Herbert Belfield

Sir Herbert Belfield
Born	1857
Died	1934
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1876–1914
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	4th Infantry Brigade 4th Division
Battles/wars	Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War Second Boer War World War I
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order

Lieutenant General Sir Herbert Eversley Belfield KCB KCMG KBE DSO (1857–1934) was a British Army officer who commanded 4th Division.

Military career

Educated at Wellington College,^[1] Belfield was commissioned into the Royal Munster Fusiliers in 1876.^[2] He was promoted to captain on 20 May 1885, and to major on 1 February 1893. He took part in the Fourth Anglo-Ashanti War in 1895, and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 25 March 1896 and to colonel on 18 December 1899. With the outbreak of the Second Boer War (1899–1902), he was appointed Inspector General of the Imperial Yeomanry and Assistant Adjutant General to Field Marshal Sir Paul Methuen.^[3] From January 1902 he held the local rank of Brigadier-general on the Staff in South Africa.^[4] He was appointed Assistant Adjutant-General for 1st Army Corps on 11 December 1902,^[1] Commander of 4th Infantry Brigade in 1903 and General Officer Commanding 4th Division in 1907^[5] before retiring in 1914.^[3] He was also Colonel of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment from 1909 to 1914.^[3]

In retirement he became Director of Prisoner of war work, negotiating prisoner exchanges and improvements in the treatment of prisoners^[6] throughout World War I.^[3] There is a chair dedicated to his memory at York Minster Stoneyard.^[7]

Family

In 1882 he married Emily Mary Binney; he later married Evelyn Mary Taylor; they had two daughters.^[1]

References