Thomas Humphreys (British Army officer)

Lieutenant General Sir Edward Thomas Humphreys KCB CMG DSO (5 November 1878 – 15 January 1955) was a British Army officer who commanded 5th Division.[2]

Sir Thomas Humphreys
Birth name	Edward Thomas Humphreys
Born	5 November 1878 Dover, Kent, England[1]
Died	15 January 1955(1955-01-15) (aged 76) West Malling, Kent
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1898–1937
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	7th Indian Infantry Brigade Staff College, Quetta 5th Infantry Division
Battles/wars	Second Boer War World War I
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order

Early life and education

Humphreys was born in Dover, Kent, the son of Thomas Humphreys and Jeannette Napoli Cotman. He was educated at Charterhouse School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.[2]

Military career

Humphreys was commissioned into the Lancashire Fusiliers as a second lieutenant on 7 May 1898,[3] and was promoted to lieutenant on 1 April 1899.[4] He served in the 2nd Battalion, which was posted to South Africa in December 1899 after the outbreak of the Second Boer War. In South Africa he was Adjutant of the Mounted Infantry Battalion,[5] and was promoted to captain on 5 October 1901.[4] Humphreys served in South Africa throughout the war, which formally ended in June 1902 after the Peace of Vereeniging, and returned to the posting as regular officer in the 2nd battalion of his regiment in late September 1902.[6] He joined other officers and men of the battalion who left Cape Town on the SS Britannic in October that year, and was stationed at Aldershot after their return.[7]

He served in World War I in France and then with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force latterly as a Brigade Commander.[5] After the War he became a Commander of the 7th Indian Infantry Brigade[8] before being appointed Deputy Director of Military Operations and Intelligence at the War Office in 1925.[5] He went on to be Commandant of the Staff College, Quetta in India in 1928 and General Officer Commanding 5th Division in 1931 before retiring in 1937.[5]

References

1. 1881 England Census
2. "Obituary: Lt.-Gen. Sir Thomas Humphreys". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 18 January 1955. p. 10.
3. "No. 26964". The London Gazette. 6 May 1898. p. 2821.
4. Hart′s Army list, 1903
5. Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
6. "No. 27487". The London Gazette. 24 October 1902. p. 6737.
7. "The Army in South Africa - Troops returning Home". The Times (36899). London. 15 October 1902. p. 8.
8. Army Commands Archived 5 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine

Military offices
Preceded by Walter Kirke	General Officer Commanding the 5th Division 1931–1934	Succeeded by Geoffrey Howard