D.J. Massey and Son

Description

Professor Henry Spenser Wilkinson
Born 1st. May 1853 – Died 31st. January 1937.

“A strong personality, and embodied it in a strenuously diligent life.” – this is a quote from the first paragraph of his obituary written in The Times.
His early years were spent in Manchester, the son of a banker, he left school at 14 and went on to Owens College (University of Manchester), aged 20 he won a postmastership at Merton College, Oxford, and the following year whilst spending his long summer holiday in Germany, a chance discovery of an Austrian pamphlet on the Armies of Europe awoke an interest in things military, which influenced the rest of his life. On returning to Oxford he threw himself in to the study of warfare, and started the Kriegspiel Club.
His profession was to be the Bar, and starting practicing in Manchester in 1880, here he threw himself in to politics and the Volunteer movement in which he was a zealous regimental officer and he was also the founder of the Manchester Tactical Society.
Around this time he also starting working with the Manchester Guardian, and in 1882 he was engaged by the paper to write on the Egyptian campaign, later giving up his practice at the bar he joined the paper as leader writer and special correspondent till 1892. In these times he wrote about the Volunteers and the columns were published as his first book “Citizen Soldiers”.
In 1892, he moved with a young family to London and wrote a series of essays with his friend Sir Charles Dilke on Imperial Defence, this became a series of books and he also wrote for the Morning Post as dramatic critic, and he treasured his memories of a long friendship with Sarah Bernhardt.
In 1909, Oxford University converted a lectureship on military history into a professorship and the original lecturer Sir Foster Cunliffe declined to stand and used all his influence to get Wilkinson elected. The new chair was a reward that Wilkinson felt and appreciated, and he held it till 1923.
The Chesney Medal
The purpose of the award is to mark a lifetime distinguished contribution to international defence and security, to the benefit of the United Kingdom and/or the Western Alliance. Serving politicians are ineligible for the award.
The Chesney Gold Medal was established in 1899 to honour the memory of General Sir George Chesney, with the periodic award to the author of any ‘especially eminent work calculated to advance the military sciences and knowledge.’
It was first awarded in 1900 to Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan USN, arguably the maritime equivalent of Clausewitz, and has been awarded thirty-four times since, including to Winston Churchill in 1950, Baroness Thatcher in 2000.
Professor Henry Spenser Wilkinson was awarded the Chesney Medal in 1936.

All our prices include Insured Post within the UK.