General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Cecil Francis Romer, (14 November 1869 – 1 October 1962) 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 ...

general who reached high command during the 1920s.

Early life and education

Romer was born in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, London, the son of Lord Justice Robert Romer and Betty Lemon, daughter of

Mark Lemon Mark Lemon (30 November 1809, in London – 23 May 1870, in Crawley) was the founding editor of both ''Punch (magazine), Punch'' and ''The Field (magazine), The Field''. He was also a writer of Play (theatre), plays and verses. Biography ...

, editor of '' Punch''. His elder brother was

Mark Romer, Baron Romer Mark Lemon Romer, Baron Romer, PC (9 August 1866 – 19 August 1944) was a British barrister and judge. Biography Romer was born in Crawley, Sussex, the second son of Sir Robert Romer, later a Lord Justice of Appeal, and Betty, née Le ...

. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

. His sister, Helen Mary, married

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

Frederic Maugham, 1st Viscount Maugham Frederic Herbert Maugham, 1st Viscount Maugham, (20 October 1866 – 23 March 1958) was a British barrister and judge who was Lord Chancellor from March 1938 until September 1939. Background and education Born in Paris, Maugham was the se ...

Military career

Romer was commissioned into the

Royal Dublin Fusiliers The Royal Dublin Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army created in 1881 and disbanded in 1922. It was one of eight 'Irish' regiments of the army which were raised and garrisoned in Ireland, with the regiment's home depot being l ...

as a second lieutenant on 1 March 1890, promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 23 August 1893, and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 19 October 1898. 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 ...

between 1899 and 1902, was wounded in early 1900, and received the brevet rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on 29 November 1900.Sir Cecil Francis Romer
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives Following the war he was seconded as an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

of volunteers in February 1902, but only a few months later he was on 19 June 1902 appointed

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...

to the 13th Brigade, in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. He went on to become a

General Staff Officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

in 1904. During the

First World War 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 ...

, Romer, promoted to temporary colonel in November 1914, fought on the Western Front. In February 1915 he was made a CB. In July he was promoted to temporary brigadier general and succeeded Major General

Arthur Lynden-Bell Major General Sir Arthur Lynden Lynden-Bell, (2 January 1867 – 14 February 1943) was a British Army officer. Early life Lynden-Bell was the son of Major-General Thomas Lynden Lynden-Bell and younger brother of Colonel Charles Perceval Lynde ...

as brigadier general, general staff of

III Corps III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * I ...

. In January 1916 he was advanced to brevet colonel and made an aide-de-camp (extra) to King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

. Promoted in April 1917 to temporary major general, he was

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

59th (2nd North Midland) Division The 59th (2nd North Midland) Division was an infantry Division (military), division of the British Army during World War I. It was formed in late 1914/early 1915 as a 2nd Line Territorial Force formation raised as a duplicate of the 46th (North ...

between then and 1918. Romer, promoted in January 1919 to substantive major general, became GOC 1st Division at

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

in 1926. He was then elevated to General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Command in 1928 and to General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command in March 1931. In 1933, he was appointed

Adjutant-General to the Forces The Adjutant-General to the Forces, commonly just referred to as the Adjutant-General (AG), was for just over 250 years one of the most senior officers in the British Army. The AG was latterly responsible for developing the Army's personnel polic ...

: he relinquished this appointment and retired from the army in March 1935.

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Romer, Cecil 1869 births 1962 deaths Military personnel from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea People from Kensington People educated at Eton College British Army generals of World War I Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Royal Dublin Fusiliers officers British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army generals