Edmond Herbert Grove-Hills
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Military cartographer
Edmond Herbert Grove-Hills | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 August 1864 |
| Died | 2 October 1922 (aged 58) London, England |
| Occupation |
|
Colonel Edmond Herbert Hills CMG CBE FRS (1 August 1864 – 2 October 1922), surnamed Grove-Hills from 1920-22, was a British military engineer, surveyor and astronomer.[1][2]
He was born on 1 August 1864 at High Head Castle, Cumberland. His parents were Herbert Augustus Hills and Anna Hills (née Grove). Herbert was a judge and Anna was the daughter of the scientist and judge William Robert Grove.[3] Edmond was educated at Winchester College until 1882.[1]
In 1892 he married Juliet Spencer-Bell, the youngest daughter of the politician James Spencer-Bell.[citation needed]
His maternal uncle was Coleridge Grove, a major-general in the army. When Coleridge died in 1920, his will requested that Edmond adopt the surname Grove-Hills, which he did.[3]
He died on 2 October 1922[1] and is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery, London.[citation needed]
Military service
Hills entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich in 1882, where he was an officer cadet for two years.[1] He received a commission as a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 5 July 1884, and was promoted to captain on 1 April 1893.[4]
In 1899 he was transferred to the Royal School of Military Engineering at Chatham, where he taught chemistry and photography.[1] A year later in September 1900, he was appointed deputy assistant adjutant general (DAAG) in the general staff at the War Office.[1] In this role he was responsible for military surveying and cartography.[1]
During the Boer War (1899-1902) in modern South Africa, Hills was responsible for supplying maps for the officers in the field, which required new triangulation surveys.[1] Under his leadership, the military surveys were extended from the base point at the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope across South Africa, up to a latitude of 30 degrees south.[1] He was promoted to major on 25 July 1901.[5]
In 1902, Hills was the secretary of the British tribunal that arbitrated on the disputed border between Chile and Argentina.[1] For this service he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in December 1902.[6]
Hills retired from the army around 1905,[3] but was recalled to active service in 1914 (then aged 50) for the First World War.[1] He was appointed Assistant Chief Engineer of Eastern Command, based in London.[citation needed] He served until the end of the war in 1918, when he retired again, having reached the rank of colonel.[1] He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1919.[1]
Politics
Hills stood in the 1906 United Kingdom general election as a Conservative Party candidate in the Portsmouth constituency.[3] He received 17% of the vote (in a two-member constituency) and was not elected.
