gazette|date=13 January 1928|issue=33347|page=299}}</ref>

His son [[Brigadier]] [[George Edward Younghusband]], of the [[3rd The King's Own Hussars]], served with the [[2nd Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|2nd Armoured Division]] during the [[Second World War]].<ref>{{cite web |access-date=22 December 2013 |publisher=King's College London |title=LHCMA Collections |url= http://www.kingscollections.org/catalogues/lhcma/collection/c/cr20-001}}</ref>

George John Younghusband died on 30 September 1944, aged eighty-five, at [[Crickhowell]] in Wales.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=23 December 2013 |publisher=The Royal Leicestershire Regiment |title=Have you a tiger in your family? |url=http://www.royalleicestershireregiment.org.uk/have-you-a-tiger/record/65877/ |archive-date=24 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224114311/http://www.royalleicestershireregiment.org.uk/have-you-a-tiger/record/65877/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Notable works==
* ''The Crown Jewels of England'' (1919)
* ''On short leave to Japan'' (1894)
* ''Eighteen Hundred Miles on a Burmese Pony''
* ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=2hNrXwAACAAJ Forty Years a Soldier]'' (1923)
* ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=AZJWygAACAAJ Indian Frontier Warfare]'' (1898)
* ''The Jewel House'' (1920)
* ''A Short History of the Tower of London'' (1926)
* ''The Philippines and Round About, with some Account of British Interests in these Waters''
* ''Polo in India''
* ''The Queen's Commission''
* ''[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47611 The Relief of Chitral]'' (1895)
* ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=3rh2XwAACAAJ A Soldier's Memories in Peace and War]'' (1917)
* ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=d9tlXwAACAAJ The Story of the Guides]'' (1908)
* ''The Tower from Within'' (1918)
* ''Exploits of Asaf Khan'' (introduction)

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Clear}}

==External links==
* {{Gutenberg author | id=6945}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=George John Younghusband}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Younghusband George}}
[[Category:1859 births]]
[[Category:1944 deaths]]
[[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George]]
[[Category:Royal Leicestershire Regiment officers]]
[[Category:Indian Army cavalry generals of World War I]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Afghan War]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Mahdist War]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Second Boer War]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Chitral Expedition]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Malakand Frontier War]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Burmese War]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire]]
[[Category:Masters of the Jewel Office]]
[[Category:Younghusband family|George]]
[[Category:British military personnel in colonial India]]
[[Category:19th-century British Army personnel]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley]]

George Younghusband - Revision history

KristiBruno654 at 20:12, 15 December 2025