Charles à Court Repington - Biography

Biography

Charles Repington was born at Heytesbury, Wiltshire in 1858, where his father was a Conservative Party Member of Parliament. His family name was à Court; in his memoirs, Repington wrote: "The à Courts are Wiltshire folk, and in old days represented Heytesbury in Parliament... The name of Repington, under the terms of an old will, was assumed by all the à Courts in turn as they succeeded to the Amington Hall Estate, and I followed the rule when my father died in 1903." His wealthy upper-class background may well have contributed to the confidence with which he later criticised senior generals and politicians.

Educated at Eton and Sandhurst, his military career began with service in the Rifle Brigade of the British Army in 1878. After serving in Afghanistan, Burma, and Sudan, he entered the Staff College at Camberley, where he was a brilliant student and where his classmates included Herbert Plumer and Horace Smith-Dorrien. On graduation, he served as a military attaché in Brussels and the Hague, following which he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel. He served as a staff officer during the Second Boer War in South Africa 1899-1901, and was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for his services during the operations. What appeared to be a promising career was cut short during a posting to Egypt in 1902.