Brigadier-General Hon. John Frederick Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis | |
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Nickname(s) | 'Jack Tre' |
Born | 14 January 1878 |
Died | 24 October 1915 (died of wounds) Western Front (World War I) |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/branch | British Army |
Years of service | 1901–1915 |
Rank | Brigadier-General |
Unit | Irish Guards |
Commands held | 1st Bn Irish Guards 20th Brigade |
Battles/wars |
Second Boer War First World War |
Awards |
DSO Mention in Dispatches |
Relations | Charles Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 20th Baron Clinton (father) |
Brigadier-General John Frederick Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis DSO (14 January 1878 – 24 October 1915), known as 'Jack Tre', was a British Army officer in World War I. At the time of his death he was the youngest Brigadier-General in the British Army.
The Honourable John Frederick Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis was born in 1878, the third son of Charles Henry Rolle Trefusis, 20th Baron Clinton (who had adopted by Royal Licence the surnames and arms of his first wife's family). John's mother was Lord Clinton's second wife, Margaret, daughter of Sir John Walrond, 1st Baronet.
Trefusis first saw active service during the Second Boer War as a volunteer Trooper in the Imperial Yeomanry. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant into the newly formed Irish Guards on 1 July 1901 and promoted to Lieutenant a year later (2 August 1901). In 1904 he became Aide-de-camp to General Lord Methuen, when the latter was appointed commander of IV Army Corps (later Eastern Command). Trefusis stayed with Methuen when the General moved to become Commander-in-Chief in South Africa (1908).
Trefusis returned to the UK in 1909 when he was promoted to Captain (26 October 1909) and was appointed Adjutant of the Irish Guards. In September 1913 he became officer of a company of Gentlemen Cadets at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and the following January he took the position of Adjutant of the College. It was a difficult time at Sandhurst, with pitched night-time battles between the companies when hockey sticks were used as weapons, and officers' leave was cancelled to deal with the unruly cadets.