Sir Henry Hughes Wilson

Taihape Daily Times, 22 April 1918, Page 3

Sir Henry Hughes Wilson

CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF. A METEORIC CAREER. Sir months ago Sir Henry Hughes Wilson’s very name was not known to the “man in the street”; scarcely even to one man in a hundred in our army. To-day it is known throguhout the world as that of one of Britain’s foremost soldiers, the chief of her Imperial General Staff, and as one who forecasted the recent attack of the Germans south of Arras and also that the attack would succeed to the extent of penetrating the British line to half the distance of the front attacked.

By one who knows Sir Henry intimately he is dubbed “the most modest man in the British Army.’’ For 33 years he has persistently hidden his light under a bushel, as far as the outside wmrld is concerned. He has shunned all publicity like the plague, and has been content to do his work to the best of his ability and to deserve the good opinion of his seniors. But all his retiring modesty has not been able to conceal his brilliant gifts and at 54 he suddenly finds himself pushed into the limelight, he has so long shunned.

Like many of our great soldiers, Sir Henry is an Irishman, and very proud ho is of his birthright! He first opened his eyes on the world at Currygrane ,Edgworthstown, one May day in 1863; and took to soldiering as a duck takes to w T ater. The blood of the fightingmen was in his veins, and he "would hear of no other career.

He won his spurs in the Burmese War of 1884-7, in which he paid for his valour by a serious wound. And from that stage his prgoress was that of the average army officer, until, as brigadier-major, he went to South Africa to fight the Boers when he first had the opportunity to show the stuff he was made of. Four time he was mentioned in dcpatches for brilliant work; he won the DS.O., and crowned his achievements by ‘ 1 doing more than any other man to cause the Boers to raise the siege of Ladysmith. ’ ’ Then followed distinguished service as commandant of the Staff College, Camberley, and as director of military operations at army headquarters. But it was the present war that at last provided a field large enough for the display of his great gifts as a soldier.

THE BACKBONE OF THE STAFF. “He was,” to quote Lord French, “the backbone of the staff. No. matter how black the outlook, he never lost his cheerful demeanour or his clear head in the council chamber. His fertile brain probed deeply into the probability of the enemy’s intention, and his quick and instant wit produced order out of chaos and confidence out of despair. Rarely has a country been better served ’’

It was no surprise to those who knew-Sir Henry and his splendid abilities when, a few months ago, he was chosen as our military representative on the Supreme War Council at Versailles or that now he has stepped into Sir William Robertson’s shoes as vital head of oiir armies. And what is the secret of this modest soldier’s amazing success? Apart from his great natural and acquired gifts as a soldier, it is that for very many years he has foreseen the uorldwaf and has dedicated his life to preparing himself for it. Year after year,, for a quartier of a century, he has spent every day he could possibly spare in cycling over the long srretch of country now known as the western front. He knows every inch of the Belgian, French and Swiss frontier as no other Englishman knows it. The Balkan countries and their peoples are equally an open book to him. Ho studied the Bulgarian and Turkish war on the spot. He is, too, so clever a linguist that he was to mix with ( the various people and to understand them as one of them. His life’s motto has been, “See everything for yourself, and don’t undertake a job until you know all you , can learn about it, ” And this maxim has served him well, for he has seen, and now he has His first great position is the reward of long years of patient work, backed by rare abilities. In appearance Sir Henry is tall, spare, and soldierly. In repose his face is amiable, with a ready smile and a twinkle in his eyes. But in acton his mouth sets In very resolute and his eyes are cold and keen as a razorblade. Determination' is written all over his face. In private life he is one of the most genial of men. with all an Irishman’s sense of humour and love of fun. And in Ireland he is known as a firstclass man across country, a “devil” with a gun, and a fine all-round sportsman.