Philip Leveson-Gower

Philip Leveson-Gower was the son of Hugh Broke Boscawen Leveson Gower and Janet Elizabeth Cherry, daughter of the Rev. H C Cherry, and a cousin of the Duke of Sutherland. He was commissioned in the Sherwood Foresters from the Militia on 9 September 1891. He served in the Tirah Expedition (1897-8) and in South Africa (1899-1901), where he was mentioned in despatches. The rest of his pre-war career was uneventful and, in August 1914, he found himself senior major of 2nd Battalion Sherwood Foresters at the age of 43. His CO, Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Crofton-Atkins, had been appointed only in February 1914. In the normal course of events, Leveson-Gower might have expected to succeed him in February 1918. In fact, he succeeded on 7 October 1914 and commanded the battalion until 28 November 1915.

After recovering from his second wound, Lieutenant-Colonel Leveson-Gower was promoted brigadier-general on 7 February 1916 and given command of 49th Brigade, 16th (Irish) Division, a New Army formation recruited in Catholic Ireland, about whose loyalty many were to express doubts in the aftermath of the Easter Rising of April 1916. Leveson-Gower commanded 140th Brigade until 5 May 1918, by when 16th Division had been taken out of the line for re-organization and re-fitting after the calamitous casualties it suffered between 21 March and 3 April 1918 during the German offensive on the Somme.

Despite the protestations of 16th Division’s commanding officer, Major-General Amyatt Hull, General Sir Hubert Gough, GOC Fifth Army, had insisted on holding his front line in strength. 49th Brigade was one of 16th Division’s forward brigades on 21 March and suffered the full fury of the German bombardment. Leveson-Gower aggravated his difficulties by ordering a disastrous counter-attack at 3.45 p.m. on 21 March. The attack stood no chance of success in the face of violent German shelling and ought not to have been ordered. Leveson-Gower, himself, seemed to realise this. He succeeded in cancelling orders to 1st Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers, but - for reasons that are far from apparent - failed to cancel the orders to 6th Battalion Connaught Rangers, a battalion borrowed from the 16th Division’s reserve brigade, the 47th.

The Munsters’ failure to cover the Connaughts’ right flank doomed what little chance the attack had. 6th Connaughts suffered casualties so severe that they were reduced to cadre and later disbanded. Leveson-Gower apologised to the CO 6th Connaughts, Lieutenant-Colonel Rowland Feilding, who was unimpressed. Brigadier-General Leveson-Gower was not offered command of the reformed 49th Brigade.

Besides twice being wounded while commanding 2nd Sherwood Foresters, he was also gassed while commanding his brigade on 15 August 1917, returning to duty within a week. He was awarded a DSO in 1917 and five times mentioned in despatches. He retired from the army on 8 November 1919.