John Scobell

John Scobell, photographed on or before his marriage in 1910 by H. W. Watson.

Major-General Sir Sanford John Palairet Scobell, KBE, CB, CMG, DSO (26 September 1879 – 2 March 1955), known by his middle name John,^[1] was a senior officer in the British Army.

Early life

Sanford John Palairet Scobell was born on 26 September 1879, the son of Sanford George Treweeke Scobell, JP (1839–1912), of Down House in Redmarley and of Osborne House, The Park, Cheltenham, by his wife Edith (born 1849), fourth daughter of Septimus Henry Palairet (1807–1854), of the Grange in Bradford-upon-Avon, who was of Huguenot descent.^[1][2][3] His father was a Major in the Worcestershire Yeomanry and the regiment's Honorary Lieutenant Colonel in 1896;^[2] he was the son of Rev. John Scobell, rector of Southover and All Saints in Lewes, who was part of the Scobell family of Nancealverne.^[4] In 1910, Sanford John Palairet Scobell married Cecily Maude, daughter of Charles C. Hopkinson, of Belgrave Lodge in Cheltenham;^[5] they had two daughters and two sons.^[1]

Career

Following school at Winchester College, Scobell studied at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst,^[1] and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Norfolk Regiment on 12 August 1899. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 29 August the following year and served in the Somaliland Campaign in 1904.^[6][7] On 24 January 1906, he became a Captain and served as an Adjutant between November 1907 and November 1910.^[7]

When World War I broke out, Scobell was studying at the Staff College and was hurried through schooling.^[6] He was a staff officer at Southampton between August and November 1914, before becoming a Brigade Major in the newly-formed 35th Brigade; he went to France with them and remained in the post until February 1916.^[6][7] Over the course of the War, Scobell served in France and Belgium, where he was mentioned in despatches eight times. In February 1916, he was appointed a General Staff Officer, 2nd Division, in France and the following May he was moved up to the 1st Division, where he remained until September 1919.^[7] He was part of the X Corps' staff when the Somme Offensive began and later served with the 49th Division during the Battle of Passchendaele.^[6] In the mean time, he was promoted to the rank of Major in September 1915 and Brevet Lieutenant Colonel on New Years Day 1918.^[7]

From 23 October 1919 to 23 March 1920, Scobell was a GSO with the Military Mission to Russia; he was then transferred to the Black Sea and Turkey, where he remained until August 1923. In 1926, he was made a substantive Lieutenant Colonel and on 1 December 1928 he was made an Assistant Adjutant General at the War Office and promoted to Colonel with seniority from New Years Day 1922. In August 1930, he was posted to be Commandant at the Senior Officers' School in India with the temporary rank of Brigadier. He was there until 1 April 1932, when he took command of a Brigade in India. He was promoted to Major-General on 16 June 1934, but relinquished his post and went on the half-pay list in September of that year. He returned to the full pay list as a District Commander in India on 25 November 1935.^[7] He retired in 1939, but was recalled that October with the outbreak of World War II. He commanded troops in Malta between 1939 and 1942, but went on the retired list again in 1942. He took up the ceremonial position of Lieutenant of the Tower of London, which he vacated in 1945.^[1]

Scobell was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1942, a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1935 and a Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1919, and received the Distinguished Service Order in 1916. He died on 2 March 1955,^[1] at a nursing home in Camberley, Surrey.^[6]

References