Cecil Romer

General Sir Cecil Francis Romer, GCB, KBE, CMG, ADC (14 November 1869 – 1 October 1962) was a British Army general who reached high command during the 1920s.[2]

Sir Cecil Romer
General Sir Cecil Romer
Born	14 November 1869 Kensington, London[1]
Died	1 October 1962 (aged 92) Maidstone, Kent
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	General
Commands held	59th (2nd North Midland) Division 1st Division Western Command Southern Command
Battles/wars	Second Boer War World War I
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George

Early life and education

Romer was born in Kensington, London, the son of Lord Justice Robert Romer (1840–1918) and Betty Lemon, daughter of Mark Lemon, editor of Punch. His elder brother was Mark Romer, Baron Romer (1866–1944). He was educated at Eton College.[2] His sister, Helen Mary, married Lord Chancellor Frederic Maugham, 1st Viscount Maugham.[3]

Military career

Romer was commissioned into the Royal Dublin Fusiliers as a Second lieutenant on 1 March 1890,[4] promoted lieutenant on 23 August 1893, and captain on 19 October 1898. He served in the Second Boer War between 1899 and 1902, and received the brevet rank of major on 29 November 1900.[5] Following the war he was seconded as an Adjutant of Volunteers in February 1902,[6] but only a few months later he was on 19 June 1902 appointed Brigade Major to the 13th Brigade, in Dublin.[7] He went on to become a General Staff Officer in 1904.[5]

In World War I, he fought on the Western Front.[5] He was General Officer Commanding 59th (2nd North Midland) Division between 1917 and 1918.[8][9]

He became General Officer Commanding 1st Division at Aldershot in 1926.[5] He was then elevated to General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Command in 1928 and to General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command in 1931.[5] In 1933, he was appointed Adjutant-General to the Forces: he retired in 1935.[5]

References

1. 1871 England Census
2. "Obituary: Sir Cecil Romer – Hard Fighting in France". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 3 October 1962. p. 13.
3. G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant
4. "No. 27051". The London Gazette. 10 February 1899. p. 869.
5. Sir Cecil Francis Romer Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
6. "No. 27425". The London Gazette. 15 April 1902. p. 2505.
7. "No. 27454". The London Gazette. 15 July 1902. p. 4512.
8. University of Birmingham
9. Maj A.F. Becke,History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions, London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-39-8, p. 17.

External links

• Works by Cecil Romer at Project Gutenberg

Military offices
Preceded by Arthur Sandbach	GOC 59th (2nd North Midland) Division 1917–1918	Succeeded by Robert Whigham
Preceded by Archibald Montgomery	GOC 1st Infantry Division 1926–1928	Succeeded by John Duncan
Preceded by Sir Richard Butler	GOC-in-C Western Command 1928–1931	Succeeded by Sir Cyril Deverell
Preceded by Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd	GOC-in-C Southern Command 1931–1933	Succeeded by Sir Percy Radcliffe
Preceded by Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd	Adjutant General 1933–1935	Succeeded by Sir Harry Knox