Sir Neville Francis Fitzgerald Chamberlain

Sir Neville Francis Fitzgerald Chamberlain
Sir Neville Francis Fitzgerald Chamberlain
Born	1856
Died	28 May 1944
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1873 – c. 1900
Rank	Colonel
Battles/wars	Second Anglo-Afghan War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order

Sir Neville Francis Fitzgerald Chamberlain KCB KCVO KPM (1856 – 28 May 1944) was a British Army officer, and later Inspector-General of the Royal Irish Constabulary who resigned in the aftermath of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland. He is credited with having invented the game of snooker while serving in Jubbulpore (Jabalpur), India, in 1875.

Chamberlain was born into a military family, the son of Charles Francis Falcon Chamberlain and nephew of Neville Bowles Chamberlain. He was educated at Brentwood School, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

Chamberlain was commissioned a sub-lieutenant in the 11th Foot on 9 August 1873, and promoted to lieutenant in August 1874. In 1878, during the Second Anglo-Afghan War, he joined the staff of Field Marshal Sir Frederick Roberts, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in Afghanistan. He was wounded slightly at the Battle of Kandahar. He served with Roberts at Ootacamund between 1881 and 1884. He was promoted to captain in August 1885, and to brevet major in November 1885. In 1890 he became Military Secretary to the Kashmir Government. He was promoted to brevet colonel in 1894, and this was made substantive in February 1899. He rejoined Lord Roberts in South Africa in December 1899, as "First Aide-de-Camp and Private Secretary", and was highly commended by Roberts in despatches from the war (despatch dated 31 March 1900). He was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1900.