Charles Townshend

Major General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend, (21 February 1861 – 18 May 1924) was a British soldier who during the First World War led an overreaching military campaign in Mesopotamia. His troops were besieged and captured at the Siege of Kut (December 1915 - April 1916), which was possibly the worst defeat suffered by the Allies. Controversially and in contrast to the miserable captivity endured by his men, Townshend was held on Prinkipo, where he was treated like an esteemed guest until his release in October 1918. He was briefly a Conservative Member of Parliament from 1920 to 1922. Early life Born in Great Union Street, Southwark, London, Townshend grew up in a prominent family, the son of a railway clerk, Charles Thornton Townshend (1840–1889), and Louise Graham, a Melbourne native who brought no dowry. He was the great-great-grandson of Field Marshal George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend. His paternal grandfather, Rev. George Osborne Townshend (1801–1876), was the son of politician Lord John Townshend, the second son of the first marquess.