Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Altham Altham, (13 April 1856 – 27 September 1943)"Altham, Lt-Gen. Sir Edward Altham" WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. December 01, 2007. Oxford University Press. was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer who served in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

and as a senior intelligence officer during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was Quartermaster-General in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

1917–1919.

Biography

Altham was born in

Wilton, Somerset Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

in 1856, the second son of Major W. S. Altham, late 83rd Foot, of Timbercombe,

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

, and Henrietta Moulton-Barrett of Hope End, Herefordshire. He entered the Army in 1876, and was commissioned into

The Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment line infantry, of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of England ...

, the oldest infantry regiment in the army, and served in the

Bechuanaland Expedition The Bechuanaland Expedition or Warren Expedition, of late 1884/1885, was a British military expedition to the Tswana country, to assert British sovereignty in the face of encroachments from Germany and the Transvaal, and to suppress the Boer stat ...

1884–85. He transferred to staff duty and was at the Intelligence Division,

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

, from 1897 to 1899. After the outbreak of the

in October that year, he was sent to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, where he served as

Assistant Adjutant-General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

for Intelligence. For his service he was twice

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) 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 ...

, received the Queen's Medal with four clasps, and was promoted to

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

. After his return to the United Kingdom in 1900, he passed Staff College, and from 1900 to 1904 was back at the Intelligence Division, where he served as deputy assistant adjutant-general. He was appointed a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in the November

1901 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1901 were announced 9 November 1901, the birthday of the new monarch Edward VII. The list included appointments to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British India. The list was published in ''The Ti ...

list. He served on the General Staff in South Africa from 1906 to 1908. Atham served throughout the

First world war World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was appointed in charge of Administration, Southern Command, in 1914; then served, commanding the Lines of Communication on Mudros, with conspicuous success, Dardanelles campaign 1915, and in the Egyptian Expeditionary Force 1916. He gave evidence to the Dardanelles Commission of Enquiry. He was appointed Quartermaster-general in India in 1917, serving as such until 1919. For his service in the war, he was mentioned in despatches seven times, and promoted to

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(KCB) in 1916, a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

(KCIE) in 1919, and received the Grand Cross of the Order of the White Eagle from

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

, and the Grand Cross of the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest ...

from Japan. He was Colonel of the Royal Scots from 1918 until 1934. After his retirement he lived in

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

, where he was a member of the Winchester

Diocesan Board of Finance A Diocesan Board of Finance, often abbreviated to DBF, is an institution of the Church of England which owns land and controls a number of financial matters in each of the Church's dioceses. Such Boards have existed in every diocese of the Church s ...

. Altham died on 27 September 1943.

Family

Altham married in 1880 Georgina Emily Nicol, daughter of William Macpherson Nicol of

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

. They had two sons and one daughter: *Captain Edward Altham, CB (1882–1950), of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

"Altham, Captain Edward" WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. December 01, 2007. Oxford University Press. *Major Harry Surtees Altham, CBE, DSO, MC (1888–1965) *Dorothy Mary Altham (1883-1969)

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Altham, Edward Altham 1856 births 1943 deaths British Army lieutenant generals British Army generals of World War I Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Royal Scots officers British people in colonial India Military personnel from Somerset