Major-General Sir Frederick Barton Maurice, (19 January 1871 – 19 May 1951) was a British Army officer, military correspondent, writer and academic. During the First World War he was forced to retire from the army in May 1918 after writing a letter to The Times criticizing Prime Minister David Lloyd George for making misleading statements about the strength of British forces on the Western Front. He also later founded the British Legion in 1920, and served as its president from 1932 to 1947. Early life and military career Maurice was born in Dublin, the son of John Maurice, a British Army officer and military historian, and his wife Anne Frances "Annie" FitzGerald. He attended St. Paul's School and Sandhurst before joining the Derbyshire Regiment in 1892. His first overseas posting was to British India in 1897–98, during the Tirah Campaign. During this time, he served as aide-de-camp to his father, Major-General John Frederick Maurice. After a promotion to captain in 1899, Maurice fought with the Sherwood Foresters (Derbyshire Regiment) in the Second Boer War 1899–1901. Before leaving for South Africa, he married Margaret Helen Marsh (1874-1942), the daughter of Frederick Howard Marsh, and the sister of Edward Marsh, in 1899 at St George's, Hanover Square. Maurice was promoted brevet major in November 1900. On returning from South Africa, he entered the Staff College at Camberley in 1902. Later that year, he was posted to the War Office, where he worked under Douglas Haig. His daughter Joan was born in 1903. He was promoted to the substantive rank of major on 19 May 1911, and two years later was promoted to lieutenant colonel and transferred to the Staff College as an instructor in military history under Robertson, then Commandant. First World War On the outbreak of war in 1914, Maurice was posted to France and assigned to 3rd Infantry Division as a staff officer. He saw action at the Battle of Mons in August 1914. In early 1915 Maurice was posted to London as Director of Military Operations for the Imperial General Staff, and in 1916 he was promoted to major general. Maurice worked closely with William Robertson, who was appointed Chief of the Imperial General Staff at the end of 1915, ghostwriting many papers which went out over Robertson's signature. One of Maurice's daughters, Nancy, was the long-term secretary and mistress of Edward Spears, eventually marrying him in 1969 after