Wilfred Malleson was a member of our Intelligence Services and did valuable work before and during the First World War in India, Persia, and Transcaspia.  

He was born in Yorkshire the son of Edward Malleson, vicar of Baldersby, and Lucy his wife (1).  He was educated in Wimbledon and at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich.  He joined the Royal Artillery in 1886 and was a lieutenant in 4th Brigade Field Artillery stationed at Ferozapore in India in 1888 (2).  There was a family precedent for service in India because his uncle George Bruce Malleson (1825-1898) was in the Bengal Army and became a Major General in 1877.  

Wilfred transferred to the Indian Army in 1904 when he became Head of the Intelligence Branch on Lord Kitchener’s staff at the Indian Army Headquarters with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and stayed in that post until 1910, then served on the General Staff until 1914.  He accompanied Sir Louis Dane on a mission to Kabul during parts of 1904 and 1905.  He had a great knowledge of conditions in Afghanistan and later in Persia, and studied communications throughout the Middle Asian area. 

During WWI Brigadier General Malleson initially went as Inspector-General Communications British East Africa in 1914 but then moved to command the Second Division sent to Africa to confront the Germans in their West Africa Colony (present day Namibia & Botswana).  Malleson had seen very little field service and his command of the Battle of Salaita Hill in February 1915 was not a success, partly because he was misinformed about the size of the opposing force and its artillery.  

A second battle at Latema-Reata Hill followed on March 11th and the British were repulsed again, this time because the plan of attack did not suit the bush terrain. His lack of field experience was obviously a source of concern to his staff as evidenced by one incident in 1915 recorded by Colonel Meinertzhagen in his diary (3) which reads:  

“[General W.] Malleson [brigade commander, East Africa] is beside himself with rage. He has received a postcard, purporting to come from von Lettow [Commander, German forces] and with a very good imitation of his signature, simply saying: "Thank you."  Some young officer has a keen insight and though it betrays a lamentable lack of discipline, it displays a marked sense of humour. The card in question has been sent to me and I am supposed to find out who sent it. I shall take no action beyond posting the card above my desk.”

Malleson later became ill and was replaced by Brigadier General Tighe.  

Malleson then returned to intelligence activities and from 16 July 1918 to 5 April 1919 he led the British Military Mission to Turkestan, whose initial aim was to stop any possible German-Turkish invasion towards Afghanistan and India. 

In August a machine gun detachment of Punjabi troops under a British Officer was sent to confront the Bolshevicks near Merv in western Turkestan, the first confrontation between Russian and British forces since the Crimean War (4). However the British were reluctant to get involved directly in the Russian Civil War (5).  Malleson did however establish bases in the northern Khorasan Province of Persia that later supported the anti-Bolshevik White Russians (6). 

A further insight into Malleson’s character is afforded by comments made by Colonel Ellis (7). He wrote: 

“In an atmosphere such as this it could hardly be expected that General Malleson, with his "hard-boiled" temperament, would evince any sentimental preferences for one group or another.  His attitude was determined by the task he had undertaken, and by his training as an Indian army officer to get on with his job with very little regard for the teeming life going on around him… It is doubtful that General Malleson… found anything of interest or worthy of special sympathy in Transcaspia, unless it was the beautiful Tekke carpets, a number of which he bought or received as gifts”.  

Malleson took part in the 3rd Anglo-Afghan War in 1919. He was involved in military intelligence and at the same time ran a spy network against the Russians from Mashhad in north-east Persia.  He became a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1920, and retired that year.  

Malleson married Ida K King in Bengal in 1894, and they had a son Wilfred St. Aubyn born on 17th September 1896 at Kirkee.  He was at the Royal Naval College in 1911 before joining the navy as a midshipman.  

He won the Victoria Cross on 25 April 1915 during the landing at V Beach, Cape Helles, Gallipoli, Turkey.  Midshipman Malleson and three others from HMS River Clyde assisted the commander of the ship at the work of securing the lighters under very heavy rifle and Maxim fire.  When the other midshipman with the party had failed, through sheer exhaustion to get a line from lighter to lighter, Midshipman Malleson swam with it himself and succeeded.  The line subsequently broke and he afterwards made two further unsuccessful attempts (8).  He later achieved the rank of captain and served in WW2. He died at St Clement in Cornwall. 

Malleson had a second son, Claud Vivian Stanhope Malleson, who was born in Cherat, North West Frontier, India in 1912.  He also joined the navy and was mentioned in dispatches in 1941 when on exchange duty with the Royal Australian Navy during WW2 for good service at the evacuation of Berbera in British Somaliland (9).  

After the war in 1953, Lt. Cdr. C.V.S. Malleson was in command at the Royal Naval Air Station at Takali in Malta (H.M.S. Goldfinch).  When he retired from the navy Vivian Malleson (as he preferred to be called) became an English/Geography teacher at Clare School in East Coker. 

Sir Wilfred Malleson KCIE, CB, retired to live in Budleigh Salterton (10); however he ended his days in a nursing home called El Retiro in Torquay, dying in January 1946.  At some stage Malleson’s first wife must have died because his widow was Dame Mabel Pedder Malleson and she died in Somerset in 1969.  

Where the Mallesons lived in Budleigh Salterton is a mystery as he doesn’t feature in any of the Directories but according to a file at the Fairlynch Museum (10) Mr Gater seemed to remember it was in the Coastguard Road area. The file also says that he and his son Vivian were keen members of the East Devon Golf Club. 

Compiled and Researched by Roger Lendon, © 2010 

(1)FamilySearch.org

(2)Hart’s Army List

(3)Regimentalrogue.com

(4)Wikipedia

(5)Fighting a small war during the Great War: British strategic planning and operations in Central Asia 1917-19. F. Doloto. www.smallwarsjournal.com

(6)www.scribd.com

(7)At the southern outskirts of Russia. www.argo.net.au/andre/ellisENFIN.htm

(8)Wonderful Stories. Winning the V.C. in the Great War   E. P. BUTTON AND COMPANY , 681 FIFTH AVENUE , NEW YORK

(9)The Argus (Melbourne, Victoria) Thursday 13 March 1941

(10)“Who was Who in Budleigh Salterton”. File in Local History Room, Fairlynch Museum.

94 BS-B-00028 Biography any