Reginald Hoskins

Reginald Hoskins
Born	1871
Died	7 February 1942
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1891-1923
Rank	Major-General
Commands held	8th Brigade 1st East African Division 3rd (Lahore) Division 46th (North Midland) Division
Battles/wars	Dongola Expedition Mahdist War Second Boer War Somaliland Campaign First World War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Dispatches

Major-General Sir Arthur Reginald Hoskins, KCB, CMG, DSO (1871 – 7 February 1942) was a senior British Army officer of the First World War.

Early life

Hoskins was born in London, the son of Thomas Hoskins. He was educated at Westminster School before attending the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.^[1]

Career

Hoskins commissioned into the North Staffordshire Regiment on 13 May 1891, was promoted to lieutenant on 9 January 1895, and in 1896 was posted to the Egyptian Army.^[2] He first saw active service in the Dongola Expedition that same year, and also fought in the Mahdist War between 1897 and 1899, during which he was Mentioned in Dispatches. He was made a member of the Order of the Medjidie (4th Class) in 1899.^[3] In early 1900 he relinquished his appointment with the Egyptian army, and joined the 2nd battalion of his regiment which had just embarked for service in the Second Boer War in South Africa.^[4] He was promoted captain on 20 March 1900, received the brevet promotion to major the following day, and served as an intelligence officer, and as aide-de-camp to Major-General John Maxwell, Military governor of Pretoria after the annexation of that city. For his service during the war, he received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). Hoskins then fought in the Somaliland Campaign in 1902 and was again mentioned in dispatches. In 1903 he attended the Staff College, Camberley.^[5]

After passing out of Camberley in 1905 he served as a staff officer in Egypt and at the Staff College. In August 1913 he returned to East Africa as Inspector of the Kings African Rifles. In September 1914 Hoskins was recalled from East Africa and was appointed Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General of the 8th Division, engaged at the time on the Western Front. On 12 November 1914 he became Chief of Staff to Major-General Sir Thompson Capper. On 25 March 1915 Hoskins was promoted brigadier-general and given command of the 8th Brigade. In early 1916 he was transferred to the East African Campaign as commander of the 1st East African Division.^[6]

Hoskins became Commander-in-Chief of British forces in East Africa in 1917, before serving for the remainder of the war as the commander of the 3rd (Lahore) Division in Mesopotamia and Palestine. He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1919 Birthday Honours and was awarded the Order of the Nile (2nd Class) in November 1919.^[7][8] He was also made a member of the Russian Order of Saint Anna (2nd Class, with swords). His final military appointment was as the General Officer Commanding, 46th (North Midland) Division from June 1919 to June 1923.

He retired from the army in 1923 and became involved in Conservative Party politics. He was Principal of the Philip Stott College, Overstone in 1928 and then Principal of the Bonar Law Memorial College from 1928 to 1938. Both institutions were responsible for training Conservative agents and local activists. Hoskins died in 1942.^[9]

References