Sir Percy Molesworth Sykes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Percy Molesworth Sykes |
| Born | 28 February 1867 |
| Died | 11 June 1945 (1945-06-12) (aged 78) |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Indian Army |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Unit | 16th Lancers,2nd Dragoon Guards (Queens Bays),South Persia Rifles (commander-in-chief overall) |
| Commands | Consul-General Khuzestan, |
| Battles / wars | Second Boer War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George |
Brigadier-GeneralSir Percy Molesworth Sykes,KCIE, CB, CMG, FRGS (28 February 1867 – 11 June 1945) was a British soldier, diplomat, and scholar with a considerable literary output. He wrote historical, geographical, and biographical works, as well as describing his travels inPersia andCentral Asia.
Percy Sykes was born inBrompton, Kent,England the only son of Army chaplain Rev. William Sykes (b. 1829)[1] and his wife Mary, daughter of Captain Anthony Oliver Molesworth, of theRoyal Artillery, descended fromRobert Molesworth, 1stViscount Molesworth.[2][3] His sistersElla Sykes andEthel Sykes were both writers.[4] His father, William was the second son of Richard Sykes, of Edgeley House,Stockport, owner of theSykes Bleaching Company; Percy Sykes was thus the nephew ofRichard Sykes therugby player who founded towns in America, and cousin ofSir Alan Sykes, 1st Baronet who was MP forKnutsford,Cheshire.[5][1]
He was educated atRugby School and theRoyal Military College, Sandhurst.[6]
Sykes was commissioned into the16th Lancers, but transferred to the2nd Dragoon Guards in 1888.[7] He was posted toIndia and made several journeys through Persia andBaluchistan. When he was a second lieutenant, he was elected a Fellow of theRoyal Geographical Society in November 1891.[8] He was sent on a secret mission in November 1892 when he went toUzbekistan on theTrans-Caspian Railway.[6] Promotion tolieutenant followed on 26 April 1895, and tocaptain on 8 December 1897. He was Consul atKerman in Persia for several years in the 1890s. During theSecond Boer War in South Africa he served as second in command of the 9th Battalion,Imperial Yeomanry until September 1901.[9] He later served with the Intelligence Department[10] and was wounded in the leg.[11] He was appointed a Companion of theOrder of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the1902 Coronation Honours list on 26 June 1902[12][13] In late 1902 he joined the Indian Political Department, and transferred to theIndian Army.[14] Over the next few years he made extensive journeys in the Middle East and was appointed consul-general forKhūzestān in 1906.
In 1915 Sykes was knighted.[11] In March 1915 he was charged as acting Consul-General in Chinese Turkestan, nowXinjiang, in theUyghur Autonomous Region of China. Sykes traveled overland from England via Norway to the capital city ofKashgar accompanied by his sister,Ella Constance Sykes, herself a Fellow of the Geographical Society and a well-regarded expert on Persia. The two recorded their journey in series of photographs[1] and later publishedThrough deserts and oases of Central Asia,[15] a book which documents their nine-month journey.
While stationed in Persia he was given the temporary rank ofBrigadier-General, he was placed in command of theSouth Persia Rifles that he raised himself.[16] His forces, consisting of some 7,000 men, supported the Russians atIsfahan against Bakhtiaras and restored some order to the country. Once stationed at Isfahan, Sykes used numerous excuses to remain, including a supposed Russian request that the South Persia rifles be used as a garrison for Isfahan.[16] By 1917 numerous British authorities, save Lord Curzon, were calling for his removal. Despite this, Sykes was finally recalled in 1918.[16]
Sykes retired from the army in 1924, retaining the honorary rank of Brigadier-General. From 1932 until his death he was honorary secretary of the Royal Central Asian Society, now known as theRoyal Society for Asian Affairs. The society has in its gift an award called The Sir Percy Sykes Memorial Medal.[17]
TheRoyal Geographical Society awarded him theBack grant in 1899 and thePatron's Medal in 1902.[18]
In 1902 he married Evelyn Seton, eldest daughter ofColonel Bruce Seton of theRoyal Engineers and they had six children. His daughter Rachel marriedSir Patrick Reilly the diplomat.
Percy's family later introduced the "Sykes medal", awarded to those who contributed to the understanding ofPersia andCentral Asia.[19]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Media related toPercy Sykes at Wikimedia Commons
