George Tomkyns Chesney
Sir George Tomkyns Chesney (1830-1895) was a British soldier and writer, born in Tiverton, Devon. Initially expected to pursue a medical career, he instead joined the East India Company’s military college at the age of seventeen. Chesney's military career included significant participation in the Burmese War and the Indian Mutiny of 1857, during which he became acutely aware of the logistical challenges facing British forces, particularly regarding supply shortages. He advocated for military reform, emphasizing the importance of informed planning over bureaucratic convenience.
Chesney is perhaps best known for his 1871 speculative fiction work, "The Battle of Dorking," which depicted a hypothetical German invasion, critiquing Britain’s reliance on volunteer forces. His literary contributions also included several other fictional works, alongside his political efforts advocating military reform, which culminated in his election to Parliament in 1892. Chesney passed away in 1895, leaving a legacy that included a gold medal established in his honor by the Royal United Service Institution. His life reflects a blend of military service, political activism, and literary talent, making him a notable figure in British history.
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Subject Terms
George Tomkyns Chesney
Writer
- Born: April 30, 1830
- Birthplace: Tiverton, Devonshire, England
- Died: March 31, 1895
Biography
Sir George Tomkyns Chesney was born on April 30, 1830, at Tiverton, Devon, England. He was the brother of British soldier Charles Cornwallis Chesney. George attended Blundell’s school in Tiverton, with the expectation that he would become a medical doctor. However, he was able to obtain a cadetship in India at the age of seventeen and was subsequently admitted into the East India Company’s military college for gunner and engineer officers, located at Addiscombe.
On December 8, 1848, Chesney became a second lieutenant in his father’s old regiment. He would enjoy a long career of steadily increasing responsibility and the favor of his superiors. The climax of his career was his role in the Burmese War and the Indian Mutiny of 1857, which led him to seriously consider the problems and necessity of military reform. In particular, he was concerned that planning done at the convenience of London bureaucrats with little understanding of the actual situation at the sharp end was leading to logistical failures, particularly the recurring shortages of vital supplies such as food and ammunition, resulting in unnecessary casualties and low morale.
In 1867, Chesney returned to England on leave and began to publish his ideas in the study Indian Polity: A View of the System of Administration in India (1868). He also founded the Royal Indian Civil Engineering College, which was supposed to provide educated men for the service in India. In 1871 he wrote his first work of fiction, The Battle of Dorking, a speculative story about a future German invasion. The story was noteworthy in being told retrospectively by survivors of the ill- equipped force sent to counter the invasion after fifty years under the German heel. Chesney’s purpose in writing the work was not merely entertainment, but to point out the problem of Britain’s historic reliance on hastily summoned volunteers for defense, as compared to the professional armies fielded by Germany and other nations, not to mention the consequences of the loss of traditional English liberties.
Following the story’s success, Chesney published a number of other works of fiction, including the semi-autobiographical The Dilemma and The New Ordeal (1875). During that time, he continued to lobby politically for military reform, and in 1892 he was elected to Parliament as the Conservative member from Oxford. He was just beginning to impress his fellow members of Parliament with his ability and make possible his hoped-for program of reforms when he suddenly died of angina pectoris on March 31, 1895. He was survived by his wife and their four sons and three daughters. A gold medal was founded in his honor by the Royal United Service Instituation in May 1900.