| Sir Charles Bonham-Carter | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Charles Bonham-Carter |
| Born | 25 February 1876 Kensington, London, England |
| Died | 21 October 1955 (aged 79) Petersfield, Hampshire, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment |
| Years of service | 1896–1940 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands held | 2nd Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers 129th Infantry Brigade 4th Division Territorial Army |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Awards | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Service Medal (United States) Legion of Honour (France) |
| Other work | Governor of Malta |
General Sir Charles Bonham-Carter GCB CMG DSO (25 February 1876 - 21 October 1955) was a British Army officer and later Governor of Malta.[1]
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Bonham-Carter was born on 25 February 1876 at Paddington, London the ninth of eleven children of Henry and Sibella Charlotte Bonham-Carter.[1] His father was a director of an insurance company. He was educated at Clifton College near Bristol and then the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.[1]
Bonham-Carter joined the Army in 1896 and saw active service in the Second Boer War.[1] He went to the British Army Staff College in Camberley and joined the British Expeditionary Force to France as a regimental officer.[1] He held a number of staff posts in France and between 1917 and 1918 he was Brigadier General Staff (Training) at the General Head Quarters, despite opposition he started programmes to train the men in general and vocational subjects.[1] He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and the American Distinguished Service Medal for his work and was mentioned in dispatches five times.[1]
After the First World War Bonham-Carter served in Turkey and India, and in 1927 became Director of Staff Duties.[1] In 1931 he moved to become General Officer Commanding the 4th Division in Colchester.[1] In 1933 he was promoted to Lieutenant-General and became Director-General of the Territorial Army until 1936.[1]
In 1936 he was appointed Governor and Commander in Chief of Malta following the death of General Sir David Campbell.[1] It was a time of political unrest on the island and a constitional body was formed to find a more representative form of self-government, the earlier constitution had been suspended.[1] The subsequent changes overseen by Bonham-Carter was to create something more representative and acceptable to the population.[1] Although a strong supporter of the need to defend the islands after war was declared in 1939, but by October 1940 he had become ill and had to resign his post.[1]
Bonham-Carter took a number of posts in retirement including chairman of the Royal School, Bath, chairman of the Royal School for Soldier's Daughters in Hampstead. He was also a governor of his old school Clifton College.[1] He died at home in Petersfield, Hampshire on 21 October 1955.[1]
Bonham-Carter first married in 1902 Gladys Beryl Coddington and they had two sons.[1] Following a divorce in 1909 he married Gabrielle Madge Jeanette Fisher in 1911 and they had a son, Victor.[1][2] His brothers included Edgar Bonham Carter and Maurice Bonham Carter, the latter of whom is the grandfather of actress Helena Bonham Carter.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Archibald Cameron |
General Officer Commanding the 4th Division 1931–1933 |
Succeeded by John Brind |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by General Sir David Campbell |
Governor-General of Malta 1936–1940 |
Succeeded by Sir William Dobbie |