Charles King (British Army officer)

Lieutenant-General Sir Charles John Stuart King KBE, CB (13 October 1890 – 7 January 1967) was an American-born British engineer and army officer.[1]

Family and education

King was the second son of Charles James Stuart King, a schoolmaster and footballer, and Violet Maud Hankin. He was the brother of Edward Leigh Stuart King and Sir Geoffrey Stuart King.

Born in Windom, Minnesota, he went to England where he was educated at Felsted School from 1904 and 1908, where he was captain of both the Football XI and the Hockey XI in 1908.[2]

He later attended the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich, passing out first in 1910 with the Sword of Honour and earning the Pollock Medal. He also studied at the Royal School of Military Engineering in Chatham.[1]

In 1920 King married Kathleen Margaret Rudd and had three sons, all of whom also attended Felsted School:

  • Rev. John Michael Stuart King (1922-2003), Vicar of Hibaldstow
  • Lt. Col. Simon Charles Stuart King (1924-2002), army officer and schoolmaster[3]
  • Richard Anthony Stuart King (d. 1998)

Career

In 1910 King began his army career after receiving a commission in the Royal Engineers. He served in India throughout the First World War and in the Third Anglo-Afghan War.

In 1929 he became Chief Instructor in military engineering and geometrical drawing at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich before returning to India in 1932 with the Royal Engineers.

After the Quetta earthquake in 1935 King was appointed Deputy Engineer, then Chief Engineer, to oversee the reconstruction work.

Following the outbreak of the Second World War, King joined the British Expeditionary Force in France as Deputy Chief Engineer (1939-1940). In 1941 he was Chief Engineer for Home Defences before being appointed to the newly created post of Engineer-in-Chief at the War Office (1941-1944), where his responsibilities included work on the Bolero plan.[1]

In 1944 he became the Prime Minister's personal representative to the South East Asia Command.

King retired from the army in 1946 with the honorary rank of Lieutenant-General. From 1946 to 1953 he was Colonel Commandant of the Royal Engineers.[1]

Recognition

King was awarded the CBE in 1939 for his work in Quetta and was created CB in 1943. He was made a KBE in 1945.

References
  1. Obituary of Sir Charles John Stuart King, Proceedings of the Institute of Civil Engineers, vol. 38, issue 4 (Dec. 1967).
  2. Felsted School archives, Charles John Stuart King.
  3. Royal Engineers Journal, vol. 116, No. 3 (Dec. 2002), p. 278.

Bibliography
  • Smart, Nick (2005). Biographical Dictionary of British Generals of the Second World War. Barnesley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 1844150496.
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