For our February meeting Patrick Crowley returns to talk to us about:
General Sir Charles Monro
General Sir Charles Monro is one of the least well-known generals from the First World War, yet he was one of the handful of army commanders on the Western Front; He was one of the first divisional commanders in the BEF in 1914 and commanded at corps and army level as well. He was also a key staff officer who helped improve shooting and tactics before the First World War and was the officer who advised the evacuation of Gallipoli in the face of political and military opposition. He went on to become CinC India at a critical period (1916-1920) and the Amritsar massacre occurred during his stewardship. He had no children and sources about him are scarce, so this talk by Colonel (Retd) Patrick Crowley is an excellent opportunity to discover more about this elusive , but important commander. Patrick Crowley has published Loyal to Empire; The Life of General Sir Charles Monro 1860-1929 in 2016. Some of you will remember his talk to us about another of his published subjects; Kut 1916.
Patrick Crowley is currently the Chief Executive of the South East Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association. He leads a Tri-Service team which promotes the Reserves and encourages the Cadet experience in the 9 counties of the South-East. This follows 34 years of service with the Queen’s Regiment and The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, in which he is still Deputy Colonel. He is a keen military historian, having published 4 editions of Guide to The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, The Infantry Regiments of Surrey, Afghanistan – The Three Wars and Kut 1916. A second edition of Kut 1916 was published in early 2016 with his latest book, Loyal to Empire, the Story of General Sir Charles Monro, published in May 2016. He is also a battlefield guide, on the Council of the Army Records Society and on the General Committee of the Military Historical Society. His latest book, published in 2020, is ‘Infantry Die Hards – An Anatomy of a Regiment’.