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608:, the first commander of the Heavy Branch. Although tanks had first been introduced on the Somme the year before, their design and manufacture were both inadequate and the tactics of their deployment almost non-existent. Capper's job at the Tank Corps was to shape the organisation of the unit into an efficient battlefield force, improve mechanical reliability and develop effective tactics. It was in this role that Capper was given the nickname
115:
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That Autumn the government conducted a formal inquiry into military aviation. Capper had to return early from Blair Atholl in order to present his evidence. He argued strongly for a promising future of all forms of aeronautics and especially the aeroplane. However his Army superiors on the committee
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in
Britain. He helped establish and command several military training establishments in Britain, was involved in large-scale military planning during 1918 and 1919 and was pivotal in establishing the tank as an important feature of the British Army. Although Capper was sometimes described as pompous
589:. The division also spent extensive periods of time in other sections of the line and gained extensive battle experience at the cost of high casualties. As a reward for his service in command of the division, he was presented with the Commander's Cross of the
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When Dunne left
Farnborough, Capper was one of several friends who offered support for his efforts. In 1911, one of Dunne's new aeroplanes was exhibited at the Olympia Aero Show, with a placard stating it was "Built to the order of Col. J. E. Capper, R.E."
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Capper not only supervised the
British Army's ballooning and airship activities, but took a wider interest in aeronautics. In anticipation of the new airship, he took up the civilian sport of ballooning, flying in competitions initially as assistant to the
620:): his subordinates' prejudices were based on Capper's rigid adherence to the military hierarchy and his consequent failure to communicate his ideas to those below his rank. For his services as Director General of the Tank Corps, Capper was made a
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in
Scotland in 1907. The flight had lasted only a few seconds when the glider crashed into a wall, with Capper sustaining a cut to the head. The next year, Cody flew the first British-built aeroplane at Farnborough, which earned it the title
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with Capper as its
Commandant. At about the same time the Balloon Factory was split off and moved to a new site nearby at Farnborough and, on Templer's retirement, Capper also became its Superintendent and was given the brevet rank of full
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were against aeronautics in any form. It was decided that only small-scale airship experiments should continue and that aeroplane work should be stopped. It formally ceased when Dunne and Cody's contracts ran out at the end of March 1909.
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and remained on duty with the unit until 1943. Post-War he retired fully to
Bramdean House and remained there until shortly before his death. He was widowed in 1953 and died at Esperance Nursing Home in
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353:, Capper became deputy assistant director of railways, a vital job given the lengthy and dangerous supply routes along which the war was fought. In 1900, he received the
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for most of the first 17 years of his career, principally employed on military and public construction projects. He performed well in this position, being promoted to
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and possessing poor communication skills, earning the nickname "Stone Age" for his attitude towards the ideas of junior officers in the Royal Tank Corps (later the
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648:. Retiring in 1925, Capper remained associated with the Tank Corps and also became a governor of Wellington College, associations he retained until 1946.
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on the North-West
Frontier of British India. One of his tasks there was to supervise the construction of the first road for wheeled vehicles across the
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and took over command of the island's military installations. He held the post for five years and during that time was made
Colonel-Commandant of the
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365:. He returned to England in June 1902, following the end of hostilities the previous month, and on 22 August 1902 was appointed a Companion of the
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to civil servant
William Copeland Capper and his wife Sarah in December 1861. Returning to England at an early age for education, Capper attended
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An experienced engineer, Capper was involved in numerous building projects during his years in India and pioneered the development of
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in May 1955, leaving a daughter. In 1971, his collected papers, and those of his brother
Thompson, who had been an instructor at the
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in England until May 1919, when he took over command of Number 1 Area in France and Flanders. In September 1919, Capper became
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and later with his own balloon "Pegasus" and his wife as assistant. These included the man-lifting "war kites" developed by
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Beausire) and their son John Beausire Copeland Capper returned to England. Arriving in South Africa at the outbreak of the
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398:. Templer was retained at the factory under Capper to complete the development of Britain's first military airship, the
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286:), he nevertheless played a vital role in the development and deployment of armoured vehicles in the British Army.
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581:. Capper remained in command of the division for the next 18 months, including periods of heavy fighting at the
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Soon afterwards the Balloon Factory was removed from the command of the Army and a new civilian superintendent,
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training centre and from 28 July hold the position of Director-General of the newly formed Tank Corps at the
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Capper remained at Chatham until September 1914 when the lack of experienced officers forced his transfer to
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Second Lieutenant John Beausire Copeland Capper is buried in Flatiron Copse Cemetery at
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and commanded several locally raised units, eventually becoming the commandant at
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Capper and Cody undertook the first successful flight of a British airship, the
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and became involved in protracted but ultimately futile negotiations for the
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as a lieutenant. A capable engineering officer, Capper served in India and
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as "second to none the second", and a smaller experimental airship called
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during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century who served on the
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604:. Operational command of tanks at the frontlines was in the hands of
569:. In October, following the deaths of several senior officers at the
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Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London
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would later be modified and have a long and successful career.
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In May 1917, he was recalled to England, initially to run the
585:, in which his son John was killed in action serving with the
337:. At the campaign's successful conclusion, he was promoted to
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In 1897, Capper was attached to the force dispatched to the
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at Chatham, before subsequently being commissioned into the
242:(7 December 1861 − 24 May 1955) was a senior officer of the
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In July 1918, Capper left the War Office and commanded the
59:
experiments with the British Army Aeroplane, February 1909.
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In 1903 he settled with his family at Bramdean House in
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Post created by separating the School from the Factory
1049:"Royal Engineers Museum History Section - Aeronautics"
899:"Casualty Details: Capper, John Beausire Copeland"
262:, where he was instrumental in the development of the
1067:, two volumes, Macdonald (Vol. I 1971, Vol. 2 1974).
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Royal Engineers Museum History Section - Aeronautics
759:"The Army in South Africa - Troops returning home".
404:("second to none") in a purpose-built airship shed.
369:(CB) in the October 1902 South Africa Honours list.
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HE HATH TURNED THE SHADOW OF DEATH INTO THE MORNING
763:. No. 36790. London. 10 June 1902. p. 14.
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747:The Birth of Military Aviation: Britain, 1903-1914
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518:In 1910 Capper was transferred to command of the
1283:People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire
1263:British military personnel of the Tirah campaign
713:, Retrieved 11 August 2007 (subscription needed)
675:where they are still available to researchers.
1273:Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
526:, marking the end of his aeronautical career.
1243:British Army personnel of the Second Boer War
1037:"Capper, Maj Gen Sir John Edward (1861-1955)"
646:Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
476:. Neither was an immediate success, although
215:Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
8:
871:"Casualty Details: Capper, Sir Thompson"
577:, he was promoted to overall command of the
266:. He was the older brother of Major-General
30:For the English author and Orientalist, see
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1268:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
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952:(Supplement). 4 June 1917. p. 5454.
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932:(Supplement). 1 May 1917. p. 4155.
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835:"The Dunne 'Auto-Safety' monoplane",
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1248:British Army generals of World War I
520:Royal School of Military Engineering
1303:Military personnel of British India
1278:Commanders of the Legion of Honour
1053:Royal Engineers Museum and Library
903:Commonwealth War Graves Commission
875:Commonwealth War Graves Commission
823:Royal Engineers Museum and Library
561:. In July 1915 he was promoted to
500:achieved no more than a few hops.
270:, who was killed in action at the
25:
644:. On 11 July 1921, he was made a
575:Major-General Sir Thompson Capper
783:. 31 October 1902. p. 6897.
308:Royal Military Academy, Woolwich
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1298:Military personnel from Lucknow
1203:Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey
1122:Commander of the Balloon School
638:Lieutenant-Governor of Guernsey
565:and made chief engineer of the
27:British First World War general
732:. 3 August 1880. p. 4258.
312:School of Military Engineering
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1065:Early Aviation at Farnborough
972:. 19 July 1921. p. 5724.
538:Major-General Sir John Capper
290:India, Burma and South Africa
859:. 1 June 1915. p. 5214.
460:when flown by Capper in 1909
1293:British Army major generals
1258:British Home Guard officers
546:in the early months of the
494:British Army Aeroplane No.1
345:while his wife Edith Mary (
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989:, Retrieved 11 August 2007
825:, Retrieved 11 August 2007
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55:Colonel Capper watching
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92:24 May 1955 (aged 93)
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425:Samuel Franklin Cody
391:School of Ballooning
32:John Capper (editor)
1188:Government offices
583:Battle of the Somme
341:and transferred to
284:Royal Tank Regiment
248:North-West Frontier
1207:1920 – 1925
1059:on 9 January 2007.
969:The London Gazette
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1227:Categories
1156:Louis Bols
1150:1915−1917
1126:1909−1910
1098:1906−1909
1018:References
908:29 January
880:29 January
665:Eastbourne
660:Home Guard
628:Retirement
606:Hugh Elles
602:War Office
437:War Office
109:Allegiance
95:Eastbourne
1140:New title
1112:New title
761:The Times
657:Hampshire
618:Plan 1919
610:Stone Age
450:in 1907.
414:in flight
383:Aldershot
379:Alresford
326:in 1889.
150:1880−1946
57:Mr Cody's
815:Archived
357:rank of
279:airships
221:(France)
175:Commands
127:Service/
524:Chatham
446:, over
396:colonel
324:captain
296:Lucknow
103:England
79:Lucknow
1005:Mametz
837:Flight
544:France
448:London
355:brevet
207:Awards
138:
129:branch
118:
679:Notes
553:As a
470:Punch
339:major
320:Burma
300:India
254:, in
237:
910:2018
882:2018
478:Baby
474:Baby
458:Baby
264:tank
239:KCVO
165:Unit
155:Rank
89:Died
73:Born
522:at
498:D.4
485:D.1
347:née
250:of
235:KCB
1229::
1051:.
1039:.
1027:.
985:,
966:.
946:.
926:.
901:.
890:^
873:.
853:.
821:,
789:^
777:.
738:^
726:.
709:,
687:^
624:.
550:.
298:,
101:,
97:,
81:,
1043:.
1031:.
1011:.
912:.
884:.
34:.
20:)
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