Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

Edmund Archibald Osborne CB DSO (26 July 1885 – 1 June 1969) 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 commanded II Corps during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Military career

Osborne entered the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

and was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

, in 1904. He served in 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 ...

, where, in September 1914, he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

, with the citation reading: He continued to serve with distinction during the war, being

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

eight times. With the war over in November 1918, in January 1920 he succeeded Brevet Major Bernard Paget as a general staff officer, grade 2 and for which he was promoted to the temporary rank of Major while so employed. then attended the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...

, from 1921 to 1922 and later became Commander of the

School of Signals A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of fo ...

in 1926. He went on to be 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 ...

(GSO) with the 3rd Infantry Division in 1930. Osborne subsequently became Commander of

157th (Highland Light Infantry) Brigade The 157th (Highland Light Infantry) Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army. The brigade fought in both the World War I, First and the World War II, Second World Wars, assigned to 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division. Origins The Highland ...

in 1933 and Commander of the Cairo Brigade in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in 1934. He served in the

, initially 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 ...

(GOC)

44th (Home Counties) Division The Home Counties Division was an infantry division of the Territorial Force, part of the British Army, that was raised in 1908. As the name suggests, the division recruited in the Home Counties, particularly Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex ...

from April 1938 and then as GOC II Corps from 1940Army Commands
until he retired from the British Army in 1941.

References

Bibliography

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Osborne, Edmubnd 1885 births 1969 deaths British Army generals of World War II British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal Corps of Signals officers Royal Engineers officers Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley British Army lieutenant generals