Educated at
Clifton College, Oldfield was, after graduating from the
Royal Military Academy, Woolwich,
commissioned into the
Royal Artillery as a
second lieutenant on 1 April 1892. He was promoted to
lieutenant on 1 April 1895, and to
captain on 5 April 1900, serving at the time with the 32 Battery
Royal Field Artillery stationed at
Deesa,
British India. In October 1902 he was appointed
adjutant of a
Volunteer battalion, the 5th Lancashire Volunteer Artillery. He became a major in October 1909. He served in the
First World War on the
Western Front. He was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order (DSO), the citation for which appeared in
The London Gazette and reads as follows: He was latterly
Brigadier General Royal Artillery for
51st (Highland) Division in
France. In January 1918 he was made a brevet colonel. After the War he became
Brigadier General Royal Artillery for the
British Army of the Rhine moving on to be Chief Instructor in Gunnery at the
Royal School of Artillery at
Larkhill in 1924. and was made
general officer commanding (GOC) of the
Territorial Army's
47th (2nd London) Division from January 1927, taking over from Lieutenant General
Sir William Thwaites. He held this post for the next four years and after relinquishing command of the division was then placed on
half-pay in January 1931, was GOC
Malaya Command from later in the year; he retired in 1934. He was also
colonel commandant of the Royal Artillery from 1938 to 1942. ==Family==