Major-General Sir Henry Hallam Parr KCB CMG


Henry Hallam Parr was born in 1847, the son of Thomas Clements Parr of Clifton, Gloucestershire. He was educated at Eton and went to Sandhurst, joining the regiment at the age of 18. He had a very active military career both in the British and Egyptian armies. From 1882 to 1888 he was involved in the reorganisation of the Egyptian Army, becoming Lord Grenfell's Adjutant-General. He was well placed to succeed Grenfell but his health broke down and Lord Kitchener stepped into his place. But during his time there he and the staff had made a very great improvement in the discipline and effectiveness of the Egyptian soldiers. As CO of the 13th Light Infantry he took the regiment to Gibraltar and India. The photo shows him in the uniform of ADC to the Queen, a post he held from 1886 to 88. He had three sons who all died before Sir Henry's death in 1914.

1847 Born, and baptised on 20 Aug
1865 Ensign in 13th Light Infantry
1869 Lieutenant
1877 Military Secretary to Sir Bartle Frere
1878 Captain
1879 Served in Zulu War
1880 CMG
1882 War service in Egypt
1885 Major
1885 Adjutant-General and 2nd in command of Egyptian army
1886 Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel
1886 ADC to the Queen
1887 Attended French Manoeuvres
1888 Attended German Manoeuvres
1888 Married Lilian Mary Gibbs on 15 Nov
1890 Commanding Officer of Somerset Light Infantry, until 1894
1892 Military Adviser to Sir Charles Euan Smith in Fez
1893 CB
1894 Assistant Inspector General of Ordnance
1899 Major-General
1902 Commanded North Western District
1906 Retired
1910 Colonel of Somerset Light Infantry
1911 KCB
1914 Died on 4 April. Buried at Bourton

Suggested Reading

Major-General Sir Henry Hallam Parr: Recollections and Correspondence, with a Short Account of His Two Sons, Lieutenants A. H. H. Parr and G. R. Parr
by Henry Hallam Parr (Kessinger 2008)

A Sketch Of The Kafir And Zulu Wars by Henry Hallam Parr (London: C Kegan Paul, 1880)


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