# Ronald Charles

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{{Short description|British Army general (1875–1955)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = [Lieutenant-General](/source/Lieutenant_general_(United_Kingdom))
| name             = Sir Ronald Charles
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KCB|CMG|DSO}}
| image            = Sir James Ronald Edmondston Charles.jpg
| image_size       = 
| alt              = 
| caption          = Sir Ronald Charles by Bassano Ltd, 1930
| nickname         = 
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1875|06|26|df=yes}}<ref name="times"/>
| birth_place      = [Calcutta](/source/Calcutta), British India
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1955|12|24|1875|06|26|df=yes}}
| death_place      = [Somerset](/source/Somerset), England
| burial_place     = 
| allegiance       = United Kingdom
| branch           = [British Army](/source/British_Army)
| service_years    = 1894–1934
| rank             = [Lieutenant-General](/source/Lieutenant_General_(United_Kingdom))
| unit             = [Royal Engineers](/source/Royal_Engineers)
| commands         = [Royal Military Academy, Woolwich](/source/Royal_Military_Academy%2C_Woolwich)<br/>[Waziristan](/source/Waziristan) Force<br/>[25th Division](/source/25th_Division_(United_Kingdom))
| battles          = [Second Boer War](/source/Second_Boer_War)<br/>[First World War](/source/First_World_War)
| awards           = [Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath](/source/Knight_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_Bath)<br/>[Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George](/source/Companion_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George)<br/>[Distinguished Service Order](/source/Distinguished_Service_Order)<br/>[Mentioned in Despatches](/source/Mentioned_in_Despatches)
| relations        = 
| other_work       = 
}}
[Lieutenant-General](/source/Lieutenant-general_(United_Kingdom)) '''Sir James Ronald Edmondston Charles''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100|sep=,|KCB|CMG|DSO}} (26 June 1875 – 24 December 1955) was a senior [British Army](/source/British_Army) officer in the [Royal Engineers](/source/Royal_Engineers).<ref name="times">{{cite news |title= Obituary: Lt.-Gen. Sir Ronald Charles |work=[The Times](/source/The_Times) |date=28 December 1955 |page= 11}}</ref>

==Family==
Charles was born in [Calcutta](/source/Calcutta), British India, the son of Thomas Edmondston Charles, later honorary physician to King [Edward VII](/source/Edward_VII),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Addison |first1=Henry Robert |last2=Oakes |first2=Charles Henry |last3=Lawson |first3=William John |last4=Sladen |first4=Douglas Brooke Wheelton |title=Who's who |date=1906 |publisher=A. & C. Black |page=317 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7khLAAAAMAAJ&q=James+Ronald+Edmondston+Charles&pg=PA317 |accessdate=7 May 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Deaths in the Services |journal=The Lancet |date=10 March 1906 |page=702 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8wJBAQAAMAAJ&q=dr+T+Edmondston+Charles&pg=PA702 |publisher=J. Onwhyn |language=en |doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(01)80307-x |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and Ada Henrietta Charles.<ref name=":1">{{Cite ODNB|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-63129|title=Charles, Ethel Mary (1871–1962), architect|year=2004|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/63129|access-date=2020-08-23|last1=Walker|first1=Lynne}}</ref> He had two older sisters, [Bessie](/source/Bessie_Charles) and [Ethel](/source/Ethel_Charles), who both studied architecture and became the first women members of the [Royal Institute of British Architects](/source/Royal_Institute_of_British_Architects).<ref name="Ethel">{{cite web |title=Ethel Charles nomination papers |url=https://www.architecture.com/explore-architecture/inside-the-riba-collections/ethel-charles-nomination-papers |website=Architecture.com |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>

==Military career==
Charles was educated at [Winchester College](/source/Winchester_College) and the [Royal Military Academy  Sandhurst](/source/Royal_Military_Academy_Sandhurst),<ref name="times"/> and was [commissioned](/source/Commissioned_officer) into the [Royal Engineers](/source/Royal_Engineers) in 1894.<ref name=lh>[http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/CHARLES.shtml Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives]</ref> He served in the [Second Boer War](/source/Second_Boer_War) (1899–1901), was [mentioned in despatches](/source/mentioned_in_despatches) (31 March 1900),<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27282 |pages=844–846 | date=8 February 1901}}</ref> and received the [Distinguished Service Order](/source/Distinguished_Service_Order) in November 1900.<ref>{{London Gazette | issue=27359 | date=27 September 1901 |page=6309}}</ref> He was part of the Bazar Valley and Mohmand Field Forces in 1908.<ref name=lh/>

Charles spent most of the [First World War](/source/First_World_War) in the [General Staff](/source/staff_(military)) until being promoted to command a re-constituted [25th Division](/source/25th_Division_(United_Kingdom)) in August 1918.<ref name=birm>[http://www.firstworldwar.bham.ac.uk/nicknames/charles.htm Centre for First World War Studies]</ref> He was appointed commander of the [Waziristan](/source/Waziristan) Force in India in 1923 and then became [commandant](/source/commandant) of the [Royal Military Academy, Woolwich](/source/Royal_Military_Academy%2C_Woolwich) in 1924.<ref name=lh/> He was [Director of Military Operations and Intelligence](/source/Directorate_of_Military_Intelligence_(United_Kingdom)) at the [War Office](/source/War_Office) from 1926 and [Master-General of the Ordnance](/source/Master-General_of_the_Ordnance) from 1931.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33785|supp=y|page=3|date=29 December 1931}}</ref> He retired in 1934.<ref name=lh/>

Charles' nickname among the troops was '[Don Carlos](/source/Don_Carlos)', deriving from his commanding personality and his height of 6’ 4".<ref name=birm/> He was also commandant of the [Royal Engineers](/source/Royal_Engineers) from 1931 to 1945 and [Chief Royal Engineer](/source/Chief_Royal_Engineer) from 1940 to 1946.<ref name=lh/>

==Civilian roles==
From 1934 to 1953, Charles was a director of [British Aluminium Company](/source/British_Aluminium),<ref name="BACo">{{cite web |title=Appendix: Background of key BACo Top Management Team |url=http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/209017/2/209017Suppl.pdf |website=Glasgow University |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref> appointed for his high level connections and knowledge of defence procurement procedures gained at the War Office and as Master General of the Ordnance.<ref name=Perchard>Perchard, Andrew (2010) ''[https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/35168/1/media_168497_en.pdf Land and Empire: Politics and the British Aluminium Company]''. University of Strathclyde. Retrieved: 17 September 2021.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[Webb Gillman](/source/Webb_Gillman)}}
{{s-ttl|title=[Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Woolwich](/source/Royal_Military_Academy%2C_Woolwich)|years=1924–1926}}
{{s-aft|after=[Hugo de Pree](/source/Hugo_de_Pree)}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[John Burnett-Stuart](/source/John_Burnett-Stuart)}}
{{s-ttl|title=[Director of Military Operations and Intelligence](/source/Directorate_of_Military_Intelligence_(United_Kingdom))|years=1926–1931}}
{{s-aft|after=[William Bartholomew](/source/William_Bartholomew_(British_Army_officer))}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[Sir Webb Gillman](/source/Webb_Gillman)}} 
{{s-ttl|title=[Master-General of the Ordnance](/source/Master-General_of_the_Ordnance)|years=1931–1934}}
{{s-aft|after=[Sir Hugh Elles](/source/Hugh_Elles)}}
|-
{{s-hon}}
{{s-bef|before=[Sir Bindon Blood](/source/Sir_Bindon_Blood)}}
{{s-ttl|title=[Chief Royal Engineer](/source/Chief_Royal_Engineer)|years=1946–1951}}
{{s-aft|after=[Sir Guy Williams](/source/Guy_Williams_(British_Army_officer))}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Ronald}}
Category:1875 births
Category:1955 deaths
Category:British Army personnel of the Second Boer War
Category:People educated at Winchester College
Category:British Army generals of World War I
Category:British Army personnel of World War II
Category:British Army lieutenant generals
Category:Commandants of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich
Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Category:Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Category:Royal Engineers officers
Category:British people in British India
{{UK-army-bio-stub}}
Category:Military personnel from Kolkata

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ronald Charles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Charles) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Charles?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.