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Stuart Peter Rolt

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Stuart Rolt
A 1905 portrait of Holt by John St Helier Lander
Born(1862-07-29)29 July 1862
Marylebone, Middlesex, England
Died8 May 1933(1933-05-08) (aged 70)
St Asaph, Denbighshire, Wales
AllegianceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Service / branch British Army
Years of service1884–1918
RankBrigadier-General
Commands14th Infantry Brigade
RMC Sandhurst
170th Brigade
Battles / warsSecond Boer War
First World War
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath

Brigadier-General Stuart Peter Rolt CB (29 July 1862 – 8 May 1933) was a British Army officer who became Commandant of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

Military career

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Stuart Rolt was the son of Peter Rolt, a Conservative Member of Parliament.[1]

His military career began when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the 3rd (Militia) Battalion, Essex Regiment in May 1881.[2] He transferred to the Regular Army when he was commissioned as a lieutenant into the York and Lancaster Regiment as a lieutenant on 30 January 1884,[3] He was promoted to captain on 28 April 1890,[4] and in November 1898 was seconded for service on the staff.[5]

He saw service in the Second Boer War, commanding the Rhodesia Regiment, where he was wounded in action. Promotion to major came while in South Africa, on 21 February 1900, followed by promotion to the brevet rank of lieutenant-colonel on 29 November 1900.[6][7]

After his return to the United Kingdom, he was appointed an Assistant Inspector of Gymnasia at Aldershot on 5 February 1901.[8] In September 1905 he was appointed an inspector of gymnasia and promoted to colonel.[9]

After serving on the staff he was placed on half-pay in April 1910 only to be made assistant director of remounts in South Africa the next day.[10] He served in this position until November 1912 when he returned to Britain and succeeded Major General William Douglas in command of the 14th Infantry Brigade and which also saw him promoted to temporary brigadier general while holding the appointment.[11]

In 1911 he was appointed to command of the 14th Infantry Brigade, in 5th Division; when the First World War broke out in July 1914, he took it to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force.[1]

14th Brigade saw heavy action in the early stages of the war, being almost constantly engaged in combat for two months. In October, he was recalled from command on the grounds of exhaustion – though the corps commander was at pains to note that no stigma was to be placed on this move, and that he had in no way failed. He did not receive a new field command, but instead became commandant of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, taking over from Brigadier General Lionel Stopford and still managing to retain his temporary brigadier's rank while still remaining a full colonel.[12]

He held this post until August 1916, when he was appointed to command the 170th Brigade in the 57th Division, [13] a position he held until it was sent overseas.[14] He relinquished his temporary rank in November 1918.[15]

In December 1918, and by now unemployed, he was placed on half-pay[16] and retired from the army in September 1919, being granted the honorary rank of brigadier general.[17]

Personal life and family

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Stuart Peter Rolt married Evelyn Roylance Court, daughter of William Roylance Court and Mary Carlaw Walker, in 1912. They had four children, Pamela Rolt, Suzanne Phyllis Rolt, Sybil Mary Rolt and Tony Rolt, later a racing driver.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c ROLT, Brig.-Gen. Stuart Peter. (2008). In Who Was Who 1897–2007.
  2. ^ "No. 24979". The London Gazette. 27 May 1881. p. 2747.
  3. ^ "No. 25313". The London Gazette. 29 January 1884. p. 433.
  4. ^ "No. 26052". The London Gazette. 20 May 1890. p. 2901.
  5. ^ "No. 27025". The London Gazette. 22 November 1898. p. 6938.
  6. ^ Hart´s Army list, 1903
  7. ^ "No. 11343". The Edinburgh Gazette. 1 October 1901. p. 1087.
  8. ^ "No. 27456". The London Gazette. 22 July 1902. p. 4674.
  9. ^ "No. 27834". The London Gazette. 8 September 1905. p. 6126.
  10. ^ "No. 28356". The London Gazette. 12 April 1910. p. 2492.
  11. ^ "No. 28672". The London Gazette. 17 December 1912. p. 9577.
  12. ^ "No. 28988". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 November 1914. p. 10106.
  13. ^ "No. 29738". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 September 1916. p. 8788.
  14. ^ Stuart Peter Rolt, by John Bourne. Centre for First World War Studies.
  15. ^ "No. 31041". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 November 1918. p. 14187.
  16. ^ "No. 31110". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 January 1919. p. 323.
  17. ^ "No. 31565". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 September 1919. p. 11862.
Military offices
Preceded by Commandant of the Royal Military College Sandhurst
1914–1916 		Succeeded by
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