Major General Herman James Shelley Landon, (23 August 1859 – 16 October 1948) 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. He commanded a battalion during 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 ...

, and was promoted in the interwar period to take command of a brigade in the British Expeditionary Force following the outbreak of 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 ...

. He commanded the brigade during the early fighting on the Western Front, and succeeded to the command of the 1st Infantry Division when his commanding general was killed at the

First Battle of Ypres The First Battle of Ypres (, , – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. The battle was part of the First Battle of Flanders, in which German A ...

; he later commanded four more New Army divisions during the war.

Early life

Herman Landon was born on 23 August 1859, the son of Mary Maria née Edgar (1829–1912) and James Landon (1807–1879); he had one elder sister, Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1845–1915), and an older stepsister, Geraldine Amelia Leigh (1845–1940). The family was comfortably well off, living in the respectable area of

Paddington, London Paddington is an List of areas of London, area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a Metropolitan Borough of Paddington, metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster ...

.1861 English census. (Class: RG9; Piece: 12; Folio: 6; Page: 16; GSU roll: 542556.) James Landon was an Indian cotton merchant; though predominantly involved in growing rather than processing, he had been responsible for setting up one of the first successful

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven ...

s in India, at

Bharuch Bharuch () is a city at the mouth of the river Narmada in Gujarat in western India. Bharuch is the administrative headquarters of Bharuch District. The city of Bharuch and surroundings have been settled since times of antiquity. It was a shi ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, in 1854. Later in the decade he advised

Ranchhodlal Chhotalal Ranchhodlal Chhotalal, Rai Bahadur
"Memoir of Rao Bahadur Ranchhodlal Chhotalal, C ...

on the development of a Ahmedabad Spinning and Weaving Company Limited, similar mill in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

. He died in March 1879, leaving a substantial estate of eight to nine thousand pounds. Herman Landon was educated at

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

from 1874 to 1876, leaving just before his seventeenth birthday. He later attended the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

passing out Syncope , commonly known as fainting or passing out, is a loss of consciousness and muscle strength characterized by a fast onset, short duration, and spontaneous recovery. It is caused by a decrease in blood flow to the brain, typically from l ...

in January 1879 in the same class as Thomas Snow, later a lieutenant general, and taking a commission in the 6th Regiment of Foot (later the

Royal Warwickshire Regiment The Royal Warwickshire Regiment, previously titled the 6th Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. The regiment saw service in many conflicts and wars, including the Second Boer War ...

) of the

. Promoted in December 1897 to major, he served in the Sudan in 1898, where he saw action at the

Battle of Atbara The Battle of Atbara also known as the Battle of the Atbara River took place during the Mahdist War. Anglo-Egyptian forces defeated 15,000 Mahdists on the banks of the River Atbara. The battle proved to be the turning point in the reconquest of S ...

and the

Battle of Omdurman The Battle of Omdurman, also known as the Battle of Karary, was fought during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan between a British–Egyptian expeditionary force commanded by British Commander-in-Chief (sirdar) major general Horatio Herbert ...

, and was

mentioned in despatches 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 ...

.Who Was Who. He returned to Africa in 1900, in the Boer War, where he took temporary command of his battalion, the 2nd

, from March to November. For this service, he was again mentioned in despatches, as well as being given a

brevet promotion Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

to lieutenant colonel.''The Times'' obituary

Military career

He then was sent to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, where he joined the 1st Battalion of the Royal Warwickshires, and in 1902 was promoted to substantive lieutenant colonel, and given command of the battalion. He remained in command until 1906, receiving a brevet promotion to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in July 1904. From February to October 1906 he was on half-pay, and in October was appointed Inspector of Gymnasia in India. In February 1907, he was promoted substantive colonel. He returned to an active command in August 1910, when he was made a temporary brigadier general and given command of the 3rd Infantry Brigade, in succession to Major General

Frederick Hammersley Frederick Hammersley (January 5, 1919 – May 31, 2009) was an American abstract painter. His participation in the 1959 ''Four Abstract Classicists'' exhibit secured his place in art history. Early years Frederick Hammersley was born in Salt ...

. He was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

in the

1911 Coronation Honours The Coronation Honours 1911 for the British Empire were announced on 19 June 1911, to celebrate the Coronation of George V which was held on 22 June 1911. The honours were covered in the press at the time, including in ''The Times'' on 20 June 1 ...

First World War

The 3rd Brigade, part of 1st Infantry Division, mobilised with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the outbreak of the First World War, and was sent to France. Landon commanded it during the

Retreat from Mons The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western F ...

, the Battle of the Marne and the

Battle of the Aisne The Battle of the Aisne is the name of three battles fought along the Aisne River in northern France during the First World War. * First Battle of the Aisne (12–15 September 1914), Anglo-French counter-offensive following the First Battle of the M ...

, and was promoted to major-general, "for distinguished service in the field", in October. During the

, the divisional commander, Major-General Samuel Lomax, was wounded in action (and later dies of his injuries in April 1915), and Landon took command. By the end of the battle in November, however, he himself was invalided home, and was relieved as divisional commander by Major General Sir David Henderson. He was formally replaced in command of his brigade by Lieutenant Colonel Richard Butler on 13 November. On his recovery in December, he was appointed inspector of infantry, and early in 1915 was appointed to command the

9th (Scottish) Division The 9th (Scottish) Division, was an infantry division of the British Army during the First World War, one of the Kitchener's Army divisions raised from volunteers by Lord Kitchener to serve on the Western Front during the First World War. A ...

of the New Army. He accompanied it to France, but was replaced in September due to ill health, shortly before the division saw combat, and sustained heavy losses, at the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used Chemical weapons in World War I, ...

. In October he took command of the 33rd Division, this time remaining with the division when it went into combat at the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

in July 1916. In September he exchanged commands with Major General

Reginald Pinney Major general (United Kingdom), Major-General Sir Reginald John Pinney (2 August 1863 − 18 February 1943) was a British Army officer who served as a brigade and Division (military), divisional commander on the Western Front (World War I), Wes ...

and was appointed to command the 35th Division, remaining with it until July 1917, when his health forced him to retire from active service. From August 1917 to May 1918 he commanded the 64th Division in the Home Forces, finally retiring from the army on 19 August 1919. During the war, he was mentioned in dispatches three more times. After the war, 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, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(CMG). He also received the French

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

, and was appointed a Commander of the Belgian

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

Family

Landon married Christian Ethel Sharp (1876–1957) in 1903, and they had one daughter, Mary Christian Landon (1904–1968). Landon died in 1948 at the family home in Scottow, Norfolk.

Notes

Sources

References

* Obituary in ''The Times'', p. 7, 20 October 1948 * "LANDON, Major-Gen. Herman James Shelley", in * * * , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Landon, Herman 1859 births 1948 deaths Military personnel from the City of Westminster British Army major generals People educated at Harrow School British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of the Mahdist War Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Army generals of World War I Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers officers People from North Norfolk (district) Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath British recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)