R. E. Power

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Rowland Edward Power
Born(1874-05-22)22 May 1874
Died17 February 1956(1956-02-17) (aged 81)
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1893-1927
RankLieutenant Colonel
Commands held1st Battalion, South Nigeria Regiment
2nd Battalion of the Buffs
1st Battalion of the Buffs
Battles/warsRelief of Chitral
North-West Frontier Campaign (1897 and 1898)
Aden Hinterland (1902-1904)
World War I
AwardsDistinguished Service Order
Croix de Guerre
Mentioned in Despatches x5

Lieutenant-Colonel Rowland Edward Power DSO (22 May 1874 – 19 February 1956) was in Command of the 1st Battalion of the South Nigeria Regiment between 1905 and 1906, the 2nd Battalion of the Buffs during World War I,[1] the 1st Battalion of the Buffs at the end of World War I, and from 1923 until his retirement in 1927, the 1st Battalion of the Buffs in Gibraltar.[2][3][4][5]

For his service in World War I he was awarded the DSO, the Croix de Guerre and was Mentioned in Despatches four times.[2][3][6][7][8][9]

Life[edit]

Rowland Edward Power was born on 22 May 1874, the son of J. W. Power.[2][8][10] He was educated at Bedford Modern School and Sandhurst.[2]

Power joined the Buffs in 1893, at the age of 19, and was posted to the 1st Battalion in India where he saw service in the Relief of Chitral.[2] He was made Second Lieutenant on 21 October 1893, awarded a medal with clasp for his service at Chitral and made Lieutenant on 17 March 1897.[8]

Power served in the North-West Frontier Campaign of 1897 and 1898, during which he was mentioned in despatches and was slightly wounded, shot in his right arm, during an attack on Umra Khan’s village of Zogai.[2][11][12][13] He was made Captain in 1900 and was active in the Aden Hinterland between 1902 and 1904 before taking command of the 1st Battalion of the South Nigeria Regiment.[2][8] After his service with the South Nigeria Regiment he was attached to the 1st Battalion of the Buffs at Aldershot in 1910.[14]

At the commencement of World War I Power was with the 2nd Battalion of the Buffs in India before his Battalion transferred to France in January 1915.[2] He took Command of the 2nd Battalion of the Buffs and saw service at the Second Battle of Ypres that involved the first German poison gas attack on 23 April 1915.[2][15][16][17] Having been promoted Major he was in Command during the Battle of Gravenstafel.[15] On 3 May 1915, he was shot in the lung while attempting to capture the Germans retreating from the British line.[2]

Power was made acting Lieutenant-Colonel on 25 March 1917.[18] During World War I, Power was awarded the DSO, the Croix de Guerre and was Mentioned in Despatches four times.[2][6][3][8]

At the end of the War, Power Commanded the 1st Battalion in France and Germany.[2][19][20][21] He took the 1st Battalion to Ireland and later to Turkey.[2] In 1923, he took Command of the 1st Battalion in Gibraltar and, after four years in Command, he retired to Dorset, England, in 1927.[2][22][23]

In 1911, Power married Mary Katherine Gardiner, daughter of Lt. Col. W.A. Gardiner.[10][24][25] They had two daughters.[25] He died on 19 February 1956.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Dixon, John (1 January 2003). Magnificent But Not War: The Battle for Ypres, 1915. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 9781844150021 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Story: Bedford Modern School Obituary for Lt Col R E Power DSO died 1956 | Lives of the First World War". livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk.
  3. ^ a b c SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 4 FEBRUAKY, 1918, Issue 30507, p.1600
  4. ^ "Page 3050 | Issue 32818, 27 April 1923 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  5. ^ Dawnay, Guy Payan; Headlam (bart.), Sir Cuthbert Morley (25 May 1926). "The Army Quarterly". William Clowes & Sons, Ltd. – via Google Books.
  6. ^ a b "Lieutenant Colonel R E Power". Imperial War Museums.
  7. ^ Connelly, Mark (30 November 2006). Steady The Buffs!: A Regiment, a Region, and the Great War. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780199278602 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Page 330 - The-VC-and-DSO-Volume-III". lib.militaryarchive.co.uk.
  9. ^ "Page 572 | Issue 13205, 6 February 1918 | Edinburgh Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  10. ^ a b Debrett’s Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, p.2002. Published by Dean & Son Ltd, 1931
  11. ^ Fincastle, The Viscount; Eliott-Lockhart, P. C. (2 February 2012). A Frontier Campaign: A Narrative of the Operations of the Malakand and Buner Field Forces, 1897–1898. Andrews UK Limited. ISBN 9781781515518 – via Google Books.
  12. ^ The Morning Post, London, England. 23 September 1897, p.5
  13. ^ Churchill, Winston (28 August 2012). The Story of the Malakand Field Force. Courier Corporation. ISBN 9780486170251 – via Google Books.
  14. ^ The Times, London, England. 30 June 1910, p.5
  15. ^ a b Dixon, John (1 January 2003). Magnificent But Not War: The Battle for Ypres, 1915. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 9781844150021 – via Google Books.
  16. ^ Moody, R. S. H. (24 May 1922). "Historical Records of the Buffs: East Kent Regiment (3rd Foot) Formerly Designated the Holland Regiment and Prince George of Denmark's Regiment, 1914-1919". Medici Society, Limited – via Google Books.
  17. ^ "WW1 Personal Recollections - Buffs in 2nd Battle of Ypres, April 1915". www.lynsted-society.co.uk.
  18. ^ "Page 5627 | Supplement 30118, 5 June 1917 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  19. ^ "Page 1200 | Supplement 30493, 22 January 1918 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  20. ^ Wylly, Col H. C. (15 December 2011). The 1st and 2nd Battalions The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) in the Great War. Andrews UK Limited. ISBN 9781781513873 – via Google Books.
  21. ^ "First World War Infantry Battalion Commanding Officers - Page 89". www.ww1infantrycos.co.uk.
  22. ^ "Page 6811 | Issue 33324, 28 October 1927 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  23. ^ Knight, Charles Raleigh Bruère (1951). "Historical Records of the Buffs, Royal East Kent Regiment (3rd Foot) Formerly Designated the Holland Regiment and Prince George of Denmark's Regiment, 1919-1948" – via books.google.com.mt.
  24. ^ "Mayfair and Town Topics". Mayfair and Town Topics, Limited. 24 May 1911 – via Google Books.
  25. ^ a b THE DRAGON, THE REGIMENTAL PAPER OF THE BUFFS, No. 553, December 1945, p. 217
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