Major-General Sir Cecil Edward Bingham (7 December 1861 – 31 May 1934) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer who held high command during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Military career

Born the son of

Charles Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan Charles George Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan, KP (8 May 1830 – 5 June 1914), styled Lord Bingham from 1839 to 1888, was an Irish peer and soldier. Early life He was the eldest son of George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan and Lady Anne Brudenell. His ...

,The Peerage.com
/ref>''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage''. Bingham was commissioned as a lieutenant into the

3rd The King's Own Hussars The 3rd (The King's Own) Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and the Second World Wars, before being amalgamated with the 7th Queen's Own Hussars, ...

in September 1882 and transferred to the

2nd Regiment of Life Guards The 2nd Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 2nd Troop of Horse Guards and 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamate ...

in 1886 and the

1st Regiment of Life Guards The 1st Regiment of Life Guards was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 1st Troop of Horse Guards and 1st Troop of Horse Grenadi ...

in 1892.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He served in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

in 1900 as aide-de-camp to Major-General John French, commanding the Cavalry division. After returning home, he became senior aide-de-Camp to the

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was al ...

during his Indian Tour in 1903. Promoted to brevet colonel in November 1906, and lieutenant colonel a month later, he was, after being appointed as a CVO in June 1909, promoted to temporary brigadier general and appointed to the command of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade in succession to Brigadier General Hew Dalrymple Fanshawe in November 1910 and commander of the 4th Cavalry Brigade in November 1911.Army Commands
He served in

as Commander of the 4th Cavalry Brigade with the British Expeditionary Force and then as

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

1st Cavalry Division from May 1915, three months after being promoted to major general. In October 1915 he was promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant general and became

general officer commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

(GOC) of the Cavalry Corps in France, relinquishing command in March 1916 in order to take over command of the reserve centre at Ripon. In November 1916 he was appointed to command 73rd Division, a formation composed of Home Service men of the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

, which was stationed in

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

for coastal defence. He relinquished this command in April 1917,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 (73rd–74th) and 74th and 75th Divisions'', London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, . and was transferred to take command of the

67th (2nd Home Counties) Division The 2nd Home Counties Division was a 2nd Line Territorial Force division of the British Army in World War I. The division was formed as a duplicate of the 44th (Home Counties) Division in November 1914. As the name suggests, the division rec ...

. He held this command until the division was disbanded in 1919.

Family

In 1884 he married Rose Ellinor Guthrie, daughter of James Alexander Guthrie, 4th Baron of Craigie; she died 18 September 1908. They had three children: * Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Charles Bingham, DSO,

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

, born 15 April 1885. * Lieutenant David Cecil Bingham, Coldstream Guards, born 18 March 1887, killed in action in France 14 September 1914. * Cecilia Mary Lavinia Bingham, born 19 April 1893, married Colonel Frederick George Beaumont-Nesbitt,

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

and died 26 August 1920. In 1911 he married Alys Elizabeth Carr, formerly Mrs Samuel Sloane Chauncey, of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, daughter of Col. Henry Montgomery Carr, of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, USA.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bingham, Cecil 1861 births 1934 deaths British Army major generals British Army cavalry generals of World War I 3rd The King's Own Hussars officers British Life Guards officers Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath Younger sons of earls British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Bingham family (Ireland) Military personnel from London