Charles Strathavon Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby Brigadier - General Hon . Charles ( ' Charlie ' ) Strathavon Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby , ( 1870 – 1949 ) , was a British Army officer in the Second Boer War and World War I . Early life . Charles Strathavon Heathcote - Drummond Willoughby ( pronounced ' Hethcut - Drummond - Willowby ' ) was born on 18 May 1870 , the second son of Gilbert Henry Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby , 2nd Lord Aveland , and his wife Lady Evelyn Elizabeth Gordon , daughter of the 10th Marquess of Huntly . Lord Aveland later succeeded his mother as Lord Willougby d ' Eresby , and was created Earl of Ancaster in 1892 . As the younger son of a peer , Charles bore the courtesy title ' The Honourable ' . The Conservative politicians Gilbert , 2nd Earl of Ancaster and Lt - Col Claud Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby were his brothers . He was educated at Eton and Trinity College , Cambridge . Military career . In March 1888 , Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughy obtained a commission as a part - time Militia officer in the 4th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment ( Royal South Lincolnshire Militia ) , and then in January 1891 transferred to the Regular Army as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Scots Guards . He was promoted to Lieutenant 11 August 1894 , and Captain 7 June 1899 . He was serving with the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards when the 2nd Boer War broke out . Boer War . The 2nd Scots Guards arrived in South Africa as reinforcements in April 1900 , and took part in operations in Orange River Colony . Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby was present at the actions of Biddulphsberg and Wittenbergen . Early in 1901 he served briefly as an extra Aide - de - Camp to the British High Commissioner , Sir Alfred Milner . Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby became Adjutant of the 2nd Scots Guards in December 1901 , and was present with the battalion during further operations in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony until the Boer surrender on 31 May 1902 . He then returned to the role of Aide - de - Camp to Milner ( now Lord Milner ) until the end of 1903 . For his services during the war he was promoted to Brevet Major 22 August 1902 . Returning to his regiment in London , Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby was promoted to substantive major in 1904 . Territorial Force . In 1904 Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby was made Commandant of the School of Instruction for Officers of the Auxiliary Forces . Based at Chelsea Barracks , this provided training for the part - time officers of the Militia , Yeomanry and Volunteers . When he retired from the army in June 1908 , he did not sever his military connections , but became an officer in the new Territorial Force created from the former Yeomanry and Volunteers under the Haldane Reforms . From 1908 until 1912 he was Commanding Officer of the 15th ( County of London ) Battalion , The London Regiment , ( Prince of Wales ' s Own Civil Service Rifles ) ( TF ) . On 11 April 1912 he became commander of the 6th London Infantry Brigade with the rank of Colonel ( TF ) . The 6th London Bde comprised four South London battalions ( 21st – 24th ) of the London Regiment and formed part of the 2nd London Division . World War I . On the outbreak of World War I , 6th London Bde was mobilised and Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby was appointed Temporary Brigadier - General . In October 1914 , 2nd London Division was selected for service on the Western Front and progressive training was carried out through the winter . The division embarked for France in March 1915 , concentrating round Béthune . In May the division ( already known in France simply as ' The London Division ' to distinguish it from the Regular Army 2nd Division ) took its place in the line and was designated 47th ( 1 / 2nd London ) Division , with the brigades numbered consecutively : 6th London became 142nd ( 1 / 6th London ) Brigade . Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby ' s 142 Bde carried out the division ' s first offensive action , on 25 May during the Battle of Festubert . The leading battalions swept across the open ground and immediately captured the German front trenches with few losses , but were then caught by enfilading fire from German artillery and suffered heavy casualties , as did the supports sent up to consolidate the gains . Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby went on sick leave on 10 June 1915 , and did not return to 142 Brigade . He was replaced on 14 August , but on 7 September he was appointed to command a new brigade , 120th , in 40th Division , forming at Aldershot . This was one of the last of the ' Kitchener Army ' divisions to be formed , and the standard of height for infantry soldiers had been lowered in order to encourage volunteers : some of these so - called ' bantams ' were well - knit , hardy men , but many others , especially in 120th Bde , were under - developed and unfit . It was estimated that the four battalions in the brigade would provide enough fit men for only two serviceable battalions . To prevent the departure of the division to the Front being indefinitely postponed , the divisional commander asked for fresh units to be drafted in . Consequently , Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby had to carry out a complete reorganisation of his command in February 1916 . Divisional training was then intensified and the division was warned for overseas service in May 1916 . 40th Division disembarked in France in June 1916 , and spent the whole war on the Western Front . Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby ' s brigade was the first part of the division to see serious action , being engaged in the Battle of the Ancre ( the last phase of the Battle of the Somme , 14 – 18 November 1916 ) , detached under the command of 31st Division . Early in 1917 the division followed up the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line , with offensive action 24 April , when 120 Bde captured Villers - Plouich and Beaucamp . Villers - Plouich and over 300 prisoners were captured by 13th Bn East Surrey Regiment and Beaucamp entered by 14th Bn Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders . In November 1917 , during the Battle of Cambrai , the division relieved 62nd ( 2nd West Riding ) Division to continue the breakthrough . The attack on the morning of 23 November , with the objective of capturing Bourlon Wood , was begun by 119 and 121 Bdes with tank support , while 120 Bde was in reserve . Confused fighting went on for two days and nights , with Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby feeding his troops gradually into the line . On the afternoon of 24 November 14th Bn Highland Light Infantry of 120 Bde together with some tanks attacked Bourlon village ; although the HLI fought their way through the village , they became cut off on the other side . 40th Division ordered a renewed attack the following morning to break through and relieve them . The only troops available to 121 Bde for this task were the uncommitted 13th East Surreys from 120 Bde . The East Surreys attacked around dawn , made contact with the HLI battalion HQ , but were unable to get through to the HLI companies furthest forward , who were forced to surrender . In the two days the division suffered over 4000 casualties , and Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby ' s battalions had been badly damaged while under the command of others . All brigades on the Western Front were reorganised after the heavy losses of 1917 . Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby ' s brigade lost its English battalions and became an entirely Scottish formation as it prepared for renewed fighting in 1918 . The divisional history records that 120 Brigade ' suffered a severe loss on the 15th [ March 1918 ] when the brigade commander was sent home . General Willoughby had been in very poor health for some time , but had struggled to remain at his duty in order to see the big [ German ] offensive , though the delay in the opening of the attack rendered this impossible ' . To the regret of his divisional commander , Heathcote – Drummond - Willoughby was invalided back to the UK after two - and - a - half years in continuous command . His brigade was virtually destroyed during the subsequent German Spring Offensive . Having been made a CMG in January 1916 , Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby was awarded a CB in the New Year Honours of 1918 . On demobilisation he was granted the Honorary rank of Brigadier - General on 4 March 1919 . After the war he was a popular Chairman of the Turf Club in London . Family life . Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughy married ( 7 January 1907 ) Lady Muriel Agnes Stuart Erskine , eldest daughter of the 14th Earl of Buchan . They had two children : Brigadier - General Hon . Charles Strathavon Heathcote - Drummond - Willoughby died on 15 December 1949 . He is buried alongside many members of his family in St Michael ' s Churchyard , East Halton , Lincolnshire .