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You are here: Home / Learning Zone / The Story of Jimmy Durham / Glossary / Medals / General Sir Henry de Beauvoir de Lisle K.C.B., K.C.M.G., D.S.O.

General Sir Henry de Beauvoir de Lisle K.C.B., K.C.M.G., D.S.O.

General Sir Henry de Beauvoir de Lisle K.C.B., K.C.M.G., D.S.O.

Henry de Lisle was born in July 1864 and served in the The 2nd Battalion The Durham Light Infantry. At the time of The Finding of Jimmy Durham, he was Lieutenant; by 1896, when he reminisced on his experiences to colleagues, he was Captain; he became Major General in 1915 and Lieutenant General in 1918.

De Lisle was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for gallantry for his service in Egypt in 1885 – 1886. He died on 16 July 1955.

De Lisle was a great polo player, a member of many successful teams for the 2nd Battalion.

In the photograph (below, left), we see De Lisle as a member of the winning Inter-Regimental Polo Tournament team for 1896 and 1897, when the 2nd Battalion was stationed in India. ‘Snow’ (below, right) was one of Henry de Lisle’s best polo ponies and helped him to win the Inter-Regimental Polo Tournament.

 

Polo team, 1896/7 (D/DLI 2/2/169) - Copyright © Durham County Record Office.
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Polo book, 1894-1955 (D/DLI 2/2/112, p.4) - Copyright © Durham County Record Office
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This signed photograph (below, left) of Lieutenant General de Beauvoir de Lisle was used in his 1939 book, ‘Reminiscences of Sport and War’. De Lisle’s medals (below, right) are in the Durham Light Infantry Medal Collection.

 

Lieutenant-General de Lisle (D/DLI 2/1/269)
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Lieutenant-General De Lisle's medals
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