William Heneker General Sir William Charles Giffard Heneker KCB KCMG DSO ( August , 1867 – May 1939 ) was a Canadian born and educated soldier who served with the British Army in West Africa , India , and then later on the western front during the First World War . A notable military strategist and tactician , he became one of the most experienced and highly decorated Canadians in the British Empire , and one of only a handful of Canadians to reach the rank of full General . Education . William Heneker was born in Sherbrooke , Quebec on 22 August 1867 , the son of Richard William Heneker ( 1823 - 1912 ) and Elizabeth , daughter of Captain Edward Tuson R . N . He received his early education at Bishop ' s College School in Lennoxville , Quebec , and then later entered military life when he enrolled at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston , Ontario on 1 September 1884 . Assigned student # 168 , he graduated from RMC on 28 June 1888 with the rank of Sergeant and first class grades . Military service . During the first several decades of RMC ' s existence it was common practice for the War Office in London to offer commissions in the British Army to the best Canadian graduates . Heneker accepted an Imperial commission with the 1st Battalion , Connaught Rangers as a Second Lieutenant on 5 September 1888 . At the time the unit was serving in India and Heneker joined the regiment there . He was promoted to lieutenant 12 February 1890 , and later received his promotion to captain on 10 March 1897 . Soon after he was seconded to the Niger Coast Protectorate , and began the period of his career that would define his legacy . Between 1897 and 1906 Heneker served in the West African theatre , and participated in a variety of campaigns ranging from peacetime military engagement , to counterinsurgency , to major combat operations . He served in the 1899 Benin Territories Expedition as Intelligence and Survey Officer , and was mentioned in Despatches for his services . He became Brevet Major 31 July 1901 . He served as Second - in - Command of the Southern Nigeria Regiment , in Southern Nigeria , 1902 , and also served with the Royal West African Frontier Force . Heneker commanded the Ulia and Ishan Expeditions , the Ibeku - Olokoro operations , Afikpo operations , and also commanded No . 4 Column in the 1901 - 02 Anglo - Aro War . Heneker also waged a notable campaign against Chief Adukukaiku of Iggara , for which he again received a Mention in Despatches . Heneker was promoted to Brevet Lieutenant Colonel 21 August 1903 , but received his substantive British Army rank of major on 16 February 1907 . He was later awarded the Brevet of full colonel on 24 October 1907 . Heneker was eventually posted to Southern Africa where he was Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quarter - master - General , Orange River Colony District from 21 April 1906 to 20 April 1910 . He then served briefly in India and the northwest frontier . As Lieutenant Colonel , he commanded the 2nd Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment at Peshawar , India 10 April 1912 . He served as Temporary Brigade Commander , 1st Peshawar Infantry Brigade in 1912 , and then later briefly as Temporary Brigade Commander , Rawalpindi Infantry Brigade from 1913 to 1914 . He was finally appointed Commander , 1st Infantry Brigade , Quetta , in October 1914 . During this time Heneker continued to serve as one of the King ' s Aide - de - Camp s , an appointment he received in October 1907 and held until June 1917 . William Heneker was a resourceful and skilled soldier as well as an exceptional tactician . For his military services in West Africa he was invested by King Edward VII on 18 December 1903 with the Distinguished Service Order . Military Thought . In 1907 Heneker published a book examining tactical innovation in small wars titled ‘ Bush Warfare ’ . The first serious analysis of the characteristics of small wars since the 1896 publication of British Army Lieutenant Colonel Calwell ' s " Small Wars " , Heneker ' s own study became required reading and a resource for all commanders until new doctrinal publications appeared in the 1930s . In 2007 , Canadian military historian Andrew Godefroy edited a new edition of " Bush Warfare " in honour of the centenary of its original publication . World War I . Temporary Brigadier General William Heneker was assigned to active duty in Europe at the outbreak of the First World War . He commanded the 54th Infantry Brigade , British Expeditionary Force from 13 March to 14 December 1915 . During this period , he was severely wounded , but managed to recover well enough from his injuries to return to front line service . Heneker received his substantial promotion to full Colonel on 10 April 1916 , though he retained his temporary appointment as Brigadier . Anxious to return to command , he was appointed to lead the 190th Infantry Brigade , Royal Naval Division , France from 29 October to 8 December 1916 . Heneker ' s next appointment was to the command of the 8th Infantry Division , which he led from 9 December 1916 until the end of the war . He was promoted to Major General substantive , 3 June 1917 , commendsurate with his new responsibilities . Despite a tenacious defence during the 1918 German spring offensive , Major General Heneker ' s division was overrun at the town of Villers - Bretonneux . Fortunately Sir Thomas William Glasgow ' s 13th Brigade ( Australia ) , and Harold Elliott ' s 15th Infantry Brigade ( Australia ) , managed to recapture the location on 25 April 1918 , and this feat of arms was later described by Lieutenant - General Sir John Monash , commander of the Australian Infantry Force , as the turning - point of the war . Following the armistice on 11 November 1918 , Heneker remained in service with the British Army during the occupation of the Rhineland . His division held a portion of the Bridgehead east of Cologne , Germany from March to October 1919 , after which he took command of a new formation , the Independent Division , Rhine Army , which he commanded from October 1919 to February 1920 . Heneker commanded the Rhine Garrison at Cologne in Germany beginning in March 1920 . In 1921 , Heneker served as commander of the Inter - Allied Commission of Management in Upper Silesia , stabilizing the borders between Germany and Poland . He was then made General Officer Commanding 3rd Division at Salisbury Plain until 1926 . In 1928 he returned to India , where he was appointed Commander - in - Chief , Southern Command in India . He vacated his appointment as GOC - in - C on 22 March 1932 , and was placed on half - pay from the following day before retiring from the Army on 16 April 1932 . Awards and recognition . In addition to his DSO for his actions during the Aro Expedition and several Mentions in Desptaches for West Africa , Heneker was made Commandeur of the Legion of Honour in 1918 , and a KCB in 1919 . Family . He married Clara Marion , daughter of E Jones , of Velindre , Wales , in 1901 . The couple had two sons : David William , born 31 March 1906 , and Patrick Allason Holden , born 1 September 1908 . David Heneker was a composer and lyricist of Charlie Girl . He was nominated for three Tony Awards : in 1961 , as one of the authors of the English book and lyrics for Best Musical nominee " Irma la Douce , " and in 1965 , as Best Composer and Lyricist and for music and lyrics of Best Musical nominee " Half a Sixpence . " Patrick Allason Holden was a Captain in the 3rd Cavalry of the Indian Army , he died 29 August 1942 as a Prisoner of War on Singapore . References .