British General. Commanded the British and Egyptian forces at the Battle of Kirbekan in the Nile Expedition during the Madhist War of 1884 to 1885 to rescue General Charles George Gordon and reinforce the besieged city of Khartoum. General Lord Wolseley appointed Earle commander of the river column, a formidible force consisting of the 1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment; 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment; 1st Battalion, Duke of Cambridge's Light Infantry; 1st Battalion, the Black Watch; 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders; 1st Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment; 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment; 1st Battalion Cameron Highlanders; two companies of the Royal Engineers; seventy officers and men of the Naval Brigade; Canadian voyageurs to naviagate the Nile with their purpose-built boats; several hundred West African crewmen; and 300 Egyptian infantrymen. Despite the size of his column, he was attacked at Kirbekan (while en route to Abu Hamad) by thousands of the fanatically jihadist forces of the Madhi when only about 1,000 of his own men had disembarked for an overland march toward Abu Hamad and Khartoum. Earle's combined British and Egyptian forces, however, defeated the Madhists. Earle and his men who had been killed in the engagement were buried upon the field of battle. A highly capable and brave officer who had distinguished himself during the Crimean War and in India, his honours include investment as a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB), Companion of the Star of India (CSI), the Order of Medjidie, and the Khedive's Star. A large statue to Earle's memory, sculpted and erected after his death through donations, stands outside Saint George's Hall in his native city of Liverpool.

Notice of his death was reported in "The Guardian," Wednesday, February 18, 1885:

""Major-General William Earle, C.B., C.S.I., third son of the late Sir Hardman Earle, was born on the 18th of May, 1833. He was educated at Harrow, and entered the army as an ensign in 1851, obtaining a lieutenancy in 1854, and was promoted to captain in 1855. He served with the 49th Regiment in the Crimea, taking part in the battles of Alina and Inkerman and the siege of Sebastopol, including the sortie of the 26th of October and the assault of the Redan. Towards the close of the campaign he acted as aide-de-camp to the Chief of the Staff. In 1857 he was transferred to the Grenadier Guards, becoming, in 1863, captain and lieutenant-colonel. He was promoted to a colonelcy in 1870, and obtained the rank of major general in 1880. He was Assistant Military Secretary at Gibraltar in 1859-60, Brigade-Major in Canada in 1862-3, Military Secretary in British North America 1865-70, and in 1872-6 was employed as Military Secretary to the Governor-General of India (Lord Northbrook). For a short time in 1880 he was colonel on the staff of the Chatham district, and subsequently, till March, 1881, commanded the South-Eastern District at Shorncliffe. In August, 1882, he was appointed Brigadier-General to the expeditionary force to Egypt, commanded the base and line of communication, and was present at the battle of Tell-el-Kebir. General Earle was in command of the garrison of Alexandria from 1883 until called out to accompany the Nile expedition sent to attempt the relief of General Gordon. He married, in 1864, Mary, daughter of General Sir W.J. Codrington, G.C.B. The news of General Earle's death was received with extreme and general regret in Liverpool, where the family have lived for many generations."