Forbes is known as the Father of the California Cadet Corps. He also had the reputation of being a crack shot. As captain of the Marysville company in 1895, he broke the world record for target shooting in competition with 50 men.

As Charles Burn, he served in the 8th Hussars and the 1st Dragoons, before he was transferred to the 3rd (Militia) Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders in 1899. He was seconded for service with the Imperial Yeomanry in South Africa in 1900. After the outbreak of the Second Boer War, he was in command of a Battalion. He later commanded the Westminster Dragoons.

Forbes served in the 7th Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers. He died on 21 July 1915 at the Western Front. He received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).

The Earl He served with the 1st Battalion in the Second Boer War in South Africa from 1899 to 1902. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1901 and promoted to captain in 1905. In 1908 he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel in the Post Office Rifles. In 1907 he was admitted to the Privy Council [and appointed Master of the Horse which he retained until 1915. Granard served as Vice-Admiral of Connaught, Lord Lieutenant of Longford, and he was made a Knight of the Order of St Patrick in 1909.

In 1905, at the age of 22, Forbes joined the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards, later becoming adjutant of the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards and then Regimental Adjutant. He was posted to the staff of Headquarters London District before joining the staff of XIV Corps in France. After recoverng from an illness in 1917, he was given command of the Reserve Battalion Grenadier Guards till 1919, when he resigned his commission with the rank of Major.

Forbes served in the 106th Regiment of the pre-war militia. As captain, he transferred to the 15th Battalion in 1908. He was wounded in action at Observatory Ridge in 1916 and Arras in 1918. He was awarded a DSO in 1917 for leadership in the field. Following the war, he returned to Manitoba and was appointed Demobilization Officer for Manitoba and Western Ontario. He is commemorated by Forbes Road in Winnipeg.

He was the recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry.

Forbes enlisted at Calgary, Canada, on November 16, 1914, and was killed in France on April 9, 1917.

James Forbes of Doune, Perthshire, Scotland, was missing in action and a prisoner of war. After the war he returned to being a carpenter in Doune. He also played outside right on Scotland's junior football (soccer) team. (Submitted by David Forbes.)

Forbes served in the First World War as Executive Officer on HMS Queen Elizabeth; Flag Commander on HMS Iron Duke; Flag Commander on HMS Revenge; and Commander of HMS Galatea. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1916. In World War II, Forbes served as Commander-in-Chief Home Fleet. He was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet in 1940 and advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. His portrait is in the Britannia Royal Naval College.

Forbes graduated from the Royal Military College (RMC) in 1911 and in 1914 he was appointed as a lieutenant with the 6th Battery, 2nd Field Artillery Brigade. He served in Gallipoli until being evacuated in July 1915 suffering from dysentery. In Egypt he was promoted to the rank of captain and transferred to command the 102nd Battery of the 21st Howitzer Brigade. He earned him the Military Cross in 1916. Forbes was promoted to Major in January 1917 and was deployed with the 1st Division Headquarters and the 5th Division Headquarters. Forbes returned to the RMC as Adjutant from 1921 to 1922.

Forbes enlisted with the 9th Regiment Canadian Mounted Rifles in Saskatchewan in 1915, He was served in England and, in 1916, he transferred to the 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles in France. At the Battle of Mount Sorrel (June 2 -13 1916), Forbes was reported missing in action. Wounded and buried by a shell explosion in the field, he was taken a prisoner of war. Forbes was part of a prisoner exchange in September, 1917. He arrived back in Canada on October 25, 1917. He died on December 11, 1940.

Dame Katherine Jane Trefusis Forbes, Lady Watson-Watt, DBE (1899 –1971) became the first director of the British Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) in 1939.

Overseas assignments: World War I, France and Germany. (Pictured on the left. Great Grandfather of Society Member Leslie Furbish.)

World War I (Grandfather of Society Member Ann Forbes)

As a pilot, Ogilvie-Forbes and another man flew for the first time between Canada and Mexico, creating a new mail route. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Forbes in 1922 and was later appointed to oversee Canadian test flights in 1929. Ogilvie-Forbes transferred to the 13th Squadron in 1933 and was promoted to Squadron Leader in 1936. Ogilvie-Forbes headed the training of the Iraqi Air Force in 1939 and was promoted to Wing Commander that year. King Faisal II presented him with the Rafidian Order of the Two Rivers, the highest Iraqi commendation. In 1945 he was appointed acting Air Commodore and assumed the position as the Air Attache to Brussels, Belgium. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire, Officer, in 1946 and promoted to Air Commodore in 1947.

Forbes commanded the 66 Squadron. He was awarded the DFC in 1940 and the VM in 1940 for his services with 303 Squadron. He authored the book "Ten Fighter Boys" about his experiences as a pilot. He was awarded the OBE in 1944. His portrait is included in the Battl of Britain London Monument.

Forbes was commissioned In 1938 in the Grenadier Guards, serving in the 3rd Battalion in Northwest Europe till wounded in 1940. In 1941, he became Adjutant of the Training Battalion, and later the Holding Battalion, Grenadier Guards. In 1942 he was appointed Adjutant of the 6th Battalion Grenadier Guards, which was sent to the Middle East to join the 8th Army, and served with that Battalion till the end of the North African Campaign, after which he was on the staff of Headquarters XXX Corps for the invasion and capture of Sicily. In 1944, he joined the staff of Headquarters 5th Guards Armoured Brigade, taking part in the invasion of Northern France, later serving in the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards till the end of the war in Europe. After the war, he attended the Staff College prior to going to Palestine as Military Assistant to the High Commissioner for Palestine.

Enlisting with the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada in June 1940, Forbes gained promotion to warrant officer rank while in England. He had been overseas since July, 1941. Previously reported to missing in action in France, CSM Forbes was reportd as killed in action in Normandy.

Forbes was attached to the 103 Squadron and is buried in the Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery in Poland.

Pilot Thomas Forbes lost his life on July 3, 1943, flying the Lancaster LM328 GZ-F2 with the 12th Squadron.

Forbes was attached to the 425 Squadron and died on March 3, 1943. He is buried in the Hamberg Cemetery in Germany.

(Uncle of Society Member Bart Forbes)

307th Composite Unit, popularly known as “Merrill’s Marauders,” Burma, World War II. (Uncle of Society Member Bart Forbes)

Forbes is buried in Yvelines, France.

Forbes was the son of William and Margaret Elizabeth Forbes, of Greenlaw, Berwickshire, Scotland. He emigrated to Australia, enlisted with the 2nd AIF and was killed at El Alamein, Egypt, in 1942. Forbes is commemorated on the Roll of Honour in Sydney NSW, also his name is located at panel 37 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial. He is recognised as one of the "Rats of Tobruk" (Submitted by Mary Forbes Mead)

(Father of Society Member Bart Forbes)

Sir Jean-Charles "Charly" Forbes , RMWO , MID , CD, was a lieutenant and acting as commander of a mortar platoon when he participated in the Normandy landings inJune 1944 with the Maisonneuve Regiment by landing at Courseulles-sur-Mer. He participated in the liberation of Holland and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of William , the highest honor in the Netherlands , by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands in person. After World War II, Forbes joined Les Fusiliers du Saint-Laurent , then the 1st Battalion, Royal 22 Régiment (R22 e R) and in 1950, he participated in the Korean War with the 2nd battalion of R22 e R1. In 2005, he was inducted into the Salon des Croix de Victoria of the Cercle de la garrison de Québec, the Military Order of William being equivalent to the Victoria Cross.. In 2006, he received the medal of the National Assembly of Quebec. In 2007, he was decorated with the Knight's Cross of the National Order of the Legion of Honor , the highest French distinction , in recognition of his heroic conduct during World War II.

Overseas assignments: World War II European Theater (Great uncle of Society Member Leslie Furbish)

World War II (Father of Society Member Ann Forbes)

Overseas assignments during World War II included postings in Egypt, Italy, and Germany.

In November 2016, France awarded Forbes the Legion d’Honeur at a special presentation in Birmingham. The honor comes more than 70 years after he took part in the epic D-Day landings which began the liberation of Europe.

Overseas assignments: Korea War (Grandfather of Society Member Dorian Forbes)

Overseas assignments: U.S. Korean War (Uncle of Society Member: James G. Forbes II)

Overseas assignments: Germany (Uncle of Society Member James G. Forbes II)

Overseas assignments: Belgium (Uncle of Society Member James G. Forbes II)

Overseas assignments: Germany (Father of Society Member James G. Forbes II)

Overseas assignments: Japan, Guam, Marianas Islands, Hawaii

(Cousin of Society Member Leslie Furbish)

(Brother of Society Member James G. Forbes II)

Overseas Assignments: Operation Desert Shield/Storm (Society Member)

(Brother of Society Member James G. Forbes II)

Overseas assignments: Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany (Society Member)

Overseas assignments: Operation Desert Thunder, Operation Focus Relief, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom

After pilot training, Forbes served with 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron in 2004. In 2010, he deployed in Canada’s Special Operations Task Force to Kandahar, Afghanistan. LCol Forbes was posted to 1 Wing HQ, Kingston, as the A5 Plans Officer, and then to 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron first as the Operations Officer and later as a Flight Commander. In November 2013, he deployed to the Philippines on Operation RENAISSANCE-13. Following Command and Staff College, LCol Forbes spent one year working on the Strong-Secure-Engaged defense policy for the Chief of Force Development in Ottawa and two years as the Senior Staff Officer for Tactical Aviation at 1 Canadian Air Division Headquarters in Winnipeg.

Overseas assignments: Kosovo (Son of Society Member Leslie Furbish)

(Step-Son of Society Member James G. Forbes II)

Forbes was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. During World War I, Forbes earned the 1915 Star, War medal, and Victory medal ribbons. After the war, he emigrated to Canada and later joined the Calgary police force. He died in 1968. (Submitted by Amber Kenney.)

Forbes served In the Korean War. (Father of Teresa Forbes.)

(Society Member)