Lieutenant-General Charles Warren was a very interesting man in that he was one of the earliest European archaeologists of the Biblical Holy Land, and particularly of the Temple Mount. As a soldier, much of his military service was spent in South Africa. In 1884, commanding the Warren Expedition, he had the distinction of using the first observation balloons by the British Army in the field.
In 1886, after an unsuccessful attempt to enter politics he was appointed Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis. Amongst many cases in which he was involved, the Jack the Ripper case was probably the most notable. In 1889 he resumed his military career.
At the outbreak of the Boer War in 1899, he returned to command the 5th Division of the South African Field Force. In January 1900, Warren bungled the second attempt to relieve Ladysmith, which was a west flanking movement over the Tugela River. At the Battle of Spioenkop, on 23–24 January 1900, he had operational command, and his failures of judgment, delay and indecision despite his superior forces, culminated in the disaster.
Warren was recalled to Britain in August 1900 and never again commanded troops in the field. He died on 21 January 1927.
