Lieutenant General Sir James Ronald Edmondston Charles, KCB, CMG, DSO (26 June 1875 – 24 December 1955) was a senior British Army officer in the Royal Engineers.

[4] He had two older sisters, Bessie and Ethel, who both studied architecture and became the first women members of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

[6] He served in the Second Boer War (1899–1901), was mentioned in despatches (31 March 1900),[7] and received the Distinguished Service Order in November 1900.

[6] Charles spent most of the First World War in the General Staff until being promoted to command a re-constituted 25th Division in August 1918.

[6] From 1934 to 1953, Charles was a director of British Aluminium Company,[11] appointed for his high level connections and knowledge of defence procurement procedures gained at the War Office and as Master General of the Ordnance.