Gerald Robert Poole
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Gerald Robert Poole
|image=
|image_size=
|alt=
|caption=
|nickname=
|birth_date= {{Birth date|1868|01|17|df=yes}}
|birth_place= Clifton, Bristol, England
|death_date= {{Death date and age|1937|10|20|1868|01|17|df=yes}}
|death_place= Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
|placeofburial=
|allegiance= United Kingdom
|branch= Royal Marines
|serviceyears=
|rank= Lieutenant General
|servicenumber=
|unit= Royal Marine Artillery
|commands= 26th Heavy Artillery Battery
Royal Marine Howitzer Brigade
No. 3 (Heavy) Battery
|battles= First World War
|awards= Companion of the Order of the Bath
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Distinguished Service Order
|relations=
|laterwork=
}}
Lieutenant General Gerald Robert Poole, {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100|sep=,|CB|CMG|DSO}} (17 January 1868 – 20 October 1937) was a heavy artillery commander during the First World War with the Royal Marine Artillery and the Royal Garrison Artillery.Obituary in The Times, Lieut.-Gen. Poole, November 4, 1937, p.19{{Cite web|url-access=subscription|url=https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540891.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-215644|title=Poole, Lt-Gen. Gerald Robert, (17 Jan. 1868–20 Oct. 1937), Marine ADC to the King, 1921|website=WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO|year=2007|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U215644|isbn=978-0-19-954089-1}} He was Colonel Commandant of the Royal Marine Artillery between 1921 and 1922, and during this period also served as Marine aide-de-camp to King George V.
Early life
Gerald Poole was born on 17 January 1868 at Clifton.Who was Who Vol. iii 1929–1940, (London, 1967), p. 1090. He was educated at Bedford Modern School where his father, Reverend Canon Robert Burton Poole became headmaster. From school he went to the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and then proceeded to the Royal Marine Artillery as a probationary lieutenant.{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/557698898|title=A register of the old boys of the Bedford Modern School. Compiled and edited by H.E. Vipan ... Together with a few chapters on its history and institutions.|first=England), VIPAN, Herbert Edwin|last=Bedford Modern School (Bedford|date=21 April 1901|publisher=W.J. Robinson|page=97|oclc=557698898|via=Open WorldCat}}
Early career
Poole served as a gunnery officer on-board a number of Royal Navy ships including; HMS Imperious (Mediterranean and Vancouver Island 1894–99), HMS Irresistible (Mediterranean 1902–04), HMS Victory (Scapa Flow, 1912) and HMS Inflexible (Mediterranean 1912–14). He was promoted to captain in 1896 and major in 1908. From 1906–12 he was seconded to the Canadian Government as a gunnery instructor and commanded No. 3 (Heavy) Battery of the Royal Canadian Artillery.J. Bosher, Imperial Vancouver Island, 1850–1950, (Xlibris Corporation, 2010), pp. 588–89.{{Self-published inline|certain=yes|date=January 2018}}
First World War
In 1915 Poole was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed Commander of the Royal Marine Howitzer Brigade in France. From May 1916 he took command of the 26th Heavy Artillery Battery of the Royal Garrison Artillery although he maintained administrative command of the Royal Marine Brigade for the duration of the war.[http://www.net/siege-battery-index.htm]{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} On occasions he would incorporate the Marine howitzers within the RGA battery, for example at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917.Battle of Vimy Ridge order of battle He was mentioned three times in the Despatches of the Commander in Chief of the British Expeditionary Force, was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1917 and awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1918.Who was Who
Later career
Poole was appointed Colonel Commandant of the Royal Marine Artillery at Eastney in 1921, and ADC to the King in the same year. He was promoted to major general in 1922 and also appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath. He was made lieutenant general in 1924 and retired in 1925.
Personal life
On retirement Poole settled on Vancouver with his Canadian wife Gertrude; they had one son and one daughter. Poole was a keen musician and had served as Superintendent of the Royal Navy School of Music. He was also a fine horseman and became a proficient backwoodsman during his time in Canada. Gerald Poole died on 20 October 1937 in Vancouver.Bosher, Vancouver Island
References
{{Reflist}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poole, Gerald}}
Category:People educated at Bedford Modern School
Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath
Category:Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
Category:Royal Marines generals of World War I
Category:Royal Marines lieutenant generals
Category:Royal Garrison Artillery officers
Category:Military personnel from Bristol