Colonel St. George Mervyn Kirke, R.E.

Figure 1. Major St. George Mervyn Kirke, R.E.
(Image courtesy of Madelaine Kirke)

St. George Mervyn Kirke was a member of a distinguished military family. He served in the Royal Engineers during the Victorian period and he had three sons who also served, one in the Royal Engineers and two who served in the Royal Artillery during the Great War of 1914-1918. One of his Gunner sons became a General Officer after the war. Although he served from 1868 to 1905, St. George Mervyn Kirke did not see active service in any of Queen Victoria’s wars that took place during that period.

2. FAMILY INFORMATION AND EARLY LIFE

St. George Mervyn Kirke was the son of St. George Kirke (1814-1861) and Mary Kirke, née Cooke (1818-1900). St. George (or Mervyn as it appears he was known) and Mary had four sons and two daughters: Kenneth St. George Kirke (1875-1955), Walter Mervyn St. George Kirke (1877-1949), Mary Ivy Kirke (1878-1953), Percy St. George Kirke (1881-1966), Edwards St. George Kirke (1883-1957) and Helen Veronica Kirke (1890-1972).[1]

Kenneth St. George Kirke served from 1902 to 1918 and retired from the Royal Artillery as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1918 (see Annex A).

Walter Mervyn St. George, K.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O. was commissioned in the Royal Artillery in 1896 and rose to the rank of General (see Annex B).

Edwards St. George Kirke, D.S.O. followed his father into the Royal Engineers and rose to the rank of Colonel, retiring from the Army in 1943 (see https://www.reubique.com/Kirke%20E.St.G.html).

St. George Mervyn Kirke was born at Sturton-le-Steeple, Nottinghamshire on 7 August 1847. He was educated at Brighton College from 1860 to 1864.[2] From 1866 to 1868 he attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.

Gentleman Cadet Kirke was commissioned a Temporary Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 15 July 1868, vice J.R. Hogg who had been promoted to Captain.[3] It appears that at this time in the British Army an officer had to wait for a vacancy in his regiment or corps before he could get promoted. In Kirke’s case it appears that the promotion of Lieutenant Hogg provided the vacancy needed for his [Kirke’s] appointment to the rank of Temporary Lieutenant.

Immediately upon being appointed a Temporary Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers, Kirke was posted to the School of Military Engineering (S.M.E.) at Chatham, Kent for further training as an engineer officer. His training at the S.M.E. would have consisted of the study of field fortifications, construction, surveying, telegraphy, electric lighting, submarine mining, photography, chemistry, military law and tactics. On 6 September 1870, while at Chatham, Kirke’s temporary commission as a Lieutenant was made permanent, with his date of rank being 15 July 1868, the date of his temporary appointment.

Following his completion of studies at the S.M.E., Lieutenant Kirke was posted to Gibraltar where he was employed on the construction of fortifications.[4] The units of the Royal Engineers stationed at Gibraltar at the time that Kirke served there were the 11^th (Field) Company, the 20^th (Fortress) Company, the 25^th (Fortress) Company and the 29^{th (}Fortress) Company. Available records do not show to which company he was posted; however, the following work produced by Stuart Gase (an ex-Sapper) shows the time periods that each company served at Gibraltar.[5]

Since it appears that Lieutenant Kirke was involved with the construction of fortifications during his posting at Gibraltar, the 11^th (Field) Company can probably be eliminated as the Fortress Companies were primarily involved with this work. Kirke’s posting at Gibraltar lasted from 1871 to 1876, so the 25^th (Fortress) Company appears to be the most likely unit in which he served.

The role of a fortress company was to assist in the defence of ports and harbours that had significant military importance.[6] This was accomplished by the use of mines and searchlights and by supporting the Royal Artillery garrison co-located with the fortress company.

A Royal Engineers fortress company typically would provide the following services in defence of ports and harbours such as those found at Gibraltar:

Kirke’s training at the School of Military Engineering would be especially useful to him when he was involved with any of the above. The experience he gained while serving in a Fortress Company would also be of great value to him in his future career in the R.E. He spent almost five years at Gibraltar before being posted back to the U.K. late in 1876.

Hart’s Annual Army List of 1878 shows Lieutenant Kirke serving for two years in the Southern District at Portsmouth. In this capacity he probably worked for the District Engineer in the Portsmouth area, or more likely for the Assistant District Engineer in the Southern District. He would have been responsible for overseeing the construction and maintenance of facilities within the military bases in his area.

In 1879 Kirke’s work in the Royal Engineers changed from construction to surveying. He was promoted to Captain on 22 September 1880 (vice W.E. Peck, promoted)[7] and he was placed in charge of No. 5 Division of the Ordnance Survey, which appears to have incorporated the area around Reading. By the late 19^th Century, the Ordnance Survey was mapping towns at detailed scales, including Reading at 1:500 (127 inches to one mile). This is the type of work that Kirke may have been involved with.

During the time that he worked with the Ordnance Survey, Captain Kirke lived at “Linton,” on Kendrick Road in Reading.[8]

Following his work with the Ordnance Survey in Reading, Kirke was posted to India for an extended period. He was stationed first at Roorkee with the Bengal Sappers and Miners[9] until 1886 when he was posted as a Duty Officer to Kirkee with the Bombay Sappers and Miners. He served at Kirkee until 1889.[10]

Captain Kirke was promoted to the rank of Major on 11 July 1887,[11] vice Major H. Denison, retired; however, his promotion was antedated to 1 July 1887, vice Major F. Bailey, promoted.[12] Again we see another instance where his promotion depended on a vacancy in the Corps, either from another officer retiring or getting promoted.

During this period Major Kirke served as Brigade Major[13] and Secretary of the School of Military Engineer at Brompton Barracks in Gillingham (Chatham), Kent, the home of the Corps of Royal Engineers. In this capacity he most likely served as the second-in-command of the Royal Engineers Depot Battalion. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (his Army rank and R.E. Corps rank) on 3 May 1894.[14]

Lieutenant Colonel Kirke was posted to York as the Commander Royal Engineers of the York District.[15] In this capacity he would be in charge of the Establishment for Engineer Services (E.E.S.) or Royal Engineer Works Service in his area. This establishment dealt with the construction of fortifications, but by and large its greatest responsibility was in the area of the construction and maintenance of barracks. Other works undertaken included hospitals and Army Ordnance buildings. With regard to the latter, the work included not only the buildings themselves, but also the provision and maintenance of fixed machinery and the construction and maintenance of magazines and buildings for the storage of explosives, with special attention to precautions against fire and protection against lightning.

The E.E.S. also was involved with other buildings in support of the Army Service Corps, to include bakeries, stores, transport sheds and workshops. Many other buildings, such as churches, schools, offices, quarters for Commanding Officers and certain Staff Officers, were also provided by the E.E.S. Other essential services of the Establishment included the care and maintenance of military cemeteries and burial grounds, the preparation of graves and the appointment and supervision of caretakers.

In connection with all of the above works, there was an organization within the E.E.S. responsible for the control of "Military Lands." This term included the land on which the barracks and fortifications were constructed, along with roads, parades and recreation grounds. Closely allied to the control of "Military Lands" was the provision of rifle and artillery ranges.[16]

In 1898 Kirke was posted to Malta where he was the Commander Royal Engineers for the Western Sub-district.[17] His duties there would have been very much like those described above, with perhaps more emphasis on fortifications. He was promoted while in Malta to Colonel (regimental rank) on 3 May 1898.[18] This promotion may have changed his responsibilities as Commander Royal Engineers to all of Malta rather than just a sub-district.

On 21 March 1900 Kirke was promoted to the substantive (Army) rank of Colonel and was posted to the staff of the District Engineer in Edinburgh on half-pay. He was removed from the Corps of Royal Engineers in the Army lists, but remained on the Active List.[19] He served in this position until 1905 when he retired.[20]

Figure 2. Colonel St. George Mervyn Kirke, c. 1905.
(Image courtesy of the Kirke family)

Colonel St. George Mervyn Kirke settled in Guildford, Surrey and he died on 7 April 1928 as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage.[21] His address at the time was “Markham,” Māori Road, Guildford. He was buried in Guildford Cemetery on 11 April 1928[22] and his life and service are commemorated on a plaque in Holy Trinity Church in Guildford (see image below).

Probate of Kirke’s Will took place at London on 11 June 1928. His effects, valued at £14,374, 12 shillings and 8 pence, resworn at £14,895 and 8 pence (about $ 1,661,500 US in 2024 currency), were left to Laurence Outen Fullbrook-Leggatt, bank manager.[23]

St. George Mervyn Kirke served from 1868 to 1905, but during those 37 years he saw no active service in any of Queen Victoria’s “little wars” or the South African War of 1899 to 1902. He obviously did not receive any campaign medals and no notices were found in the London Gazette to indicate that he received any awards or decorations. In Figure 2 above he appears bare-chested, showing no medals, so it must be assumed that he was never awarded any. Truly unusual and certainly nothing like the service of his sons.

Figure 4. 2^nd Lieutenant Kenneth St. George Kirke.
(Image courtesy of Madelaine Kirke)

Kenneth St George Kirke was born in Gibraltar on 5 January 1875. In 1895 he was commissioned a 2^nd Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery from the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.

He served as a Captain in the Royal Field Artillery in the South African War, 1899-1900, in operations in Natal, including the action at Lombard's Kop and the defence of Ladysmith. He was awarded the Queen's South Africa medal for his service.

In 1911 he served in Hyderabad, India with the 59^th Battery, Royal Field Artillery (R.F.A.) and by the time of the outbreak of the Great War of 1914-1918 he was a Major in the R.F.A. His Medal Index Card (M.I.C.) shows that he disembarked in France on 15 October 1914 with the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.) and for his service during the war he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.), 1914 Star with clasp and rosette, British War Medal and Victory Medal. By the end of the war he had reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. His D.S.O. was awarded in 1916.

Figure 5. Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth St. George Kirke.
(Image courtesy of Madelaine Kirke)

Figure 6. The Great War Medal Index Card of Lieutenant Colonel
K. St. G. Kirke, D.S.O., R.A. (front side)
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

Figure 7. The Great War Medal Index Card of Lieutenant Colonel
K. St. G. Kirke, D.S.O., R.A. (reverse side)
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

See web site referenced above for sources of the information presented in this Annex.

Figure 8. General Sir Walter Mervyn St. George Kirke, G.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

General Sir Walter Mervyn St. George Kirke, G.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O. (19 January 1877 – 2 September 1949) was the Commander in Chief of the British Home Forces during the Second World War.

Born the second son of Colonel St. George Mervyn Kirke of the Royal Engineers and his wife Sarah, Walter Kirke was commissioned into the Royal Artillery as a second lieutenant on 21 September 1896. He was promoted to lieutenant on 21 September 1899, and to captain on 4 December 1901 while serving in Waziristan on the North West Frontier of India between 1901 and 1902. From July 1902 he was seconded for service with the Burma Military Police.

Kirke was instrumental in creating the Army's Intelligence Corps in 1907, and he worked for Colonel George Macdonogh in the War Office's Intelligence Department. This area of work comprised special duties, such as protective security, ciphers and censorship of post (news) and telegraphs. Starting October 1, 1909, the new Secret Service Bureau (MI5) was created and fell under Macdonogh's supervision. Here, Kirke came to know Major Vernon Kell (headed up counter-espionage) and Captain Mansfield Cumming (enemy intelligence). Together, Cumming and Kell formed the two halves of MI5. Macdonogh and Kirke travelled to France and spent two weeks on a walking tour of the French and Belgium borders, visiting areas that looked vulnerable to a German attack. On August 12, 1914, the Intelligence Corps crossed the English Channel, near Le Havre, France as part of the deployment of the B.E.F.

Figure 9. The Great War Medal Index Card of Colonel W. M. St. G. Kirke (front side)
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

Figure 10. The Great War Medal Index Card of Colonel W. M. St. G. Kirke
(reverse side)
(Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)

He served in the First World War as a General Staff Officer at GHQ in France and Belgium. In 1916 he learned that German soldiers were intercepting British field telephone conversations and acted to secure them. On March 23, 1918, Kirke was flown in from the front to brief the War Cabinet in London on Operation Michael. In late 1918 he became deputy director of Military Operations at the War Office and was then moved to Aldershot in 1922. In 1924 he was appointed Head of the British Military Mission to Finland and in 1925 President of Inter-Allied Commission of Investigation for Hungary. Then in 1926 he became Deputy Chief of the General Staff for India moving on to be General Officer Commanding 5^th Division in 1929. In 1933 he was appointed General Officer Commanding-in-Chief for Western Command and in 1936 he became Director-General of the Territorial Army.

He served in the Second World War initially as Inspector-General of Home Defence and then as Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces. In that role he always thought that the threat of a German invasion was exaggerated. He retired in 1940. He was also an Aide-de-Camp General to the King from 1937 to 1940.

Figure 11. General Sir Walter Mervyn St. George Kirke, G.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

See the Wikipedia web site referenced above for sources of the information presented in this Annex.

1. BAKER BROWN, W. The History of the Corps of Royal Engineers. Volume IV. The Institution of Royal Engineers, Chatham, Kent, 1952, pp. 245-262.

[1] Kirke family tree.

[2] Brighton College Register.

[3] London Gazette, 14 July 1868.

[4] Kirke family tree.

[5] GASE, S. A Study of the Locations and Movements of Companies of the Royal Engineers, 2023.

[6] See Wikipedia: Fortifications of Gibraltar.

[7] London Gazette, 29 October 1880. Again it appears that Kirke’s promotion was associated with a vacancy within the Corps officer structure, with Captain W.E. Peck being promoted to Major.

[8] Kirke family tree.

[9] Hart’s Annual Army List, 1884 and 1885.

[10] Hart’s Annual Army List, 1889.

[11] London Gazette, 2 August 1887.

[12] London Gazette, 30 September 1887.

[13] 1891 Census of England and Wales.

[14] Hart’s Army List, 1897. In the British Army at the time officers held both an Army rank (substantive) and a regimental rank (temporary). In most cases the regimental rank was higher than the Army rank and was based on vacancies in the regiment for officers of each grade.

[15] Hart’s Annual Army List, 1897.

[16] BAKER BROWN.

[17] Hart’s Annual Army List, 1899.

[18] Hart’s Annual Army List, 1901.

[20] Hart’s Annual Army List, 1905.

[21] Kirke family tree.

[23] 1928 Probate Calendar, p. 524.