Who's Who - Charles Harington
General Charles 'Tim' Harington (1872-1940)
served as Herbert
Plumer's capable Chief of Staff while the latter commanded the British
Second Army, most notably at
Messines.
A renowned officer, Harington served out the entirety of the war in various staff positions. He was attached to Plumer's Second Army from June 1916 until April 1918.
Although Plumer is generally credited with the meticulous care and attention paid to the preparation of Second Army assaults, much of the work was in fact overseen by Harington.
Popular with the press corps as much as with his chiefs for the clarity of his briefings, Harington saw out the remainder of the war as Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff to Sir Henry Wilson.
Harington's post-war career also saw high-drama. His delicate, subtle handling of the Chanak Crisis in 1922, where his fine political judgement was amply displayed, is widely credited with avoiding war between Britain and Turkey.
Harington published two works; firstly in 1935 a fond biography of Lord Plumer, with whom he remained on good terms, Plumer of Messines. He attended with Plumer the emotional opening of the Menin Gate in Ypres in July 1927. Five years later, in 1940, he published his own memoirs, Tim Harington Looks Back, notable chiefly for its discretion. He died the same year.
A bunker comprised a fortification largely built below ground level.
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