Arthur Asquith Brigadier - General Arthur Melland Asquith ( 24 April 1883 – 25 August 1939 ) was a senior officer of the Royal Naval Division , a Royal Navy land detachment attached to the British Army during the First World War . His father , H . H . Asquith was the British Prime Minister during the first three years of the conflict and later became the Earl of Oxford . Arthur Asquith was wounded four times in the war and three times awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his bravery under fire . In December 1917 , Asquith was seriously wounded during fighting near Beaucamp and was evacuated to Britain where one of his legs was amputated . Asquith retired from the military following his wound and worked for the Ministry of Munitions . Early life . Arthur Asquith was born in 1883 , the third son of politician H . H . Asquith and his wife Helen Melland , who died when Arthur was seven in 1891 . Asquith was educated at Winchester College with his brothers and later attended New College , Oxford as an undergraduate . After completing his studies , he joined the trading firm Franklin & Herrera , with whom he did extensive business in Argentina . Military career . When the First World War broke out in the summer of 1914 , Asquith resigned from Franklin & Herrera and joined the Royal Navy , explaining that he could not " sit quietly by reading the papers " during the conflict . His elder brothers also joined up , Raymond Asquith was commissioned in the London Regiment and was killed in action in 1916 while Herbert Asquith joined the Royal Artillery . As the Royal Navy had too many recruits in the early months of the war , they formed a separate division to deploy on land known as the Royal Naval Division . This force was rapidly deployed to Belgium with Asquith as a junior officer . The Royal Naval Division suffered heavy casualties in the Siege of Antwerp , and was withdrawn shortly before the city fell , but in 1915 it was redeployed to the Mediterranean for use in the Battle of Gallipoli . Shortly after arrival , Asquith ' s friend and colleague Rupert Brooke died from an infected mosquito bite . During the battle of Gallipoli , he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his actions but was also wounded , resulting in his withdrawal to staff work . In 1916 , The Royal Naval Division , now designated the 63rd Division , was sent to the Western Front . Asquith remained as a staff officer until April 1917 , when heavy casualties forced him to replace Bernard Freyberg in command of the 189th Brigade . At the head of this formation , he participated in heavy fighting throughout the year , earning two bars to his DSO and being wounded twice more . On 17 December 1917 , Asquith was badly wounded forcing his evacuation to Britain . Despite extensive surgery , his leg was amputated in January 1918 , forcing his retirement from the military with the rank of brigadier - general . He then served the remainder of the war with the Ministry of Munitions , in the Controller of the Trench Warfare Department . Asquith retired following the end of the war to his home Clovelly court , Devon . Later life . In the Directory of Directors for 1935 , the Hon Arthur M Asquith of 1 London Wall Buildings EC2 is listed as chairman of Brazil Plantations Syndicate Ltd , chairman of Parana Plantations Ltd and a director of San Paulo ( Brazilian ) Railway Co Ltd . Asquith died at Clovelly Court , Devon on 25 August 1939 .