British Army general (1881–1973)
General Sir Charles Clement Armitage, KCB, CMG, DSO, DL (12 December 1881 – 15 December 1973) was a British Army officer who commanded 1st Division during the 1930s.
Early life
The son of Charles Ingram Armitage, Armitage was born in Honley, West Yorkshire.[1] His family were historically mill-owners who lived at Milnsbridge House, Huddersfield.[1]
Military career
Armitage was commissioned into the Royal Artillery as a second lieutenant on 6 January 1900, as the army expanded due to the ongoing Second Boer War in South Africa, where he was sent. He was promoted to lieutenant on 3 April 1901, while still in South Africa.[2] After the end of this war in June 1902, Armitage was attached to the 74th Battalion, Royal Field Artillery, which left Durban for British India in October 1902, and was stationed at Lucknow, Bengal Presidency.[3] He later fought in the First World War, serving in France and Belgium.[4] He was appointed Chief Gunnery Instructor at the School of Artillery in 1925, commandant of the Royal School of Artillery in 1927 and commander of the 7th Infantry Brigade in 1929.[4] He went on to be commandant of the Staff College, Camberley, in 1934, General Officer Commanding (GOC) the 1st Infantry Division. The division was sent to Palestine during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt. He was aided throughout this difficult period by his General Staff Officer Grade 1 (GSO1), Thomas Hutton. After handing over command of the division to Major General The Honourable Harold Alexander in early 1938, Armitage was Master General of the Ordnance in India in 1938, in which role he served in the Second World War before retiring in 1942.[4]
Armitage lived at Downington House in Lechlade,[5] and served as Deputy Lieutenant for the county of Gloucestershire.[6]
Family
In 1915, Armitage married Hilda Hirst of Meltham Hall, and they had three sons, Charles, Robert and Johnny, and a daughter Mary.[1]
