James Freeth

Sir James Freeth was Quartermaster-General to the Forces.

Military career

Freeth was commissioned into the 98th Regiment of Foot in 1806. He served in the Peninsular War and in France from 1809 to 1814 and, in 1851, was appointed Quartermaster-General to the Forces. He went on to be Colonel of the 64th Regiment of Foot in 1855.
He was promoted Lieutenant-General in 1858 and full General in 1865.

He married Harriett Holt and together they went on to have six sons and two daughters. Three of his sons became major-generals; his great-grandchild, Francis Arthur Freeth, was a chemist who developed a number of processes in explosives manufacture and a major in the Territorial Army. Another of his great-grandchildren, George Douglas Freeth Junior, renewed interest in surfing in Hawaii at the turn of the twentieth century, helped popularize the sport in California beginning in 1907, and created the foundation of Southern California's lifeguard service.