William Lewis White

William Lewis White’s pre-war career was somewhat unusual. For the first twenty years after his commissioning in 1876, he appears to have done nothing out of the ordinary and even then his first significant appointment was only as Brigade Major RA at Gibraltar (1895). But from then on his career began to pick up pace.

In 1897 he was Instructor at the School of Gunnery. From 1898 to 1899 he was British Military Attaché at Lisbon and Madrid. From 1899 until 1902 he took part in the South African War, where he was twice mentioned in despatches. Active service was followed by more staff appointments: DAQMG Portsmouth (1902) and DAAG War Office (1903). He was Commandant of the School of Gunnery, Shoeburyness (1909) and Inspector of Royal Garrison Artillery (1910–12). 

When the European War broke out White was 58. He had been a full colonel for nine years. His prospects of employment were, perhaps, not great. But competent administrative staff officers were at a premium in the British Army in 1914 and on 6 October 1914 he found himself DA&QMG of the newly created IV Corps. White remained chief logistics officer of IV Corps, which was heavily engaged at First Ypres and in the British offensive battles of 1915, until December 1916. He was one of only two men to hold the post during the war. His successor was W H V Darell, who was twenty-two years his junior!

Brigadier-General White won the Duncan Gold Medal of the Royal Artillery Institution in 1887 for his essay on ‘Mountain Artillery’. He was also a Silver Medallist of the RAI.