Maj Gen S E Hollond

[bmac]

Can anyone tell me anything about Maj Gen S E Hollond. I have tried a Google search and it throws up very little and nothing of use. I am especially interested in what he was doing in 1916. As a GSO, he may have been involved in either VII Corps, 3rd Army or GHQ.

Thanks for any help.

[Steven Broomfield]

Bill

1928 Who's Who gives a bit: commissioned RB 1895, b 19.3.74. ADC to Duke of Connaught 1901-04 (so in the right circles for preferment!),, CB, CMG, DSO 1916, L d'Honneur. Lt Col 1.1.17, Bt Col 1918, Maj-Gen 1927.

DSO gazetted 14.1.16 "Spencer Edmund Hollond, Major (Temp Lt Col) The Rifle Brigade." No citation.

That's it, I'm afraid so far - I've looked in several other places, but no joy.

[bmac]

Steve,

Thanks for looking. He is quoted as severely critising Maj Gen Snow's preparations for the attack on Gommecourt 1st July 1916 in 'Allenby' by Brian Gardner. Would like to know what qualified him to be so damning.

BM

[Bryn_Hammond]

Hollond, Brigadier-General [later Major-General Sir] Spencer Edmund (‘Tom’) (1874-1950)

Harrow and Cambridge University; Joined Rifle Brigade, 1895; South African War, 1899-1900 (despatches); ADC to Duke of Connaught, 1901-1904; GSO2, Third Army, 1916; DSO, 1916; BGGS, XVIII Corps, Jan 1917-Jul 1918; BGGS Inspectorate-General of Training, Nov 1918; CMG, 1919; CB, 1920; CO 8th Infantry Brigade, 1921-1925; Colonel Commandant, Senior Officers’ School, Sheerness, 1925-1927; retired, 1928. A close friend of JFC Fuller and Winston Churchill, and Ivor Maxse’s chief staff officer in XVIII Corps.

Not to be confused with the artillery commander, HollAnd.

Hope this helps.

Bryn

[armourersergeant]

Hollond, Brigadier-General [later Major-General Sir] Spencer Edmund (‘Tom’) (1874-1950)

Harrow and Cambridge University; Joined Rifle Brigade, 1895; South African War, 1899-1900 (despatches); ADC to Duke of Connaught, 1901-1904; GSO2, Third Army, 1916; DSO, 1916; BGGS, XVIII Corps, Jan 1917-Jul 1918; BGGS Inspectorate-General of Training, Nov 1918; CMG, 1919; CB, 1920; CO 8th Infantry Brigade, 1921-1925; Colonel Commandant, Senior Officers’ School, Sheerness, 1925-1927; retired, 1928.  A close friend of JFC Fuller and Winston Churchill, and Ivor Maxse’s chief staff officer in XVIII Corps.

Not to be confused with the artillery commander, HollAnd.

Hope this helps.

Bryn

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

the artillery Holland was actually CRA of VII corps, which had me reaching for my notes on Snow, until I realised, then i shrank back into my hole.

Note he was with Maxse, so some of his comments may hold water!

regards

Arm

[bmac]

Thanks guys. Confirms that he was a Third Army staff officer and would have had a decent perspective on this.

Arm, given your interest in Snow you might be interested in what he said:

"Snow’s arrangements for this attack were monstrously bad. He never co-ordinated the plan of his divisions, neither did he supervise their individual arrangements. He went on leave to England for ten days during the preparation and arrived back only a few days before the attack. I thought his supervisions so bad that I tried to get Allenby to degommer him, but Allenby wasn’t sure of getting GHQ support."

Interesting word 'degommer' not sure of its roots but I assume mean sacked. Haig strongly disliked Allenby thus the reason for the assumed lack of support at GHQ.

[armourersergeant]

Bill,

Thanks for that.

To be degummed, was to come unstuck, hence sent home.

I do not have a complete copy of Snow's diary but I do know that for much of 1916 and 1917 he was often home taking 'treatment' and relaxation for his pelvic injury, an injury he had never really got over from 1914, when Kitchener 'forced' him back premetuarely. it was this injury that made him decide to go home at the end of 1917. It was also this that meant he was confined to a Bath Chair for the rest of his life.

None of this is obviously an acceptable excuse fro bad planning and Generalship! and one would think that if he knew the battle was coming he would have stayed and beared the injury. especially when you consider the man whom took over temp from him was Stuart Wortley, the man he had sent home after 1st July!!

Snow of course, like many and often Haig, beleived in giving his subordinate commanders orders and leaving them to it.

Allenby and Haig were I believe on cool terms from thier days at Staff college where Allenby won the position of Master of the Stag, when Haig was most obviously the better mounted and better horesman. Interestingly another man i am researching is Forestier-Walker whom Haig did not seem to like. Allenby and Forestier-Walker were good quiet good friends.

Thanks again for the quote Bill

regards

Arm

[bmac]

Allenby also made the 'mistake' in 1915 of declaring cavalry redundant on the modern European battlefield which is why he was switched from the Cavalry Corps to V Corps. Haig was still championing the values of the horse in warfare in the 20s. Allenby was a close colleague of French (as with Haig, served together in the 2nd Boer War) perhaps another thing to get up Haig's nose. Possibly to irritate Haig, French appointed Allenby GOC 3rd Army in October 1915 at a time when he knew, or at least strongly suspected, he was on the way out. It was his last major appointment. Haig was also unimpressed by the performance of the Cavalry Corps in the advance to the Aisne believing they were slowing down the pursuit of the Germans retreating from the Marne.

The antipathy seems mainly to have been on Haig's side as, soon after Haig was made CinC, Allenby wrote to his mother: "I know Haig well... and like him too." Funny that too such notoriously inarticulate men should end up like this.

[armourersergeant]

Thanks again for those notes on Allenby. I was not aware of some of that I shall snuffle it away for the future.

regards

Arm

[Steven Broomfield]

I have a suspicion - don't know why - that degummed was from the French, DEGOMME (with accents on the e's, but don't ask where).

The earlier British word was Stellenbosched, in memory of thos general officers who eneded up in the delightful town of Stellenbosch in the Cape wine growing area during the S African War.